Mercey Hot Springs
Panoche Valley (near Hollister) · near Hollister / Los Banos · Gold Country & Central Valley
Swimming & Hot Springs
At a glance
- Temperature
- ~100–105°F tubs
- Cost
- Day use and overnight (cabins, camping) · Reservations recommended
- Season
- Year-round · Fall–spring most pleasant (summer days are hot)
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Safety
- Remote with no services; fuel up beforehand. Dark-sky darkness means bring a headlamp.
Swimming & Hot Springs detail
- Type
- hot-spring
- Temp
- hot
- Clothing optional
- Yes
- Directions
- Little Panoche Road off I-5 or Hwy 25 from Hollister — about 2.5 hours from the Bay Area, in the empty Panoche Valley hills.
- Pools
- Individual clawfoot and soaking tubs under the open sky (famously good stargazing), a warm pool, sauna, and simple cabins/camping on a century-old property.
- Intl tip
- The Panoche Valley is a renowned winter raptor area — eagles and hawks on every fence line. Pinnacles National Park (climbing and caving guides) is under an hour west, making a superb park-plus-soak weekend.
The guide
Mercey is the Bay Area's desert-feeling secret — a century-old hot springs in the empty Panoche Valley hills between Hollister …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mercey Hot Springs — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.706, -120.86