Summer Lake Hot Springs, Natural geothermal resort in Oregon Outback, United States

Summer Lake Hot Springs is a geothermal resort covering approximately 50 acres in Oregon's high desert with multiple outdoor rock pools and an indoor swimming area. Natural spring water heated to around 40 degrees Celsius fills all bathing facilities across the property.

Native Americans used the springs for at least 14,000 years, calling them Medicine Springs; evidence comes from the Paisley Caves a few miles east. Captain John C. Fremont passed nearby in 1843 and named Summer Lake, after which the springs are named. Pioneers who arrived in 1902 called them Woodward Hot Springs, and the wood-frame bathhouse clad in corrugated tin was built in 1928.

Native Americans called the springs Medicine Springs, and the Woodward family, who arrived in 1902, used them to irrigate vegetable gardens and for bathing. The 1928 bathhouse is a wood-frame structure clad in corrugated tin, holding a 15-by-30-foot pool with separate men's and women's dressing rooms.

Overnight stays in cabins, RV sites, or tent camping require advance reservations to secure your spot. The property is easy to navigate with clearly separated bathing areas and accommodation options suited to different preferences and budgets.

The bathhouse, built in 1928, is a wood-frame structure clad in corrugated tin, holding a 15-by-30-foot pool plus men's and women's dressing rooms. Thousands of Native American artifacts, including high-quality arrowheads, have been found at the site, along with fossil bones of extinct Pleistocene horses and camels.