Fales Hot Springs

Current status: closed to the public

Fales Hot Springs is a name on the map and a place with a long history, but it is not a place you can soak. The property is privately owned and doubles as a personal residence. Local tourism information for the June Lake Loop says the owners do not allow access to the springs area, and other sources describe posted signs along the property. If you are driving US-395 looking for a soak, keep going to Bridgeport, where there are public options.

This page exists because Fales still turns up in hot spring lists and map apps, and people pull over expecting to find pools. Here is what is actually there, and where to go instead.

What to expect

From the highway you will see a ranch-like private property set in a sagebrush valley at about 7,319 feet, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. The springs rise on the slope above the road. The water has been reported at 180°F82°C at the source, according to a NOAA thermal springs list cited on Wikipedia, which is far beyond anything you could sit in. A 413-foot test well drilled here did not produce water hotter than 100°F38°C.

Runoff from the springs crosses under US-395 and flows on as a warm stream. The June Lake Loop guide says you can see that stream downstream, where it passes under the highway. Some older guides describe a small pool by the road there. We could not confirm the land status of that spot from a government source, visitors report that the water is often lukewarm or cold by the time it reaches the highway, and the spot is only a few feet from traffic moving at highway speed. It is not a soak worth planning around.

History

Fales is one of the older hot springs stops in the Eastern Sierra. Samuel Fales bought the natural springs in 1863 and developed the site into a resort in 1877. A post office named Fales operated here in 1881. By 1908 the site was a stagecoach stop with bathing facilities that used the spring water. That year Fales handed control to J.M. Mawer, though he went on living at the springs until his death in 1933, at the age of 104. Local stories, including those collected by Bodie and Bridgeport writer Ella Cain, remember him as a teller of tall tales to dinner guests.

The resort kept running under a series of owners until a butane filling accident destroyed it in 1952. A newer building went up in 1954 using settlement money from the accident. According to Wikipedia, most of that later resort was eventually torn down, and the current residence stands about a quarter mile north of the original stage stop. Various attempts to mine the surrounding travertine and other minerals failed, as the travertine was too porous to use.

Getting there

Fales sits right on US-395 in northern Mono County, about 15 miles northwest of Bridgeport. Heading south from Carson City and the Walker River canyon, you pass Sonora Junction, where Highway 108 comes in from Sonora Pass. A few miles farther on, the highway passes Fales, then climbs about 2 miles east to Devil’s Gate Pass at 7,519 feet before dropping toward Bridgeport.

Do not stop on the road shoulder in the narrow stretches. If you want a look, use a proper pullout well off the pavement and stay on the public side of the fence.

When to go

Since there is no public soaking, timing only matters for the drive. US-395 here is open all year, but Devil’s Gate and the stretch toward Sonora Junction get snow and ice from late fall through spring. Highway 108 over Sonora Pass closes for the winter, so Sonora Junction is a dead end westbound in the cold months.

Rules and etiquette

• Stay off the property. It is a private home. Entering without the owner’s explicit permission is trespassing.
• Do not block the driveway or park on the shoulder. US-395 is a busy truck route.
• Leave the warm stream alone. It is small, shallow and right beside the highway.

Where to soak instead

The good news is that two public hot springs are close by:

• Travertine Hot Springs, on BLM land just southeast of Bridgeport, has several pools on a travertine ridge. The BLM closes it to the public for set periods around the solstices and equinoxes for ceremonial use by a local Tribe, and it has closed parts of the site in the past for dangerously hot water. Check the BLM Bishop Field Office before you go.
• Buckeye Hot Springs, in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest west of Bridgeport, has small pools beside Buckeye Creek.

Where to stay nearby

Bridgeport, about 15 miles southeast, has motels, restaurants, fuel and the closest services. Along Highway 108, a short way west of Sonora Junction, the Forest Service runs Sonora Bridge and Leavitt Meadows campgrounds in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Both are seasonal and close in winter, and Recreation.gov lists Leavitt Meadows as open from about mid May to mid September.

Safety notes

• Scalding water: Water at the springs has been reported at 180°F82°C. Never put a hand or foot into unknown runoff near a source.
• Traffic: The warm stream crossing is right beside fast highway traffic. Stay well back from the road.
• Winter driving: Chains can be required on this stretch of US-395. Check Caltrans road conditions before crossing Devil’s Gate.