Goldmyer Hot Springs was everything we hoped for and more. It’s a natural geothermal hot spring cared for by the Northwest Wilderness Programs, a nonprofit organization established in 1976 to protect this area. The hot springs are so idyllic that soaking there felt like a dream. Move this activity to the top of your Pacific Northwest bucket list!

Lottery reservations

Goldmyer Hot Springs is beautiful and popular, like most of Washington’s best hikes. It’s so popular that they’ve implemented a monthly lottery to secure reservations, and they only allow 20 people to visit per day.

The lottery opens each month for two months in advance, which means that between January 1 – 31, you can apply for lottery reservations for March and so on throughout the year. If you win, you’ll be notified the month before your reservation.

You’ll get to enter the lottery for up to three dates each month. Goldmyer’s reservation system shows how many lottery reservations have been submitted for each day. Raise your odds of winning by applying near the end of the month and choosing dates with the lowest number of requests.

The June 2024 lottery calendar at the end of the May

Camping

When you’re applying for the lottery reservations, you can also elect to camp there. That means hiking or biking in with everything you need for an overnight stay. We’ve got backpacking tips and gear recommendations for that here.

We opted not to camp, figuring it would lower our chances of being selected, but there were a few open sites when we arrived.

Private reservations

Goldmyer allows private group reservations of up to eight people on Tuesdays. The hot springs are clothing optional, so if you’d like more privacy or aren’t comfortable with others in the nude, consider this option.

Last-minute reservations

Unfilled dates will be listed on the reservation calendar and can be claimed over the phone. Walk-ins are allowed on a space-available basis. If there are no openings, walk-ins will be turned away.

What to do if you win reservations

You’ll be notified via email the following month after entering the lottery if you’ve won. Dates are filled in chronological order, so if you apply for reservations at the beginning of the month, you’ll be notified of winning earlier than those who win dates later in the month.

To secure your reservation, you’ll need to call the number provided, confirm your dates, and pay for your reservation over the phone within one business day of receiving the email notice. If you miss confirming your lottery winning during this time frame, you’ve lost your reservation!

When calling to confirm your reservation, you’ll be asked what time you plan on checking in at the hot springs. We chose to arrive at 9:00 am when they opened and shared the springs with a few campers. It appears they spaced out visitors well, so it should never be crowded.

Cost

The lottery is free to enter each month, but if you win reservations and go through the steps outlined above to secure them, you’ll pay the following:

Day use

Wednesday to Monday

$30 per adult
$25 per senior
Children under 18 are free

Private reservations

Tuesdays

4-hour private reservations
$240 for groups of up to eight people
Additional camping fee of $50 available with the evening time slot

Camping

Wednesday to Sunday

An additional $10 per adult or senior

Driving there

Reaching the hot springs is the difficult part. It requires traveling on a rough, unmaintained road, and hiking five miles to and from the hot springs.

Road conditions

Goldmyer warns that the drive to the Dingford Creek Trailhead is on 12 miles of paved and six miles of unpaved forest roads and usually takes about two hours.

They recommend driving a vehicle with 8-9 inches of clearance. This is because there are huge, unavoidable potholes along much of the drive. We drove our lifted Jeep Wrangler without a problem and wouldn’t recommend driving anything lower than a Subaru Forester or other small SUV.

Goldmyer also suggests bringing along a saw in case of downed trees. We saw freshly cut trees on the side of the road and plenty of trees looking like they could fall any time, but didn’t have trouble with them ourselves.

Winter advisory

During the winter, Goldmyer advises bringing chains, a spare tire, and a saw. Four-wheel drive would be helpful in icy conditions since the road is not plowed, sanded, or monitored for people in distress.

Directions

Cell service will cut out along the drive. Plan ahead and take screenshots of driving and hiking directions.

When we visited, Google Maps would not load driving directions to the trailhead. To adjust for this, load driving directions to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Trailhead, and from there, follow the drivable directions to Dingford Creek Trailhead.

