goldmyer hot springs

This is a magical place for rest, relaxation, spiritual renewal and meditation all in the nude or not. The camping spots are large and spread out. We got spot #2 for added privacy.You have to work hard to get here, whether by backpacking, biking or walking, so make sure you book ahead and have a RESERVATION. If the office is closed and you can't make a reservation, ( office is only open 3 days a week- my only gripe) such as was my case on a Friday, then do check the website calendar carefully. Chances are if there are still many spots available on the morning of your departure you will be able to get in. But, you could still be disappointed if a bunch of hikers arrive before you so no complaining! With the number of visitors strictly controlled and the fact the pools are open 24 hours a day (except for cleaning) you can usually find a time to be at the pools alone. The current caretakers are lovely. Aaron bakes wonderful bread. The trail to the pools take you by incredibly ancient trees +700 years old that you want to hug as you go by. The pools are clean and quiet. Enjoy the nature around you and wash away the stress.

Not knowing what to expect, we try to keep our expectations at a reasonable level. This allows for pleasant surprises, rather than the unpleasantness of un-met expectations. We found the caretakers and the guests to all be friendly, discrete, and respectful. The campground and the hot springs were very clean, not over-used, and very peaceful. The hot springs are relatively small, so the limit of 20 people per day is a good call. The ground rules of No-Trace-Left-Behind are obviously followed by the guests, as the forest along the trails is pristine. People obviously participate in the Pack-it-In, Pack-it-out mantra. Since they do not allow fires, there are no fire pits with un-burned pieces of trash, further encouraging low-impact camping practices. If you are looking for a quiet place to relax, this should be on your list of possible destinations. If you are looking to make noise, party, or goof off, cross this place off your list. Thank you to all the guests there this past weekend for creating the wonderful atmosphere and allowing everyone to enjoy nature as it was created. You are an integral part to the whole experience being so relaxing and pleasant. We are looking forward to our next visit. The Smiths

I happened to be at Goldmyer on the day involved. We are very sorry that the caretakers had to turn away the writers of the review, but they had no choice. A part of our charter and mission is to provide a wilderness experience to youth groups such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, school groups, church groups and community groups. We have about 10 of these groups visiting each year and such a group was scheduled for the day the reviewers were visiting. The schedule is shown on the calendar on our website which indicated the exclusive use by the youth group. That is one reason that we strongly recommend making reservations. If the reviewers had looked more carefully at our website or called for a reservation, they would have discovered that the property was closed for the exclusive use by the youth group and avoided the need of the trip. However they at least had a beautiful hike. We have learned from this incident and have modified the home page of the website to make it even more clear that people walking in without a reservation run a high risk of being turned away. Incidentally, the other people which they believe were permitted to visit is simply not correct. I personally checked the springs and the caretakers did also and no one else was given permission to visit the springs or snuck in. I suspect that the two men they saw hiked out on the Middle Fork trail.

Beautiful area and relatively low foot traffic makes this a great place to get out of the city. It's also very close to town so you aren't driving all day to get there

We were trying to find a hike to a waterfall and were in the Dingford trail head parking lot. A member of Goldmyer was driving a 4 wheel drive vehicle and asked if we were going to the hot springs. We had never heard of it, but as we found out, many of our friends know about it. He gave us a ride and we found a well kept wilderness overlooking the Middlefork of the Snoqualmie river and surrounded by creeks, old growth forests and lovely, wilderness camping sites. We bathed in the hot springs (warning there are clothing optional times). My favorite was the cave with the hottest spring inside. It was like a steam bath with a lookout into the creek and forrest. There is a changing pavilion and a pit toilet. Bring your own food and water. As we were leaving we met a friend who had come there since he was a baby. We hiked out by way of the approx. 5 mile trail called Middlefork trail. It was a spectacular hike through forests, meadows, streams and over bridges with rushing creeks and waterfalls. We ate our lunch on a log which formed a bridge over a creek with our feet in a small cold water pool. It was one of our best anniversaries ever. Many friends we told about Goldmyer Hot Springs had been there snowshoeing, hiking and camping. Everyone seemed to know about it but us.

I was told to bring a mountain bike to ride there on "Middlefork". What I wasn't told is that there is a Middlefork Road and a Middlefork trail. I found the trail first which is open to mountain bikes and leads to Goldmyer. Huge mistake: I'm not an extreme mountain biker, and that's the kind of expertise needed to enjoy this trail on a bike. I ended up pushing, carrying, and hurling that bike around with me until I finally ditched it 5 miles in, just after the cutoff to the foot bridge that leads to the Dingford trail head which also (I later found out) connects to the Middlefork Road. The Middlefork trail is awesomely beautiful ON FOOT though, although there were a few places where massive tree downs blocked and otherwise obscured the path so it took a leap of faith to continue and refind the otherwise well-defined trail.

I first visited Goldmyer when I was in High School. It was rustic, and usually littered with plastic, trash, and occasional broken glass from someones beer bottle. It was all we needed at the time. Fording the river was always an adventure, but you could drive to the rivers edge then.Now the site is maintained by an organization that takes very serious the land,and strives to see that it remains as clean as possible. A footbridge has been built over the river, along with a trail to the area from Dingford Creek, for hiking. The other way would be hiking or biking on the old forest service road that is gated and is about 4+ miles from the rivers edge. Overnight Camping is available, but reservations are a must during peak times of the season. There is a fee to camp with use of the Hotsprings, but it's worth every cent. I will be back to enjoy the soak before too long.

WoW! I was sure surprized on how long the 22 mile 4x4 road took, that was an adventure in iteself. Surprized again on how much I did not want to cross the river (cold, fast, scarey!) Once there- TOTALLY worth it. A great clean, well maintained hot spring. Gorgeous setting. Wish i could have styed longer but I had not anticipated how long it would take to get there. enjoy!