sol duc hot springs

Very relaxing but they let it get way too overcrowded. The staff is friendly but always in a hurry. The place really needs some TLC

Our visit was on the last open weekend before they close for winter it gets very very busy.. I would suggest getting dressed at your car you have much more space than the small locker rooms that are wall to wall people.. If you're looking to relax this may not be the place for you is that are many unattended children horsing around in the pools.

After hiking and tent camping in Olympic National Park, we thought it would be wonderful to shower and soak in natural hot springs only to be sadly dissapointed. While the reception area is appealing the changing rooms are seriously dated, uninviting, damp, crowded, unsanitary with odd showers only a few of which worked. Once out at the hot pool it was even worse as the cloudy water was filled with debris and disgusting. The sign "do not drink the water" was totally superfluous! The tiny sign suggesting you remove silver jewelery was not prominent enough to prevent us from spoiling items with sulfide deposits. There is a reduced rate for evening swimming after 6pm and the water does leave your skin feeling silky and smooth but I would not go again.

A visit to the Sol Duc Hot Springs on a sunny fall day is a great experience to close down summer in the Pacific Northwest. The Hot Springs close for the season the end of October, bit if one waits until early October, the weather is still okay and the crowds of tourists have subsided. Enjoy the curvy and length scenic drive along Lake Crescent and then a 12 mile drive up the Sol Duc River Road. This is a national park so an admittance fee is required to enter the park. Once at the Hot Springs, we paid a nominal fee for use and then spent a few hours soaking and meeting people from all over the world , mainly Japan and Russia. The place is reminiscent of European hot spas and somewhat derelict, but the ponds were clean and obviously being monitored by an attendant. The food in the restaurant is not that great and it is best to bring your own picnic basket in order to avoid disappointment.

My husband and I arrived at 10:45am on Sunday. The restaurant and snack bar were both closed but we were told that the snack bar would open shortly. One look at the pools was enough to send us packing. They were dirty and most unappealing. The whole place looked like it had not been renovated or cleaned since the 70's. We grabbed a bite to eat at the snack bar and that was a major mistake as the food matched the whole depressed air, of the rest of the place.

This was a bit of a drive from port Townsend, where we were staying but it was a beautiful one. Scenic drive by Lake Crescent and a 12 mile drive up the Sol Duc River Road. This is a national park so an admittance fee is required to enter the park. One at the Hot Springs a fee for use was paid and we spent a few hours soaking and meeting people from all over the world including Canada and Germany. Make sure you stop off at the Lake Crescent Lodge on the drive.

They need to clean the hot springs more than 2x a day...too much hair floating around. The people in the springs were wonderful. I do not recommend the hotel or restaurant.

We came just for the day. The hot springs which smell of sulphur are concrete pools, two hot ones and a large fresh water pool. They were all open and ok. Different than we expected. They were relaxing and not too crowded. No towels for outsiders. trails in the area are great and have the wonderful sol duc waterfall for pictures. trails are mostly flat and well marked just like all trails in the forest. Waterfall is worth the trek. Go for the trails and spend some time at the hot springs even if they are just OK.

There are three pools. The large, swimmable one, is cool. The middle one is like a hot tub for 20 people. There was an even smaller one that was closed. None of the pools was inviting. I asked for my money back, since I did not even want to dip my toes in these pools, and the management obliged. I do not see the attraction. Nor do I see the attraction of staying in one of the shacks in the area near the pool. By all means, do some of the hikes in the area. But give these hot springs a miss. I am comparing this to hot springs in Banff, Jasper, Radium, Fairmont. Those hot springs are worth visiting.

We thought as a family that Sol Duc Springs was not very well kept (broken chairs) and definitively crowded even in the mornings. The pools are not very big and the only thing to go for it, is the hot water. The pools are surrounded with concrete. For just the experience of it, it can be pricey for a family. If you have the time, go for it but don't make a detour. Hiking is more interesting in this area.

We came here for the first time 11 years ago and we enjoyed the place. I remember why: it was mid-off season, early on a weekly morning with misty weather, so it was possible to relax and take benefit of the hot pools. This time we arrived at 5 PM on a Sunday, the pools obviously overcrowded with babies in diapers and even people soaking in with shorts and T-shirt. The water was cloudy with body hair floating. I go to public pools and I'm used to outdoor Scandinavian spas, but that was just gross. We spent most of the time in the colder swimming pool waiting for a new pool to fill with fresh water and left after 1 hour The change room were also dirty and you have to bring your own towel. For a charge of 40$+ for a family of 4, it was disappointing and we were expecting more from a National Park facility. My recommendation would be to go anywhere else in this beautiful National Park or if you really want to try it, go early in the morning.

Sol Duc Hot Springs has been an attraction for over 100 years. It offers 3 well maintained hot pools plus one Olympic sized pool. Camping and cabins are available at reasonable prices. There is an entrance fee to the Olympic Park, unless you have a passenger in your car with a Golden Age pass. A short hike in the forest will take you to beautiful Sol Duc falls, Other hikes can take you to many other interesting sites. A decent restaurant is available, if you prefer not to do your own cooking. On a sunny day you will hear a half dozen different languages being spoken around the pools. So, it is a world class attraction. Our family tries to enjoy this area for a couple days every summer.

To fully envision Sol Duc Hot Springs, it helps to be familiar with other venues in Washington's blissfully sparsely-developed Olympic Peninsula. If you're expecting a spa of luxury and service, you may be a tad disappointed. If, however, you can relax and enjoy a natural outdoor hot spring at the end of a long road up a hefty foothill in the deep forest, you'll come to appreciate the rustic cabins, the pungent smell of natural sulfur mingled with Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar, and Douglas Fir.If you're a backpacker, camper, or budget traveler, you'll enjoy the rustic charms of Sol Duc as a great break from truly roughing it. The small cabins are neat and tidy, but by no means elegant. If you're looking for luxury, I recommend trying someplace else. Best enjoyed in early spring or late fall, and when crowds aren't there.

No soap in the men's wc, hot air drier not working in the locker rooms, no hot drinks available, nice location but it just looks like a concrete swimming pool. Despite there being hinders of towels for residents, no loan or rental towels for walk ins. You must purchase a towel at $15 if you want to go in the pool. Not the customer service we we're looking for, will never go back.

It had been 21 years since we visited the springs. We were really looking forward to it. The water was fine, but only the large (rather chilly) swimming pool has any kind of treatment. Parents insisted on bringing babies without diapers into the hotter pools. The surface of all 3 hot pools are constantly covered with dead or dying bugs. I never saw a skimmer net.The worst part of our entire 9-day trip was lunch at the outdoor cafe. They were understaffed, so someone would take an order, then get called away to help cook. The pick-up window was piled with things as they were finished and no one was watching to see if the right person was getting the food. There were no numbers or detailed receipts, so those rude enough to yell what they were waiting for into the pick-up window would get their food before those who had ordered before them. It took 45 minutes to get 2 caesar salads (1 chicken, 1 salmon) and a hummus plate. I was relieved as I carried our food to the table, until I actually looked at the salads. My daughter's looked like someone had picked the meat off a chicken drumstick, gristle and all, and thrown on the salad. My salmom was placed on the greens piping hot, which was groos enough, but when i sliced into it I found it was only cooked on the outside. Rather than wait another 45 minutes we just left earlier than planned. I won't go back.