Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Hello there, and thanks so much for joining us here! You are probably wondering what this podcast is all about? In this podcast, we will talk about all sorts of outdoor adventures, but primarily, for now, we will focus on hiking and backpacking. No other outdoor adventure is so accessible to so many people! So please join us as we talk about how to hike/backpack and learn how to hike any length trail from your local neighborhood parks to those long trails such as the Appalachian and others worldwide! Remember... "in every walk with nature; one receives far more than he seeks... - John Muir " See you on the trail!
Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Wild Waters: The San Francisco Hot Springs Trek
Note: This is audio only; please see YouTube for the whole video experience. Thanks! Please send us an email!
The quest for natural wonders often leads to unexpected discoveries. My journey to San Francisco Hot Springs, tucked away in New Mexico's Gila National Forest, proved to be exactly that kind of revelation.
Setting off from the trailhead in my truck (affectionately named "Black Panther"), I began the 1.3-mile descent toward the promise of wild thermal waters. The trail offered solitude interrupted only by chance encounters—a horseback rider with his pack of hunting dogs, and later, two surprisingly friendly burros wearing bells who eagerly ate peanuts from my hand. These unplanned animal meetings added a layer of charm to the adventure that no developed hot spring could provide.
Reaching the springs required crossing the ice-cold San Francisco River, where the water reached just below my knees. The reward waiting on the other side was worth wet feet: natural pools where thermal waters bubble up alongside the river, creating perfect soaking spots. Unlike commercial hot springs, these wild pools held a different magic—lukewarm waters shared with tiny fish, all surrounded by the untamed beauty of the desert-forest transition zone. The contrast between the frigid river and the comforting warmth of the geothermal pool created a sensory experience that connected me deeply to the landscape.
The entire adventure—from trailhead to hot springs and back—took about 3.23 miles of hiking and roughly two hours, including a leisurely soak. For anyone seeking to escape the developed world, even briefly, this hidden gem offers both challenge and comfort. The springs' primitive nature means they're constantly changing with the river's patterns, ensuring each visit offers something new.
Have you explored wild hot springs before? If not, the San Francisco Hot Springs might be your perfect introduction to nature's therapeutic waters. Pack water shoes for the river crossing, watch for the thorny desert vegetation, and don't forget treats to make friends with the local burros!
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There's the old Black Panther behind me. That's what I call my truck, and this is Craig the Natural Medic, embarking on a trek down this trail to the San Francisco Hot Springs. On the map it says the Frisco Hot Springs. It's either the San Francisco or the Frisco. It's about a mile and a third down to the river. The springs are just right along the river. I've got my shorts in here. Wearing pants right now. I guess I could probably've got my shorts in here, wearing pants right now. I guess I could probably change into my shorts. I'll just take them with me. I've got a pair of shorts to jump in the hot springs. I wanted to go check it out. I've never been to a wild hot springs, I've only been to formalized hot springs. Hope you'll go with me as I check out the San Francisco hot springs here in the Gila National Forest outside of Glenwood, new Mexico. All right, I'm about halfway on the trail here to get down to where the hot springs are Pretty primitive out here. I do see some power lines over in the distance to my right, but so far that's the only civilization I've seen, other than the bathroom at the trailhead. Let's see what we find out. Stay tuned.
Speaker 1:Just ran into a gentleman, nice gentleman, on horseback, with about I don't know almost a dozen dogs. Most of them had radio collars, that kind of sounds. Most of them Very friendly puppies. A couple of them were a littlears that kind of sounds. Most of them Very friendly puppies. A couple of them were a little too friendly and jumped up on me, but that's okay, looks like we go down here. I can see the river and I talked to that gentleman. There are some burrows down there of somebody's's, and he said that there's several pools people have made. He wasn't real familiar with it. He has never really done that, which I'm like. But hey, to each his own right. Lucky, he was having a nice time with his pups just riding his horse through the trail here. So we'll see what we can drum up. Hey, by the way, like this video, give it a good ol' thumbs up. That'll push it out to more people so they can see it on YouTube. And think about subscribing if you want to see more videos like this. Hey, thanks, I made some new friends.
Speaker 1:I hope that mules or burros or whatever these are, they're one or the other. I hope that they can eat peanuts. I'm pretty sure they can. But if you hear about some burros dying on the news, it wasn't me. Somebody's definitely missing some burros, though one of them's got a bell on and they're both very tame so they're very sweet. I gave them some peanuts. Then they wanted more peanuts famous last words.
Speaker 1:I did have to go through the river. I had to go through the river right here. You can probably see I'm wet from the upper Shandown. Here's a big rock cairn right there, so I guess this is the right way. I found a hot springs pool, not exactly what I anticipated, but it looks pretty neat. There are little fishes in there, but the water is pretty warm compared to you can see it. Bubbling up there compared to the surrounding when I walked through, the river was ice cold. I'm just gonna step in here by the way, I don't have any clothes on feels lukewarm bathwater. I don't feel too bad about being out here nude. Hopefully you can't see a reflection of me, so I'm not trying to be that kind of channel, but the river is running right there and here I am in this little pool. How crazy is that? Yep, my clothing and backpack are up there. Hopefully, when I get out of here in a few minutes.
Speaker 1:My burro friends will still be here. They were cute, they wanted some food, so I gave them, and hopefully burros, like I said, can eat peanuts. That's what I had for them to have, so I gave them peanuts. They even ate out of my hand. It's crazy. So definitely, gentle little guys or girls, I'm not sure which one, but that's a beautiful spot. Sun's coming over the top of the mountain, just beautiful. I'm filming this on April Fool's, but I'm definitely no fool for the San Francisco hot springs. I had allotted my time to about 30 minutes to be down here exploring the spring area and that time has elapsed so I need to get ready to head back up the trail and back to my vehicle and on to Silver City. I'll reflect some more as I get up the trail.
Speaker 1:Here was a nice pool I was in Very comfortable, not super hot water, but definitely warmer than the river water. These things move around from time to time, so this may not be here whenever you visit. This is my two mule friends, or burros. If you see them, bring them some snacks. One thing you do have to do you have to cross the water to get to the other side. So either wear water shoes or wear shoes. You don't mind getting wet because you're going to get a little wet. I'm six footish and came up to right below my knees. That's not too bad. Remember everything out here in the desert when the transition to the desert in the forest. Watch out for the pokey bushes. There's lots of pokey things out here little thorns everywhere, a little mesquite trees and other related baddies coming back into view here. It's a big green water tank over there looks like a tanker from a train that's repurposed. Maybe there's some paddocks and other things over there. I'll be for some water stock.
Speaker 1:I got back about the time I wanted to be getting back. I really wanted to be back about 6.30. The sun is going down, still windy, which is okay, and I'm going to head on down the road to Silver City. Stand by for a sum up. I've changed back shirts and I've got to the end of the trail. It was about 3.23 miles according to my Garmin, took about an hour and 42 of actual hiking time. I lighted myself 30 minutes down, 30 minutes up and 30 minutes in the hot spring and I pretty much held to that. Definitely a neat place to check out. If you need directions, I'll put those down in the description below. Did you like the video? If you did, give it a thumbs up, think about subscribing to the channel for more great content. Appreciate you watching. Take care Bye.
