Eats and Feets

We’re gonna call this part one of a two-part series, “Hot Springs I Saw in Monroe, UT.” The reason it’s gotta be that kind of vague is that there are at least two hot springs, and they both are/were called Monroe Hot Springs. They’re also clearly different locations separated by around 7/10ths of a mile. One is labeled simply “Hot Springs” on Google Maps, and the other is Mystic Hot Springs. We’re gonna go with calling this one Mystic, and let the other be Monroe.

SO. Moving on. This place is kinda dirty. There, I said it. It’s dirty. Dirty like you expect a hippie commune to be dirty. Don’t get me wrong – still awesome. But there’s a kinda broken-down looking trailer park nearby (where we were given the stink eye by a possible member of the Manson family from his hippie bus/trailer/RV), the pool is empty and filthy and full of trash, there’s a broken down bus “parked” out front, and the cabins are about the size of nice walk-in closets, only dirtier. I’m not judging. I’m just saying that’s what happened. Also, when we walked in, we were greeted by an honest-to-God hippie. And, again, not judging – but definitely a hippie, who generously let us go wander around the property without making us pay to use the pools (which we probably will when we go back some day).

The first thing you’ll notice (other than the broken bus, sheets covering the windows and a general feeling that you might be recruited for a cult just by wandering in) is ducks and geese. They’re all over. A hippie thing, I assume. They also like to lay their eggs in the runoff from the springs. We found a few hard-boiled eggs near the biggest pond where they hung out. I kinda felt bad for the little mama birds who were clearly dumbasses.

The next is how amazing and beautiful the springs are anyway. Very colorful, and clearly have been around for many, many years. The sediment/mineral buildup is just covering everything. It’s incredible. And, as I mentioned, beautiful. The springs start at the southwest corner of the compound with an awesome, mineral-encrusted pump which drains into a larger pool. This pool is stupid hot. I touched it, because I am an idiot. It’s not boiling or anything, but I’m pretty sure you’d die if you jumped in. I assume, anyway.

That pool then drains off in a few directions. One takes you through a greenhouse, where the steam rising from the spring both keeps the greenhouse toasty AND waters the plants, and then further down into the bathing/soaking pools and tubs. The second goes through another building (not a greenhouse, from the looks of it, but I wasn’t sure), into one or two soaking tubs, and then into the pond. Where the idiot birds are laying their eggs in 100-degree water.

There’s also a cave, which was pretty awesome. And likely will collapse in a few years. It was cool. Even though I’m certain many hundreds of people have seen it before we did, we still felt like intrepid explorers. It was cool.

When I visit hot springs, I tend to judge how awesome I think they are on how impressive the springs itself is. In this case, it’s hard not to be impressed by all the mineral buildup (and therefore the pretty colors), how hot they were, how elaborate the compound surrounding it was, and so on. It was super neat. If I hadn’t been just passing through, on my way to another place, I would have wanted to hang out and maybe even camp, and soak in the springs. I’d definitely recommend visiting this place if you have either the time to come out this way, live out there already (in which case, hey, how are you online anyway? that place is all farms), or don’t mind driving a couple hours to soak in a pretty sweet hot springs.

How to Get There

Drive to Monroe, UT. This will be the toughest part of your trip. It’s about 2 1/2 hours south of SLC. Look, I’m going to let Google guide you on that one. The hot springs itself is on the east side of town, and there are signs pointing at it. It’s actually not tough to find. Just remember that when you get to 100 North in Monroe, you’re gonna take it allll the way east, til it ends in the parking lot for Mystic Hot Springs.

Basically just check out their driving directions.

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