The Long Way
Mono County
A prefabricated restroom building being lowered into place by a crane.
Plate I. Vault toilet installation, Buckeye Hot Springs. From sierranevada.ca.gov
An outdoor toilet building sits in a mountainous, forested landscape under a cloudy sky.
Plate II. Restroom facility, Buckeye Hot Springs. From mammothlakesrecreation.org
A steaming hot spring surrounded by snow and trees in winter.
Plate III. Steaming pool in winter, Buckeye Hot Springs. From sierranevada.ca.gov
A natural hot spring pool next to a river with mineral deposits.
Plate IV. Rock overhang and pool, Buckeye Hot Springs. From flickr.com

Buckeye Hot Springs

Bridgeport, Mono County, California. Natural hot spring; Year-round.

Details

Map. Bridgeport, Mono County, California. Larger map
Where
Bridgeport, Mono County, CA. No street address stated. Directions
When
Open 24 hours/day.
Getting there
1. Follow Highway 395 from Bridgeport, turn west and travel approximately seven miles on Twin Lakes Road. 2. Turn right on Buckeye Road at Doc and Al's Resort and travel about 3 miles. 3. Turn left at fork and travel another mile to campground.
Access
This is a very popular spring year round.
Phone
760-932-7070
Website
fs.usda.gov
Managed by
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Bridgeport Ranger District.
Coordinates
38.237593, -119.343262.

A free, undeveloped natural geothermal hot spring on Buckeye Creek in the eastern Sierra, with a 140-degree pool that comes out of a rock overhang above the creek.

Notable Events

  1. 1861Late in the fall of 1861, Napoleon Bonaparte and Esther Hunewill were building a home at Buckeye Hot Springs, the year after they came to Aurora. hmdb.org
  2. 1862The Hunewills homesteaded 160 acres west of Buckeye hot springs and built a sawmill; after its timber was harvested N.B. Hunewill built a second sawmill near the confluence of Eagle and Buckeye Creeks. inyo-monowater.org
  3. 1863So great was the lumber demand that N.B. Hunewill's Upper Mill opened in 1863, employing seventy-five men at the two mills. hmdb.org
  4. 1879N.B. Hunewill, unable to compete with Mono Mills for the Bodie lumber trade, sold the sawmill equipment in 1879 and turned to raising cattle to supply meat to the miners. inyo-monowater.org
  5. 1967Buckeye Hot Springs was entered on the state register March 29, 1967 as resource P24, Bridgeport (Mono County). ohp.parks.ca.gov
  6. 2011The Buckeye Fire was ignited by a lightning strike north of Buckeye Hot Springs and burned about 1,200 acres between the valley floor and the ridgetop and between Buckeye Creek and Log Cabin Creek. inyo-monowater.org
  7. 2020Sierra Nevada Conservancy awarded a Proposition 68 Vibrant Recreation and Tourism grant to Mammoth Lakes Recreation. mammothlakesrecreation.org
  8. 2021The day-use area, preliminary trail alignment and vault toilet installation were completed. mammothlakesrecreation.org
  9. 2022Picnic pad and tables, interpretive, regulatory and restoration signs, parking area and trail features were completed. mammothlakesrecreation.org

People

  • Esther Hunewill, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte Hunewill, building a home with him at Buckeye Hot Springs in late fall 1861 (1861).
  • Napoleon Bonaparte (N.B.) Hunewill, homesteader who filed for water rights on Buckeye and Robinson Creeks and built a sawmill 160 acres west of Buckeye hot springs (1862).
  • Champion, Personal-communication source for project best management practices.
  • Dillingham, Personal-communication source on the absence of archaeological sites or historic properties in the project area (2021).
  • JAN CUTTS, District Ranger signing the project decision (May 3, 2021).
  • Kellison, Personal-communication source on the absence of federally listed species and designated critical habitat in the project area (2021).
  • Kim Murcia, District Recreation Staff Officer, Bridgeport Ranger District; contact for the project decision.
  • Orlando, Personal-communication source on the absence of federally listed species and designated critical habitat in the project area (2021).
  • Kim Anaclerio, program director at Mammoth Lakes Recreation, the nonprofit organization that spearheaded the Buckeye Hot Springs protection work.

Sources

  1. fs.usda.gov/r04/humboldt-toiyabe/recreation/buckeye-campground
  2. mammothlakesrecreation.org/buckeye-hotsprings
  3. sierranevada.ca.gov/buckeye-hot-springs-upgrades-help-answer-the-call
  4. pub-townofmammothlakes.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=26257
  5. mammothlakesrecreation.org/s/NEPA-Decision-Memo-115397_FSPLT3_5633618.pdf
  6. ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources?criteria=26&view=county
  7. sierranevada.ca.gov/buckeye-hot-springs-upgrades-help-answer-the-call
  8. hmdb.org/m.asp?m=184672
  9. pubs.usgs.gov/of/1977/0559/report.pdf
  10. inyo-monowater.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/E-Walker-Assessment-FINAL.pdf