Gold Strike Canyon Hot Springs - Boulder City, Nevada - Natural Hot Pools near Colorado River

Located in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area along the Colorado River, Gold Strike Canyon contains a number of natural hot springs, ranging in temperature from 70 to 144 degrees. It is possible, albeit rather dangerous, to reach the springs by canoe, but most visitors prefer to make the six-mile hike to the pools from U.S. Highway 93, which takes about two and a half hours.

Features to look for along the way include a water fall, numerous caves, crystalline stalactites and stalagmites, narrow passages, and 100-foot-high canyon walls. Scrambling across boulders is required to reach the hot spring pools, which are terraced into the landscape for about 100 yards. Many of the pools are deep enough for bathing and even swimming. They have a slightly blue-green tint due to the algae that grows in the very hottest water.

To get there from Las Vegas, take U.S. Highway 93 south toward Boulder City and Hoover Dam. About half a mile past the Hacienda Casino (aka the former Goldstrike Casino), take a right onto the road that goes south under the new highway. At the fork in the road past the east-bound highway on-ramp, turn left and go down to the bottom of the canyon. A half-mile further on, the road ends at the trailhead.