free natural hot springs

My sister and I met some locals at one of the hotel hotsprings and tagged along with them to these mystery natural hotsprings! We arrived in the dark and walked down the dark path, following the sound of rushing water, past a warning sign about losing your belongings. We stepped down the rocks and found about 50 people in a candle lit natural rapid!! It was so beautiful and great to see everyone was enjoying the hot water!! We proceeded up the far tunnel and went around a broken fence to a calmer stream lit up with even more candles! It was such an incredible evening that I will always remember! PS this was on a Wednesday night- we went back just my sister and I on a Friday night and there were barely 10 pepole there which makes it very dark. Also be warned there is a bit of a rapid up the tunnels, so walk up the furthest one. You can also ride the rapid once you're at the top but your body gets really scraped so have some drinks first haha. And don't drop anything because it will be gone (like my shirt and pants) so the less you bring the better!So to sum up...the key to this hot spring is no belongings but candles!!!

Easy to find once we knew what we were looking for. I posted a picture of where the walk down to the hot springs are from the road. Just park along the road, walk down and enjoy. It was nice after a full day of zip lining and hiking to La Fortuna Waterfall. My two teenage boys had never been in a hot spring and found it fascinating and wanted to stay forever.

In Yellostone, the hot springs will melt ya. Here they were just warm. Still very pretty,and relaxing, but not hot tub hot.

The various levels of the water features are progressively cooler as the water passes down through the falls and pools. Pick your favorite temperature hot pool and sit and enjoy.

Very easy to find, good parking and the area is just beautiful. The water is so warm and we relaxed there all afternoon. It's just like a hot tub! Skip the high resort fees and experience this for free. I would recommend water shoes if you can as I broke my toe on the rocks.

After a day of zip lining adventure, we stopped in at the free hot springs. Very nice and it felt great to know that others were paying 100 and this was free!!!

Wow, I couldnt believe it was free, it is a small natural river. it is the best place to enjoy the hot springs

Had a great hour here in the pouring rain on a Sunday afternoon. It took a bit of figuring out as to how exactly to get to the nice pools. We went down the path by the parking lot but then through the culvert and a hole in the fence to the other side of the road. The path we saw on our departure - on the other side of the road by a road sign - would have been more direct! There are no facilities so come in your bathing suit and wear beach shoes as there can be plenty of mud. Better to leave all valuables behind and bring towels in a plastic bag. There were lots of Costa Rican families enjoying the water but they were friendly and one family signalled to us to come and take their pool as they were leaving. The water is hot - a great place to be on a rainy day!

This is where the locals go to play in the hot springs which is really a hot river. You had to park along the road. It was not monitored so there we were worried about having our car broken into. We left our valuables at the hotel.

There are many hot springs in the area, but most of them are pretty cultivated and (so) you have to pay for them. Not this one though: this is a natural hot spring, as pretty as it gets! The water is very nice and warm. Steady stream of water, just lay back and relax. Watershoes recommended. Beware that there are no lockers or changing rooms.

Too frugal to pay $50-70/per person so we found these hot springs and it was just what we were looking for. Easy parking, short walk and with a hop over a small fence we were there (with 2 kids in tow!). Spent about 90 minutes soaking and enjoying our first hot springs. Combination of locals and travelers, not to crowded and very low key. Don't bring much stuff/valuables as there is no place to keep them on the shore, just a towel over a tree. Quiet, in the middle of the trees, and no one selling anything!

We wanted to experience the volcanic hot springs and we started at Tabacon Resort thinking that this was the place to be. After being told they wanted $150 per person for a day pass we decided to look elsewhere. Just down the road from the resort is what I would call the 'real hot springs'. You have to cross the rd and walk down under the bridge. At first this looked pretty sketchy but once you get in below the concrete bridge part it's a beautiful river that is completely natural unlike the resort "pools". We ended up staying for a good half hour enjoying the warm waters and the natural beauty of the place. All it cost us was $2 for parking and we felt like we actually experienced something cool!

Nice and relaxing. Lost a point for having to walk barefoot down. But lovely hot water that really relaxes you after a day of hiking.

The way it was organized to keep groups of manageable people in the hot springs!Also the ambience was very enjoyable!!

I think this is hilarious that this is on trip advisor. My husband and I stumbled upon this free hot springs when we saw people coming and going with a towel from what looked like a place where I would hang out as a teenager (under a bridge, spray paint and broken fences). But we really enjoyed this and we stayed at a great, high end resort, so it is not just for the budget conscious. We relaxed in both the upper and lower falls but if you go into the lower falls I recommend going under the waterfall and watching the water fall over you. We also saw a baby tucan there :)