Olympic Hot Springs are a series of around 21 hot thermal seeps that occur naturally in Olympic National Park in Washington. The various pools are definitely not for swimming – you can expect to find shallow, mud-floored pools that will only reach around waist height when you are seated. You can access the pools by hiking the fairly easy 2.5-mile Appleton Pass Trail in summer, but in winter road closures can add at least another 4 miles to your hike. The temperature of the pools varies from lukewarm to hot. Unfortunately, the pools are not regularly cleaned or maintained and the sign at the trailhead warns visitors to bathe at their own risk due to the possible presence of bacteria, especially during summer when there is little or no natural flushing.

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