Hot Creek Geological Site – Mammoth Lakes Guide, California

Looking to experience a little bit of Yellowstone National Park in California? Hot Creek Geological Site is here to help! Here, you can witness the geological activity of active turquoise hot spring pools in a beautiful setting along a river gorge, with the Eastern Sierra mountain range as the backdrop.

I’ve visited this site many, many times over the years and it’s one of my favorite photography spots in Mammoth Lakes / California’s Eastern Sierra.

Hot Creek Geological Site – Location

Hot Creek Geological Site is located about 15 minutes from Mammoth Lakes. From Mammoth Lakes, drive south on US-395 and take a left turn on to Hot Creek Hatchery Road. From there, go two miles down this road until you see a turn-off for the site. From here, it’s another 3 miles down a dirt road. The dirt road is passable by any vehicle.

Nearby: Hot Creek Fish Hatchery

Hot Creek Geological Site – Quick Overview

Admission: Free. This site is managed by the US National Forest Service.

Pit toilets available

Picnic tables available.

Dogs are allowed on the trails

I don’t know of any posted hours, but there is a gate here that I assume they close nightly. I’ve been here for sunset and didn’t run into any trouble getting out.

No swimming allowed

Open year round

Visiting Hot Creek Geological Site

Once parked, you can walk up to the overlook and get a great view of the geothermal area below. If you want to explore further, there is a half-mile trail leading down to the river. You’ll find informational storyboard plaques along the way, explaining the science and geology in this area.

You’ll notice during your exploration of this area, there are tons of signs warning visitors of the hot, scalding water. Swimming is illegal at Hot Creek Geological Site due to the insane temperature fluctuations in the water – temperatures can change + / – 200 degrees F in just a few seconds!

At one point, Hot Creek Geological Site was a popular swimming hole with the locals, but it has been closed for swimming since 2006, when geologists discovered that the geyser activity in this area picked up during the spring. There is no plan to reopen this for swimming but there are a lot of natural hot springs in this area – a very popular hot spring is Wild Willy’s Hot Springs, only a few miles from here.

The best place for photography at Hot Creek Geological Site is just a short drive from the main parking lot. Keep going down Hot Creek Hatchery Road, only a few yards and you’ll see another small lot. This area is marked on Google Maps as “Brees Lookout.”

Here you can get a beautiful view of Mammoth Creek as it winds its way downstream, appearing to lead right into the peaks of the Eastern Sierra mountain range. This is an amazing place to go for sunrise or sunset. My pictures are from sunset; I haven’t visited Hot Creek Geological Site for sunrise yet.

All in all, Hot Creek Geological Site is a fantastic place to stop on a California US 395 road trip or any visit to the Eastern Sierra!

More reading for your trip to California’s Eastern Sierra

Rainbow Falls Hike in flip flops: Mammoth Lakes, California
Mono Cone Restaurant Review – Lee Vining, California
Parker Lake Hike: June Lake, California
Wild Willy’s Hot Springs – Mammoth Lakes, California

Have you visited Hot Creek Geological Site? What did you think?