Traveling southeast along Hwy 4 from Bandelier National Monument to Jemez Springs, New Mexico, somewhere around mile marker 25 start looking for a gravel pull off for Spence Hot Springs (Elev. 7350).
To get to this day-use only small natural hot springs on Santa Fe National Forest land, one must hike about 3/4-mile, down and then up.
Once there, you’ll find two small pools with a temperature range of 95 to 100 degrees. The USFS information sheet reminds visitors that this is a highly used spring and that “nudity is a violation of New Mexico state law and will be cited.”
Yesterday afternoon, there were families, couples, college kids.
Photo: Jimmy Smith soaking in Spence Hot Springs, north of Jemez Springs, NM. Hwy. 4 and gravel parking pull off can be seen in background. By Julianne Crane.
