Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort

What to expect

Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort sits in the Sol Duc River valley on the north side of Olympic National Park, surrounded by tall conifer forest. It is the park’s developed hot spring: a lodge, rental cabins, a restaurant, a campground and a fenced pool deck run by the park’s lodging concessioner. If you want a wild soak in the backcountry, this is not that place. If you want warm, tested water with a lifeguard and a changing room after a day of hiking, it works well.

The pool deck has four pools. Three are fed by the mineral spring and one is a freshwater swimming pool:

• Small mineral wading pool: about 99°F37°C and only 6 to 8 inches deep. Open to all ages, and the one toddlers use.
• Large mineral fountain pool: about 101°F38°C and 3 feet deep. Ages 4 and up. Listed as wheelchair accessible.
• Medium mineral pool: about 104°F40°C and 3 feet deep, the hottest of the three. Ages 4 and up.
• Freshwater pool: 3 to 10 feet deep, ranging from about 50°F10°C in spring to 85°F29°C in late summer. All ages, wheelchair accessible.

The resort says the water starts as rain and snowmelt that seeps down through sedimentary rock, is warmed by gases from cooling volcanic rock, and rises back up through cracks. The mineral pools smell faintly of sulfur. Temperatures move around from day to day, and some guests find the pools cooler than they expected, so check with the lifeguard if you want the hot one.

The pools are tested daily, according to the Park Service, and they close at short notice for testing or maintenance.

Getting there

The resort is off US-101 on the Olympic Peninsula, about 40 minutes west of Port Angeles.

• From Port Angeles: Drive west on US-101 for about 29 miles, past the south shore of Lake Crescent. Turn left onto Sol Duc Hot Springs Road and follow it about 12 miles to the resort.
• From Forks: Drive about 28 miles north and east on US-101, then turn right onto Sol Duc Hot Springs Road for the same 12 miles.
• From Seattle: Allow about 3.5 hours, depending on the route and any ferry wait.

Sol Duc Hot Springs Road is paved. The park entrance station is on this road, and Olympic National Park is cashless, so bring a card or buy a pass online. Parking is in the resort lot. Sol Duc Road continues past the resort to the Sol Duc Falls trailhead at its end.

When to go

The resort is seasonal. The resort lists three periods: spring from March 20 to May 20, summer from May 21 to September 9, and fall from September 10 to November 1, when the pools close at noon. The Park Service describes it as generally open from late March to the last weekend of October. In winter the pools, cabins and restaurant are all closed.

Summer brings the longest day: six sessions plus a short evening session from 8 to 9 p.m. It is also when sessions sell out and the deck is busiest.

Late spring and September are a good compromise. The freshwater pool is cold in spring, but the mineral pools feel better on a cool, damp day, and the crowds are thinner.

Late October pairs a soak with the salmon run. The Salmon Cascades overlook, about 5 miles back down Sol Duc Road, is a popular stop in late October and early November when salmon leap the cascades.

Sol Duc Road was listed as open by the Park Service in spring 2026. Storms can close park roads at short notice, so call the park road and weather line (360-565-3131) before a long drive.

Prices and booking

Pool access is sold by session, not by the day. Each session lasts 1.5 hours, with start times at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Who	Price per session
Adults (12 and over)	$19
Children 4-11	$15
Seniors 62+, disabled visitors, military	$15
Children under 4	Free (wading pool and freshwater pool only)
Book of 10 passes	$150, sold in person

Towels rent for $5 while they last, and lockers are available but you bring your own lock. You can book sessions online through the resort’s website. Pool use is included for overnight cabin guests. The national park entrance fee is separate: $30 per private vehicle, $25 per motorcycle or $15 per person on foot or bike, each valid for seven days, or $55 for a park annual pass.

Swimsuits are the norm at a family pool like this one. Follow the lifeguard’s directions, and showering before you get in is good manners in pools that cannot be refreshed quickly.

Where to stay nearby

• Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort cabins: standard cabins and cabins with kitchenettes. Pool use is included, and rates are on the resort’s booking page. The Springs Restaurant on site serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in season.
• Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort Campground: about 82 tent sites in old-growth forest along the river and 17 RV sites with electric hookups. Most sites can be reserved on Recreation.gov, and cancellations need 72 hours’ notice. Store all food and coolers in animal-proof containers; bears and raccoons work this campground.
• Lake Crescent: on US-101 between Port Angeles and the Sol Duc turnoff, with more lodging and campgrounds on the lake.
• Port Angeles and Forks: each about 40 minutes to an hour away, with motels, groceries and fuel.

Safety notes

• Heat: The 104°F40°C pool feels hotter after a long hike. Keep soaks short, drink water and get out if you feel lightheaded.
• Small children: Under-4s are limited to the wading pool and the freshwater pool. The freshwater pool reaches 10 feet at its deep end.
• Wildlife: Black bears and raccoons are common in the valley. Never leave food in a tent or an open car.
• Roads and weather: The Olympic Peninsula is wet much of the year. Drive Sol Duc Road slowly, watch for elk and deer, and expect fog.

History

Settlers began noticing the springs in the 1880s, and local tribes knew them long before that. A large resort opened in 1912 and billed itself as a health resort, but it burned in 1916. A smaller resort was rebuilt in the 1920s and ran into the 1970s, and the current facilities date from a rebuild in the 1980s.

Nearby stops worth adding

Sol Duc Falls is the classic add-on: a walk of under a mile each way through old-growth forest from the trailhead at the end of the road, about 1.6 miles round trip, to a bridge over a canyon where the river splits into several channels. Lover’s Lane is a 6-mile loop from the resort to the falls and back along the river. For a wilder soak, Olympic Hot Springs in the Elwha valley is a separate set of undeveloped seeps; the road there has been closed to cars beyond the Madison Falls Trailhead, so it now takes a long walk or bike ride on the old road and then a trail.