Driving directions from Middle Forks Snoqualmie Trailhead to Dingford Creek Trailhead

The hike

Trail description: Washington Trails/Alltrails

Distance: 10 miles round-trip

Elevation gain: 200 feet

Season: Year round

Parking pass: Northwest Forest Pass or an America the Beautiful Pass

Pet friendly: No (exceptions are made for licensed service dogs)

The trail to Goldmeyer starts at the gate at the far end of the lot. You’ll continue your trek on the unmaintained forest road past the gate for most of the hike. Its rocky and uneven terrain doesn’t make for very comfortable walking, but you’ll be soothed by the views of the Snoqualmie River along the way.

Biking

Goldmyer has a bike rack in front of the cabin you’ll be checking in at. From there, you’ll need to walk the remaining 0.25 miles to the hot springs.

Check-in and out

Once you reach Goldmyer, you must check in and out with the caretakers between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm. If you arrive before or after these hours, you must stay off the property.

You’ll check in and out by ringing a bell in front of the cabin. The caretakers onsite will ask you to sign this liability waiver, share rules, and answer any questions you have.

From there, you’ll hike another 0.25 miles to the hot springs. We found this section of the trail to be the most beautiful!

The Hot springs

Goldmyer has three warm pools and one cold pool. The highest pool is in a cave and hovers around 111°F, with each pool below it getting cooler, down to 104°F.

Clothing optional

The hot springs are clothing optional. Be respectful to others and bring a swimsuit if you’re uncomfortable bathing nude.

Private reservations (mentioned above) are the only way to ensure clothing and privacy.

Amenities

Toilets

There are composting toilets near the check-in cabin, the campsites, and a short distance from the hot springs. Please use them to keep the rat population at bay.

Changing cabana

There is a covered changing area next to the hot springs. We loved that it had hooks and benches to dry our gear on after hiking in the rain.

Picnic tables

Please use the picnic tables (or your campsite) for eating to help manage the rat population. There are picnic tables down the trail from the hot springs and near the check-in cabin.

Photos

The Goldmyer Hot Springs is such an unbelievable place that you’ll want to snap a photo or video to remember it. However, being a clothing-optional hot spring, you’ll need to approach this cautiously.

We’d advise waiting to record media until you have the place to yourself. If that isn’t possible, obtain consent, avoid pointing your camera in anyone’s direction, and be selective about what ends up in your frame. If there are more than one or two other guests, you may not be able to take photos.

Cleaning schedule

The pools are cleaned on Mondays and Thursdays. We visited on a Sunday — despite knowing that the pools would be the dirtiest the pools can get. We were happily surprised to find the water was crystal clear, clean, with very little natural debris.

Rules

You’ll need to follow leave no trace principles while hiking and backpacking here. It’s especially important to eat and use the restroom in designated areas. Please remember to pack out everything that you pack in.

Please respect all Goldmyer Hot Spring’s rules:

No smoking of any sort, drugs, glass containers, dogs and other pets, or weapons on Goldmyer property.
Alcohol may be consumed only at campsites by overnight visitors.
Drunken or disorderly conduct will not be tolerated.
Vaping is OK in campgrounds as an alternative to smoking.
No eating or using soap in the hot spring area.
No campfires or charcoal fires on the property.
Camping stoves are allowed only at campsites and picnic tables.
Camera use: respect the privacy of others, obtain consent. Do not take photos of people outside your group. No drones. No commercial photography.
Follow the leave no trace principles and pack-it in, pack-it out.
All visitors must ring the bell by the cabin to check-in and check-out with Goldmyer caretakers.
No groups larger than 8 people (multiple groups that know each other are considered a single group).

Packing list

Along with your usual hiking gear, you’ll want to bring along a quick dry towel, bathing suit (optional), as well as a bag to store wet items in on your trek back. You’ll find more of our favorite hiking gear recommendations here.

If you plan on camping, check out our backpacking gear list here. This trail makes an ideal backpacking trip for beginners since there are amenities like toilets and staff near the campsites.

If you do backpack, please remember that there are no campfires or potable water onsite. You will need to bring everything you need to survive in the backwoods, just like any other trail.