Every open spring within about a three-hour drive of Reno, ordered by how long it actually takes to get there. Geothermal resorts are minutes from downtown and in the Carson Valley; farther out are a Sierra retreat, a state park pool and free tubs on the east side of the Sierra — real road times, so you can see what fits an afternoon.
Reno has a geothermal spa at the edge of town, and two more resorts within an hour to the south, in Carson City and the Carson Valley. In the Sierra, about an hour or so away, are Sierra Hot Springs in Sierraville and Grover Hot Springs State Park near Markleeville, and about two and a half hours south are the free pools of Travertine near Bridgeport. Below, every open spring grouped by drive time. Coming from California? See hot springs near Sacramento. Heading down the Eastern Sierra? See hot springs near Mammoth Lakes. For the rest of the state, see all hot springs in Nevada.
Close to town: three resorts fed by geothermal water — Steamboat in south Reno, Carson Hot Springs in Carson City and David Walley’s in Genoa.
In Reno, Steamboat Hot Springs runs private indoor tub rooms filled from a very hot geothermal source, with the water temperature set by the guest, plus an outdoor communal tub and an infrared sauna. Visits are by appointment, booked at least 48 hours ahead, and massage and body treatments are offered. There is no lodging on site.
Natural mineral water flows out of the ground at 121°F into four outdoor pools (98 to 104°F) and nine private indoor rooms in Carson City, first opened as a bathhouse resort in 1880. The pools are flow-through, drained and refilled daily with no chemicals added. Two-hour soaks are sold to walk-ins, and a restaurant and brewery operate on site.
In Genoa, in the Carson Valley, this Holiday Inn Club Vacations resort has outdoor mineral tubs heated with geothermal water, along with a separate heated swimming pool, eucalyptus steam rooms and dry saunas. Non-guests can buy an all-day hot springs pass. Overnight guests stay in condo-style studios, villas and cottages, and the 1862 Restaurant and Saloon is on site.
An hour or two into the mountains: Sierra Hot Springs in Sierraville and Grover Hot Springs State Park near Markleeville.
A non-profit retreat on more than 600 acres bordering national forest near Sierraville, Sierra Hot Springs keeps its hot pool inside a geodesic dome with stained glass and skylights, while the Meditation Pool sits under open sky. Pools are clothing-optional. Day and evening soaks require a membership for one person per party, and lodging includes lodge rooms and a campground.
Four miles west of Markleeville, this state park pairs a hot soaking pool fed by natural hot springs with a cooler swimming pool. Bromine reacting with the mineral salts tints the water yellow-green. The park has a 76-site campground with fire pits and bear lockers, plus a winter campground.
Longer drives: the free pools at Travertine Hot Springs near Bridgeport, on the east side of the Sierra.
Hot water flows from fissures across travertine terraces at about 6,700 feet, two miles southeast of Bridgeport, where volunteers built primitive rock pools and a concrete tub. Soaking is free, with a pit toilet at the parking area and no camping. The dirt access road is not maintained in winter, and BLM has closed the site at times for tribal ceremonies.
Quick answers on getting from Reno to a soak — the closest options, day visits, free springs and the remote springs of northern Nevada.
Steamboat Hot Springs Healing Center & Spa in south Reno is the closest, about 18m by car. Carson Hot Springs in Carson City and David Walley’s in Genoa, in the Carson Valley, are both within an hour.
Yes. 5 of the springs on this page are within a two-hour drive, and the three Nevada resorts — Steamboat, Carson Hot Springs and Walley’s — sell soaks to non-guests. Sierra Hot Springs offers day use by reservation, and Grover Hot Springs State Park has a hot pool with seasonal hours. Each listing gives the details.
Travertine Hot Springs near Bridgeport (about 2h 21m) is free: volunteer-built rock pools and a concrete tub on public land. The dirt road is not maintained in winter, and the site has at times been closed for tribal ceremonies. The other springs on this page charge admission.
The wild springs of the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, Spencer Hot Springs near Austin and Ruby Valley near Elko are all more than three hours from Reno, so they are not on this page.