Hot Well Dunes is one of the few (if not the only) hot springs in southeastern Arizona which are public rather than invite-only. I finally made my first visit in December 2025!

Summary

Easy to access public land with hot springs only 25 miles from Safford AZ. The pools are only usable when the sun is out and cost $3 per day or $30 per year.

Misconceptions

There are a few things in the reviews which people had completely wrong. I’d like to dispel them right off the bat:

  1. The $3 fee is for ANY activity on the property, and comes with being able to stay an overnight.
  2. The pools drain at sunset because they run off of solar and the drains are always active.
  3. Haekel Road may be slightly washboarded but it is paved well enough to go 45+ mph.

Access

Best

I highly recommend approaching from Haekel Road off of Highway 70 near Safford. It is paved and has a speed limit of 45mph which is very easy to do. The road is slightly washboarded but not anything like a dirt or gravel road.

Acceptable

Tanque Road off of Highway 191 is dirt until you get to Haekel Road. I found it to be a fairly pleasant drive though, and it has some very peaceful dispersed campsites on it for those not looking to overnight in the fee-based recreation area.

Never Again

I love exploring, especially when I end up going somewhere horrible and can save people the time from ever needing to do it themselves. 🙃

Therefore I highly recommend avoiding the roads between Bowie and Hot Well Dunes. It was extremely dusty and pretty washboarded. The town also has no services other than a small gas station near the interstate. I’d do Tanque Road over this any day, I will not be going back to this route. 😂

Fees

Daily

It is $3 per day for any use of the area. This includes any activity, regardless of whether camping, soaking, or riding the dunes. It allows 1 overnight stay with checkout being 2PM the next day. The fee kiosk can be found once you’ve entered the land.

Yearly

There is also a $30 yearly pass available at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Safford. This pass is still subject to the 14 nights of camping in a 28 day period before needing to relocate 25+ miles away per normal BLM rules and guidelines.

“Can I get away with not paying?”

From what I hear the camp host does go around and check on folks every few days. I did not meet them though since I only visited twice and camped elsewhere. I didn’t mind paying the fee since they’re keeping the grounds clean, providing trash and toilet services, and ensuring people aren’t getting rowdy.

Amenities

Pools

There are two concrete pools, both very similar sizes and designs. One is more central to the park-like area, and the other is more nestled in to the corner and has more plant coverage for privacy.

The temperature seemed the same to me, as well as the fill rate. They each have a small pool within their fenced regions which get filled with the overflow. The temperature felt about the same but are likely a bit cooler, although they’re a bit too small to really get a good soaking. I was told people use them to rinse their feet before getting into the main pools.

I got there around sunrise each day and confirmed the pools were near-empty. If it got cloudy then the inlet would stop and the pool levels would reduce. Learn from my mistake; do not get in until the water is at least covering the 2nd step and the sky is clear! I got in too early and it got cloudy, causing the water to reduce until it was under the first step. By then the water temperature had greatly reduced since the air was in the low 40s plus the cold cement had also been stealing the heat. Not the most fun waiting for the sun to come back out, a good test of patience and an unintentional “cold plunge”! 😅

Camping

The recreation area has both designated (numbered sites with fire rings and sometimes picnic tables under shelters), as well as dispersed camping (wild camping, parking wherever you’d like with no amenities). Each require paying the fee.

For free camping, many sites can be used on Haekel Road and Tanque Road. I was also told there is dispersed camping north of Highway 70 in the Gila Box area. I have not confirmed the quality of those sites or roads. There is also plenty of other BLM and USFS land within an hour’s drive.

The area is very quiet, with very little air traffic and if you’re far enough away from the highway then almost no road noise either. Tanque Road crosses a railroad track but the trains go super slow and only seemed to use their horns during the day.

Toilets

There are vault toilets at the hot spring area, at the fee paying area, as well as around some of the designated campsites. They seemed well maintained and stocked with plenty of toilet paper, so no need to carry in your own like at the Verde Hot Springs.

People

Weekend

I met a kind older man my first day there, a Saturday. We chatted for an hour or so before 3 local youths from a nearby town arrived. They seemed kind enough so we invited them in, then realized they were with a pack of 8-12 people playing mainstream radio music from a speaker. Not my scene, and I had already been in for a while, so I left and the older man chose to as well.

Weekday

I visited the next Wednesday and had a much different experience. I met a kind person who joined me and ended up becoming a friend, and I only saw one person get in the other pool. I stayed until at least noon and saw no one else indulge in either pool. So, next time, I’ll be skipping the weekends.

Campers

Both visits there was someone playing a radio or TV very close to the more private western pool. It was quite distracting, enough that I chose the less private eastern pool on my second visit since their camp noise was already going on by 08:00 / 08:30. It was quite obnoxious and could still be heard but the distance helped.

Walkers

I also noted quite a few grumpy old men who’d have nothing to do with even waving on Saturday. No waves from their camps, no waves when walking or driving by, etc. If they were approaching the pool and saw me in it they’d just turn around and leave. Not sure what that was about, if it wasn’t for the Wednesday experience I may have written off the place!

Conclusion

In future years I’ll likely purchase the yearly pass and begin camping down there once the daytime temperatures drop to the low 80s or high 70s. I can hop between the Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area and spots further away such as Gila Box and upper Haekel Road to ensure I maximize my 14 days at the hot springs.

That gets me further from the Tucson area, which does not have as good of a camping experience due to the mass of local airports and the distance it takes to get from camp to any amenities. If only Safford had a Natural Grocers, then I wouldn’t need to go to Tucson at all! Other than visits to Govinda’s, of course. 😜

I’d love to hear if you stop by the hot springs and how your experience goes! My email address can be found at the bottom of the page. 😄

Peace and wellness to you and yours! 💚