Steep Ravine Hot Spring

What a wonderful spot ! Just wanted to say that after reading all the reviews about how unfriendly it was I was tempted to skip it. Glad I didn’t. Spectacular hike down to the springs and people were entirely nice, considerate, made room for the newcomers. It was very sulphur and mineral rich and the monkey climb back up to the road was a breeze — and I am not the super fit type. Fantastic experience.

wow…
I’m generally a hot spring enthusiast but this place.ugh. For one the people, who often overcrowd the doggie pond are pretentious, conservative, bolinas snobs. They have no idea how to interact with others and are often selfishly assertive and probe their bodies into a hot spot. Which brings me to my next point, there is no hot spot. After the siphon got confiscated by the state parks service and citations were issued, the water on an extremely low tide barely gets above seventy degrees. In addition to the lukewarm water at best, the hike down is extremely treacherous and poison oak ridden. The only time I visited I slipped and my wound required stitches at the ear.

The Hot springs get a 10, The people who hang out there, sorry guys. FAIL. Miserable FAIL. For this reason I have to give it one star.
I love hot springs.
Picture this. You take off work on a Tuesday, Get out to the springs well before sunrise. As the sun comes up you are sitting on the edge of the pacific ocean, you put your head back on the rock, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. You hear the sound of the ocean, waves crashing on the rocks just a couple of feet way. You think to yourself, this is about the time I would normally be getting to work. Open your eyes and take a look around. The ocean is gorgeous. The birds are flying overhead. You look up the hill towards the road and see a few more people coming down the trail to join all of the other angry middle aged men who feel entitled to sit here naked and give every new comer a hard time about being there.
This is a public place. I am grateful to the shepherds of the Marin Tidal Hot springs for taking such good care of it. Otherwise it would be filled with sand and very difficult to find. But, for those who enjoy the place on a more regular basis, who don’t do any care taking and still feel like they can go down there and be total jag-​offs to others, I have nothing nice to say. If you go on a super low tide this is what you will encounter.
A bunch of 35 – 70 year old naked white guys (I have no problem with any of the demographic details, just for the record.)
While they are sitting there naked a younger woman comes up and sits in the shallow part of the pool. (the pool is about the size of a Volkswagen bug) When she wants to make her way over to the deep part they basically refuse to make room for her to move comfortable over to the warmer part. One of them laughs and tells her «you can just slide over the top of us, there is plenty of room.» Now as a man I have no problems making room for a lady. As a grown man I also don’t have issues with sharing. What am I getting at here, grow up and be a man! Learn to share and don’t be a dick. On that issue, better be ready to deal with the nudity as well. Out of the 20 or so people you will be sharing with (hopefully sharing with) if you happen to want some swim wear to cover up just be prepared for some rude comments about it. And with that harassment you have the ego of these hot spring hoarders to deal with. This one guy just could not stop talking about how he loves to swim naked in the nearby off limits reservoir. Dude, not cool, people have to drink that.
I gew up in Santa Cruz and the first time I had heard of this place was in High school from my earth Science teacher. I asked him if he had ever been there and he said no. I have heard about it from other people over the years, but on one I knew had been there, I had to check it out for my self. I love the location, the environment and the adventure. The people, you never can tell until you go and check it out. One of the guys down there (the cool one I gave praise to in the beginning) told us that even on a moderate low tide the pools are over the water.
So you don’t have to go on the lowest tide of the year. If it’s a low tide and you see a couple of cars at the turn out go for it.
The hike is a bit steep, I would not recommend it for everyone, take a look and decide for yourself. All this ranting, i know I should be more considerate to the locals, even if they come across as spoiled territorial baby’s. I think Ian L said it best in his review «it is up to you to manage your experience» so just be prepared and deal with it. Have a great time. One things for sure, it’s real and the springs themselves are absolutely amazing.

