Mammoth's Wild Tubs (Hilltop / Crab Cooker / Shepherd)
Benton Crossing area (east of Mammoth Lakes) · near Mammoth Lakes · Eastern Sierra
Swimming & Hot Springs
At a glance
- Temperature
- 95–107°F (varies by tub and flow)
- Cost
- FREE · BLM/public lands
- Season
- Year-round · Benton Crossing Road is plowed; side roads may need 4WD in winter/mud
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Safety
- Tubs are volunteer-maintained; temperatures shift with flow — test before entering. Small tubs fit 2–6; etiquette is share-and-rotate. Pack out everything. Winter access can require walking the last stretch.
Swimming & Hot Springs detail
- Type
- hot-spring
- Temp
- hot
- Clothing optional
- Yes
- Directions
- Benton Crossing Road ('Green Church Road') off Hwy 395 south of Mammoth. A network of dirt spurs leads to the named tubs — Hilltop (Pulky's), Crab Cooker, Shepherd, and others. Wild Willy's (covered separately) is the most famous of the cluster.
- Pools
- A constellation of built rock-and-mortar tubs fed by geothermal seeps across the Long Valley Caldera — each with 360° views of the Sierra crest, the White Mountains, and volcanic tableland steam.
- Intl tip
- Combine a dawn tub with Hot Creek's (look-don't-touch) turquoise geothermal gorge and Convict Lake's dramatic cirque, both minutes away. Mammoth's breakfast spots await when you're pruned.
The guide
The Long Valley Caldera east of Mammoth is one giant geothermal field, and scattered across its sagebrush are the beloved wild …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mammoth's Wild Tubs (Hilltop / Crab Cooker / Shepherd) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.663, -118.806