Baker Hot Springs — also known as Crater Springs and Abraham Hot Springs — is one of Utah's most accessible and enduringly popular free hot springs, a chain of geothermal tubs fed by 180°F source water on Fumarole Butte northwest of Delta in Juab County, with three concrete soaking pools, dispersed camping nearby, and the kind of remote high desert setting that has been drawing visitors for well over a century.

Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area near Safford, Arizona is one of the most unusual BLM recreation sites in the Southwest — 2,000 acres of sand dunes for OHV riding alongside two 106°F artesian hot tubs that sprang accidentally from an oil drilling operation in 1928, with camping, wildlife viewing ponds, and a remote desert setting far from anything.

Meadow Hot Springs near Fillmore, Utah is a rare and fragile gift — three clear geothermal pools on private agricultural land, opened to the public through the ongoing generosity of the landowner. The main pool reaches 100°F with remarkable clarity, fish swimming in the cooler pools, and the kind of quiet rural Utah setting that makes a detour off I-15 completely worthwhile. Respect the rules, pack out everything, and help keep this one open.

Sheep Bridge Hot Springs is one of Arizona's most remote natural soaking spots — a 99°F geothermal spring on the banks of the Verde River in the Tonto National Forest, reached only by a rugged 4x4 drive through Bloody Basin or a long backcountry hike.

Verde Hot Springs is one of Arizona's most storied remote soaking destinations — the ruins of a 1920s resort along the Verde River in the Tonto National Forest, where two natural hot spring pools survive among graffiti-covered walls and concrete foundations, reached by a rough 19-mile dirt road and a river crossing.