Hot springs in Alaska

Alaska has 97 known thermal springs, according to the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, which keeps a statewide database of springs, wells and volcanic vents. They fall into three broad settings. In the Interior and on the Seward Peninsula, springs rise along fractures near the margins of granitic plutons, heated by deep circulation rather than by active volcanoes. Along the Aleutian arc and the Alaska Peninsula, springs sit near active volcanoes. In Southeast Alaska, a separate group lies in the Coast Mountains and on the islands of the Inside Passage.

Federal agencies manage most of the springs that are open to the public. The Tongass National Forest manages Chief Shakes Hot Springs off the Stikine River near Wrangell, reached by boat and a 0.3-mile trail, and Shelokum Hot Springs on the Cleveland Peninsula, about 90 miles north of Ketchikan, where a 2.2-mile trail leads from Bailey Bay; the Forest Service built its first cabin and bathhouse at Shelokum in 1916. Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, a National Park Service unit, manages Serpentine Hot Springs, where a public bunkhouse is open year-round on a first-come, first-served basis. Many interior springs are on private or Alaska Native corporation land.

Access in Alaska is seasonal and often roadless. The National Park Service says Serpentine Hot Springs is reached in winter by aircraft with suitable landing gear or by snowmachine, on staked trails from Nome and Shishmaref, once snow cover is adequate, and temperatures there can drop to about 50 below zero Fahrenheit. The Southeast springs are reached by boat or floatplane, and river levels on the Stikine affect boat access.