This hot spring has a few names, Steep Ravine Hot Springs, Marin Tidal Hot Springs and Rocky Point Hot Springs. Plan ahead by looking for the lowest tides, the more negative the better. We stayed overnight at the Steep Ravine Cabins which is a short but rocky hike to the hot springs from the beach. It can get a little sketchy with rising tides. Alternatively, if you drive right past the cabins, if you see cars parked on the left, it’s straight down from there. The cars parked are also a sign that people are soaking.
The reason this hot springs is so popular is its location. You can soak nestled in some rocks above the Pacific Ocean. Also it’s rarity, you can only use it when the tide is negative. You can’t argue with the natural beauty. Many people will take a cold plunge with the ocean water below. The spring fits about a dozen people and the closer you go to the enclosed portion the hotter the water.
The reason it doesn’t rate higher is the over crowding and the crowd itself. Naked hippies go along with soaking, it’s a given, that’s not the downside. Generally in your hot spring adventures you meet some really nice folks who are not fake who are all there for the same reason. This crowd here is hostile and overbearing about this spot. There were a few locals that were cool who helped maintain the flow of water which is much appreciated, but they were the exception. If you happen to like to soak in a bathing suit, you may get a public shaming. There was a lot of bad mouthing about anyone from outside of Marin being there. It was very crowded at 5 in the morning and you couldn’t help but feel like you were on top of the person next to you because you have 30 people trying to soak in a natural tub meant for 12. For that reason I get why they are protective and don’t want to encourage people to find the place but please share. No matter how many negative ratings you put on Unilocal to discourage novelist hot springers, you will be found.

After reviewing the many negative review of these springs I have to offer my own experience. I am a hot springs enthusiast and have been to many developed and primitive hot springs throughout the Americas and this is definitely one of my favorites.
The short trail is doable, but not for the faint of heart. Make sure to bring decent shoes for this part. Definitely only go at a -.05 or lower tide so the springs will be exposed and get there before the tide reaches its lowest point so you can get a good soak. The «cave» is the best spot, but the pool outside is still nice. If you can go during a red tide I highly recommend it, the bioluminescence mixing with the spring water is awesome.
I do agree that the «regulars» can be a bit irritating, but ultimately it is up to you to manage your experience anywhere you go (read: ignore them and you will be fine).

Found only during really low or negative tides, I thought these hot springs were mystical. Make sure you have a headlamp to keep your hands free, good shoes, and are completely sober. It’s a doozy if you’re not careful. We pulled off to the side of the road and followed a treacherous path down a hill but I heard there was another way by following the waters’ edge from cabins nearby.
Instead we made it to the wrong boulder where I slipped and fell a few times. I have a few deep bruises and now a stretch mark where I scraped against a rock. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty from just being chubby but this one I’d actually like to show off to my friends.
After I pointed out that we were obviously in the wrong place with the lack of hippies and all, we got to the correct trail. When we got to the hot spring, there was a lot of naked people but all very well behaved. Everyone seemed to just be enjoying the clear sky and heat. Tip: if people are trying to get closer to the heat source, tuck your legs in. Someone passed me and touched me with their bits and pieces. Just a warning.
Even after all that, it was a good experience under my belt. Well worth smelling like fart and being sore for the next couple of days.

Steep Ravine Hot Spring is a very well known «secret» spot in the SF Bay Area — a hot spring that is only available with low tides, it attracts comers of all ages at all times of day or night.
The hike down is very steep — there’s some poison oak but not nearly as much as Bass Lake.
This being Marin — there are locals who have been going to this spot for decades and who have developed antagonistic rivalries. Sadly, humans are territorial and these rude troglodytes think that they have the right to boss each other and others around the use of the hot spring. When I arrived there today (just in time to get behind a group of 20 with small children at the front of their queue on the mountain descent) — some of these crazy old white privileged Marin coots were screaming and yelling at each other.
One of them started offloading all his gossip about the other to me — and when I said «I really don’t like gossip» he said, «It’s not gossip — it’s true.» I pointed out that I didn’t know any of the people he was discussing — not even his own name and repeatedly had to ask him to stop, finally pointing out that he was negatively affecting my own experience at the hot spring (seriously — what do I look like, the Camp Counselor?).
The large group that had come in together thought it would be good fun to start chanting and humming in the cave — which then amplified their noise — all in all, a fairly bad experience for my first time at this hot spring. I would consider returning but not during daylight hours — perhaps around 2am low tide sometime — and certainly not during the 5−6pm low tides coming up this Thanksgiving weekend (perish the thought — 40 a-​holes screaming, yelling and acting like they are the only folk who count? No thanks!).
Plenty of other good places to visit in the Bay Area — no wonder SFBG consistently rates this a «D» (see
). Honestly, the pool is not bad, the trail is steep but not bad for adults but the locals are rude and entitled noisy jerks. This is definitely NOT «good for kids» — esp if they aren’t big & strong enough to climb up and down the trail on their own without holding up complete strangers (the trail is single file, one direction).
Note that nudity is not tolerated by the park rangers and if you find people being jerks, you should feel free to call the Ranger Station (415 388 2070) and ask a Ranger to pop in on his/​her rounds to follow-​up.