North of Willow Beach Harbor there are several hot springs to explore and soak in. You cannot access this part of the river on Sunday or Monday with motorboats with more than 65HP during the Summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day. So plan on visiting on Tues through Saturday. After Labor Day you cannot access it at all with boats with more than 65HP. So plan accordingly if you want to explore this area. CLICK HERE FOR FREE MAP SHOWING PWC RESTRICTIONS Care should be taken when visiting and playing in the water due to potential risk from a certain kind of amoeba that can grow in hot springs, causing illness if it enters your nose. You will see warning signs posted at the springs regarding this. Although this is a health threat, people rarely contract illnesses from visiting. Just be careful. Motorized Vessel Use - Willow Beach to Hoover Dam To allow for a wide variety of recreational opportunities the following rules are in effect. Breaking the rules will result in a $75 ticket from the National Park Service. They give no warnings! Year-round (Sunday and Monday) The canyon from Willow Beach to Hoover Dam (Black Canyon) will be managed as a primitive zone where people can experience a variety of motor-less recreational opportunities in a natural setting. PWCs and vessels with motors are prohibited on Sundays and Mondays year round. Fall, Winter, Spring, between Labor Day and Memorial Day (Tuesday - Saturday) The canyon from Willow Beach to Hoover Dam (Black Canyon) will be managed as a semi-primitive zone. PWCs remain prohibited. Boating is restricted to vessels with 65-horsepower engines or less Tuesday - Saturday. Summertime, between the Saturday of Memorial Day to Labor Day (Tuesday - Saturday) The canyon from Willow Beach to Hoover Dam (Black Canyon) will be managed as a rural-natural zone. During the busy boating season there are no horsepower restrictions and PWCs are allowed Tuesday - Saturday. Most people target their hot springs trip for Saturdays in PWC. Houseboating, water-skiing, and wakeboarding remain prohibited for safety reasons because of the narrow canyon environment. For more information, email the Lake Mead National Park Service at: lame_interpretation@nps.gov The largest hot spring happens to be the closest one to Willow Beach Harbor, about 7 m or 8mi up river from Willow Beach. It's located in a canyon just south of mile marker 60 on the east side of the river. You'll see mile markers as you go up river. This canyon is at Ringbolt rapids, the only rapids in the area. Some folks call this White Rock Cyn because the rock in the middle of the river is white from bird poop (see picture below). It can also be identified by a porta-potty (well hidden) up on a hill, only visible after you arrive on shore or pass the canyon. This canyon entrance is about 3mi south of the dam.
Canyon location N35� 57.48 W114� 43.45 As you continue north on the river there are 3 more springs. One is on the east side, just past a single palm tree located at the river edge. But this particular hot spring is a waterfall that dumps directly into the cold 53 degree river water. Although interesting to touch the waterfall to feel the temperature of the water coming down the rock mountain, you can't soak in the water like the others. (We don't have a picture of that one). As you get closer to Hoover Dam there are two hot springs on the west side of the river that have no apparent landmark to locate them with, you just have to know where they are, or in the summer look for all the people, or know the GPS location. If you have a GPS receiver the locations of these two are on our MOHAVE MAP page with LAT/LON coordinates for easy location. We recommend checking out Google Earth to get oriented if you don't have a GSP receiver to take along.

Here are some hints to locate without a GPS receiver. As you get close to Hoover Dam you will come to a sign on a cable stretching across the river that says you cannot travel beyond the sign, security area. From this point you cannot see Hoover Dam, only a big overflow pipe on the west side of the river that comes from the dam spillway. But near this overhead cable on the west side of the river is a canyon with hot springs flowing into the river. The 2 pictures above are from that area as you hike up the canyon. As you hike up the canyon you will find that some pools are hotter than others.

About a mile south of the spring above there is another hot spring on the west side (pictures below) of the river. Be careful, if you're in a boat the current is swift and it can be tricky maneuvering to shore here. It's time consuming to tie up to a rock as you see in the picture below, but it's the only way to safely secure a boat here. Personal watercraft are easier to bring into shore, but care should be taken.

CAUTION: In just 15min you can see the water level drop at these locations 5 to 10ft in depth. Below is an example of how you could spend a day or two, waiting for the dam to open up again to raise the water level. Ozzie here was lucky, he had packed enough food and drink in the boat to last him a couple days, but that doesn't make up for all the time he lost sitting around for the water to rise up to normal levels.

Canyon location: West side of river N35� 59.088' W114� 44.658' If you're wondering what this is to the right, so did we when first seen. Located on the left side canyon wall as you hike up, this apparent "growth" is a result of the hot water coming out of the side of the mountain. It looks like multi-colored slim, but I assume the colors come from the minerals in the water from deep in the ground. If you are interested in canoeing down the Colorado River from Hoover Dam this is a great adventure. You must launch at Hoover Dam to visit the hot springs on this page, as it is the only launch point upriver from the springs. WARNING, careful preparation for a trip like this is mandatory for a safe trip. See our Lake Mohave map for possible retrieval points, like Willow Beach, or Nelson's Landing. To learn how to obtain launch permits for the Hoover Dam launch site from the Bureau of Reclamation, CLICK HERE.