Tenakee Hot Springs Bath House

What to expect

Tenakee Springs is a village of about 100 people strung along the north shore of Tenakee Inlet on Chichagof Island, roughly 45 miles southwest of Juneau and 50 miles northeast of Sitka. The hot spring is the reason the town exists. Tlingit people used it long before miners started wintering here in the gold rush years, and the bathhouse still sits in the middle of the waterfront, across from the Tenakee Springs Market.

The building is plain. A changing room with wood paneling and benches leads to a concrete tub room with a skylight. The tub itself is about 6 by 9 feet and 5 feet deep, set into the floor over the spot where the spring rises through the rock. Water comes in at roughly 7 gallons a minute and spills out through a hole in one corner toward the beach, so the tub flushes itself all day. Sources give the temperature as 105 to 107°F41 to 42°C, with the community site settling on about 106°F41°C. It smells mildly of sulfur and is clear enough to see the bottom.

There is one tub, not a complex of pools. Expect to share it with locals, who treat it as the town bath and social room, and with the occasional visitor off the ferry or a floatplane. The room is warm even in midwinter because the hot water heats it.

Getting there

Tenakee Springs has no road connection to anywhere. You have three ways in.

• Ferry: The Alaska Marine Highway System serves Tenakee from Juneau. Sailings are not daily and the schedule changes by season, so check dot.alaska.gov/amhs or call 800-642-0066. A 2016 account put the trip at about five hours.
• Floatplane: Alaska Seaplanes runs scheduled flights from Juneau, weather permitting, and Ward Air flies charters. The seaplane base is on the waterfront a short walk from the bathhouse.
• Boat: Private and charter boats tie up at the town float. There is a fuel dock.

The town has a single unpaved lane, Tenakee Avenue, used by walkers, bikes and ATVs rather than cars. From the ferry or floatplane dock you walk to the bathhouse in a few minutes. Juneau is the hub, with Alaska Airlines service, so most visitors fly into Juneau first.

When to go

The bathhouse is open year-round, and the tub temperature barely changes with the seasons. What changes is getting there. Summer brings more ferry sailings, longer days and the best flying weather, plus kayakers and boaters passing through. Winter is darker, wetter and quieter, and floatplanes are grounded more often by wind and low cloud. If you visit in the cold months, build in a spare day in case your flight out is cancelled.

The quietest times in the tub tend to be the less popular slots in your session, such as late morning for women or late evening for men. Locals use it as a daily routine, so you will rarely have it entirely to yourself in the evening.

Rules and etiquette

The bathhouse belongs to an independent volunteer committee, not the city, and the posted rules are enforced by the people who use it every day.

• Separate hours. The schedule that has been posted for years is women from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m., and men from 2 to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. Read the sign when you arrive in case it has changed.
• No swimsuits. Bathing is nude. That is the reason for the split hours.
• Wash first. Scrub off with soap and water before you enter the tub. Do it with water drawn into a container, never with soap in the tub itself.
• Keep the tub clean. No soap, shampoo or lotion in the water, and no glass.
• Donate. There is no fee. Leave money for the bathhouse fund at the Tenakee Springs Market or the bakery. The committee pays for all maintenance this way.

The bathhouse does not publish rules for children. Treat it as an adult space with nude bathing, and ask at the market before bringing young children. There are no lockers, so leave valuables at your lodging.

History

The spring started as an open pool draining onto the tide flats. Around 1900 it was enlarged and a log cabin was built over it with a cement apron. A separate changing room went up around 1920, and the present tub room, with poured concrete walls and a skylight cupola, dates from 1939. Volunteers formed the bathhouse committee in the 1930s and still run the place. The changing room was later restored, and its stained glass windows were made and donated by local artists. Tenakee Springs Market, which faces the bathhouse, has traded on the waterfront since 1899.

Where to stay nearby

Lodging is small-scale and books up in summer.

• Tenakee Hot Springs Lodge is the one lodge in town and can arrange meals and activities.
• Rental cabins and cottages such as the Bear Rental Cabin, Forget Me Not Cottage, Ravenhill Cottage and Sea View Cottage are listed on the community website.
• Camping is allowed on Tongass National Forest land around the village, but there are no public campgrounds. Store food carefully because brown bears live on Chichagof Island.

Bring most of your food. The market stocks basics, but a barge brings supplies only four times a year, so choice is limited.

Safety notes

• Heat: At about 106°F41°C the tub is hot enough to make you lightheaded if you stay in too long. Keep soaks short, drink water and climb out slowly on the steps.
• Footing: The concrete floor and steps are wet and can be slick.
• Bears: Brown bears live on Chichagof Island. If you walk the edges of town or the old logging roads, make noise and carry bear spray.
• Medical help: Tenakee has volunteer first responders and a helipad. Anyone seriously hurt is flown to Juneau or Sitka, and weather can delay that.
• Weather delays: Floatplanes do not fly in poor visibility or high wind. Carry spare medication and plan for an extra night.

Nearby stops worth adding

Kayak rentals in town let you explore Tenakee Inlet, which is calm and sheltered compared with Chatham Strait. Old logging roads behind the village make long hikes across the island possible. If you are touring the hot springs of Southeast Alaska by boat, White Sulphur Hot Springs is on the outer coast of the same island, and Baranof Warm Springs is across Chatham Strait on Baranof Island.