Lower Eagle Creek

At a Glance

• Lesser known hot springs in an infrequented region of Arizona.
• Beautiful canyon with riparian flora all along a meandering creek.
• Camping can be difficult to access and noisy, especially on weekends.

Summary

This was one of the most beautiful canyons I have ever explored. There’s good hiking, unique hot springs, and likely climbing as I did some “bouldering” in some areas just for fun.

The industrial quality of the initial creek area is slightly off-putting, especially with the machinery noise, and the amount of loose dogs was slightly alarming, but they posed no danger and none of it was a concern once I made my way further down the road.

I definitely plan to visit again, especially when spending time in southeastern New Mexico chasing other hot springs.

Access

Morenci is a bit out of the ways from the rest of Arizona. Getting to the hot springs is pretty easy though.

1. Navigate to Eagle Creek Road. ~(33.0732134, -109.3770333)
2. Drive down towards the manufacturing area. ~(33.0582122, -109.4397697)
   • Low clearance vehicles should park now and walk, driving further involves water crossings.
3. Follow the creek and eventually take an offshoot to the right. ~(33.0464047, -109.4371802)
4. Enjoy the hot springs! ~(33.0468761, -109.4399691)

Pools

There are 3 main pools that I noticed on my visit.

Outside

In a beautiful wooded setting between cliffs sitting next to a stream, this is the only pool that I did not get into. Upon inspection the muddy bottom mixed up into the water a bit too much to justify giving myself a mud bath. It also felt hotter than my preferences. Its surroundings definitely give it appeal though!

Mine Shaft

I spent the most time in this spacious pool. The water is warm towards the front and even warmer near the back, if ye dare enter the darkness! Or bring a head lamp and explore like I did in the video above. I’d guess the tunnel goes back about 100ft. It then turns left and ends abruptly, or at least that’s how it seems…!

Shining a light around the bottom of the water reveals that the tunnel actually starts heading down, and there are stairs going left towards the entrance as well as right to head deeper back. The water is a very comfortable temperature, someone with scuba gear may be able to have fun exploring the water-filled caverns below!

Frog Cave

The best temperature for me was found in this pool. Unfortunately this is the smallest and most vertically challenged soaking area. Wearing my hair in a bun proved difficult and caused my sitting position to be a bit uncomfortable.

The sound of the trickling water and the frog who’d come visit occasionally continued bringing me back though. Shorter humans or those without bulky hair would likely enjoy the experience in here much more than I. The view out the cave is absolutely incredible, as demonstrated at the end of the first video.

Scenery

Waterfalls

I found two pretty cool waterfalls to hang around. The taller one was near the outside pool and a smaller but more active one was near the mine shaft pool. That one has a ledge you can climb to get to the top of it. I didn’t notice much of a trail after that, but it could be fun to explore someday to find the spring head.

Reception

• AT&T: Worked great and had LTE.
• T-Mobile: Had cell reception but no LTE/data.
• Verizon: Unknown.

Caveats

• The pump station area is loud if choosing to camp before any water crossings.
• Lots of dog noise from nearby properties, day and night, also echo though the campgrounds.
• Driving through the creek can be deep in some spots, but high clearance vehicles should be fine.

Recommendations

• Drive as close as you can to the hot springs.
  • I saw an unlifted Tacoma and 4Runner make it all the way to the offshoot no problem.
  • I took my unlifted GMC Safari through two water crossings after the pump station and parked right before the water crossing after the large camping area. After that I did not want to risk anymore since my runner boards hang low.

Conclusion

It was a neat area to visit for sure. Some pros and cons as with many places. The camping experience isn’t ideal, and there aren’t really many services nearby, but if you’re heading from Alpine to warmer weather or simply visiting the area and wanting to soak in new place, this definitely seems worth visiting for a few weekdays before continuing your journey.

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