Bagby Hot Springs are natural

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s in the Mount Hood National Forest, about southeast of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and about east of

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

. The springs are in the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

in a heavily forested area at elevation 2280 ft (695 m). They are just outside the boundary of the Bull of the Woods Wilderness area.

History

Bagby Hot Springs were used by Native Americans for hundreds or thousands of years. The springs are named after Bob Bagby, a prospector and hunter who came across the site in 1880."Bagby Hot Springs"
, Mount Hood National Forest, United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Sandy, Oregon, 7 March 2007. The

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

built a small guard station next to the hot springs in 1913. The Bagby Guard Station was used to house Forest Service fire patrol crews during summer fire season. In 1974, the Forest Service built a new guard station. The original cabin was closed but was left standing. In 2006, the original guard cabin was renovated. Today, it is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

but is not open to the public."Bagby Guard Station"
, ''Archiplanet'', http://www.archiplanet.org , 5 December 2006. A bathhouse was constructed at the hot springs in the 1920s. A fire, caused by bathers leaving unattended candles in the old wooden structure, burned the original wooden structures to the ground in 1979. It had become a popular spot for vandals and all-night drinking parties. The volunteer group Friends of Bagby (FOB) formed in 1981 to rebuild the bathhouses. Between 1983 and 1986, the Forest Service and FOB joined forces to build three new bathhouses at Bagby. A conflict among the leadership of FOB led to a rift within the group in the late 1990s, and the Forest Service terminated its contract with the group in summer 2001. In 2011/2012 Bagby was handed over to a concessionaire to operate, leading to a $5-per-person soaking fee. The hot springs was closed during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in 2020; many facilities were vandalized or non-functional. In 2023, management of the springs was turned over to Bagby Preservation, run by a couple who met at Bagby and who have experience running hot springs resorts.Bagby Preservation
/ref> The facilities re-opened in 2024.

Hot springs

Three major springs and several minor outlets make up Bagby Hot Springs. The largest spring flows at 24 gallons (91 L) per minute at 138 °F (59 °C). The two secondary springs produce 15 gallons (57 L) per minute at 136 °F (58 °C) and 3 gallons (11 L) per minute at 120 °F (49 °C). Water from the Bagby springs is rich in

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): M ...

, with analysis revealing the following chemicals:

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

80 parts per million (PPM),

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

51 PPM,

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ...

45 PPM,

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, (), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word "carbonate" may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate group ...

36 PPM,

chloride The term chloride refers to a compound or molecule that contains either a chlorine anion (), which is a negatively charged chlorine atom, or a non-charged chlorine atom covalently bonded to the rest of the molecule by a single bond (). The pr ...

13 PPM,

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

3.4 PPM,

hydroxide Hydroxide is a diatomic anion with chemical formula OH−. It consists of an oxygen and hydrogen atom held together by a single covalent bond, and carries a negative electric charge. It is an important but usually minor constituent of water. It ...

1 PPM,

potassium Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...

1 PPM,

fluoride Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an Inorganic chemistry, inorganic, Monatomic ion, monatomic Ion#Anions and cations, anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose ...

0.8 PPM,

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

0.1 PPM,

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

0.01 PPM,

lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...

0.026 PPM,

strontium Strontium is a chemical element; it has symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, it is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is exposed to ...

0.014 PPM, and

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

0.004 PPM.

Facilities

There is a $5/person fee to soak. Visitors buy a bracelet with cash in the parking lot or pay with cash or credit/debit card in the store at the Ripplebrook Ranger Station.

Camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

is not permitted at the hot springs or along the trail to Bagby. Alcohol is prohibited at the site.

Nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

is allowed only in the bath houses, not along the trail or other open areas. Local law enforcement officers periodically visit Bagby to ensure a positive atmosphere at the springs. The waiting time for a soaking tub varies depending on the number of people visiting the springs at a given time. Summer weekends and holidays can be quite busy. There are three bath houses at the site. The main bathhouse had five cedar log tubs each in a private room. However, this house is closed for safety reasons and is planned to be demolished and replaced. The lower bathhouse has three small two-person Japanese-style yellow pine soaking tubs and a large round tub on an open deck. The upper bathhouse is about from the other two. It has one large round tub on an open deck. Bagby Hot Springs Facilities

Access

There is no road to Bagby Hot Springs, so visitors must hike a trail from a Forest Service parking area. It is a relatively easy hike, with only a gain in elevation. The trail is maintained by the Forest Service and volunteers from the Northwest Forest Conservancy."Volunteering - Bagby Hot Spring"
, Mount Hood National Forest, United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Sandy, Oregon, 14 March 2008.

References

External links