Esalen Hot Springs
Big Sur (Esalen Institute) · near Big Sur · Central Coast
Swimming & Hot Springs
At a glance
- Temperature
- 100–108°F
- Cost
- Public night bathing ~$40+ (reserve same day at 9am online) · Workshop/overnight guests get full access
- Season
- Year-round · Public access is the famous 1am–3am window only
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
- Safety
- The 1am drive on Big Sur's Hwy 1 demands alertness — deer, fog, and cliffs. Check Hwy 1 closure status before any Big Sur trip. Pools sit on an open cliff edge; mind the dark.
Swimming & Hot Springs detail
- Nickname
- The 1am Cliffside Legend
- Type
- hot-spring
- Temp
- hot
- Clothing optional
- Yes
- Directions
- Esalen Institute, Hwy 1, Big Sur — about 2.5 hours south of Monterey. Public night-bathing reservations open at 9am daily for that night's 1am–3am session; book online at esalen.org the moment they open.
- Pools
- Stone and tile pools built into the cliff face directly above the Pacific — hot mineral water, crashing surf below, and the entire night sky above. Silent, clothing-optional bathing culture.
- Intl tip
- Pair the 1am soak with a Big Sur weekend — Pfeiffer Beach's purple sand, McWay Falls, and Nepenthe's terrace. Esalen also offers weekend workshops (from yoga to writing) that include full baths access if the night window defeats you.
The guide
Esalen's baths may be the most extraordinary hot-spring setting in North America: mineral pools built into a cliff face directl…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Esalen Hot Springs — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.123, -121.638