Gillard Hot Springs

Q: Where can I check access to Gillard Hot Springs?

Check BLM — Gila Box Riparian NCA official page (east-side access via Black Hills Byway, open year-round, fee/free details): https://www.blm.gov/visit/gila-box-riparian-national-conservation-area

Clifton, Arizona (Greenlee County)

By the HotSpringsFind editorial team · How we compile records · Reviewed September 2026

View only — no soaking

Wild ~170-180F springs seeping out of the Gila River bank inside BLM's Gila Box Riparian NCA ~5 mi south of Clifton — legal and free to visit, but the source water is scalding (soaking is only possible where flow mixes with river water), the last miles of Gillard Hot Springs Road are flood-washed-out 4WD/high-clearance track, and the springs can be submerged entirely when the Gila runs high.

BLM — Gila Box Riparian NCA official page (east-side access via Black Hills Byway, open year-round, fee/free details)

Field notes — checked August 2026

Hazard: Scalding ~170-180F source water and hot ground along the bank
Hazard: Flash floods wash out the access road and canyon — never enter during storms
Hazard: Springs submerged/dangerous currents when Gila River is high
Hazard: Sandy wash driving — high clearance mandatory, 4WD preferred; easy to get stuck
Hazard: Extreme summer heat, no water, no cell service
Hazard: Smooth-wire livestock fences cross the river downstream (boater hazard noted by BLM)
SOURCE IS ~170-180F — one of the hottest springs in Arizona; it will scald on contact. Only edge-of-river mixing zones are touchable, and only at low river levels
Springs emerge right on the Gila River bank and are COVERED OVER when the river runs high — visit at low water (typically fall/winter) or you may find nothing but river
Gillard Hot Springs Road deteriorates from decent dirt to sandy-wash 4WD track; a Jan 2023 visitor found it flood-destroyed past a barbed-wire point and walked ~30 min down the wash to the river — plan to possibly park early and hike
Directions: US-191 to milepost 160 (4 mi south of Clifton), west on Black Hills Back Country Byway ~2 mi to signed Gillard Hot Springs Road, then ~4 mi rough dirt to road's end, then <1 mi walk to the springs
Historic site — an early-1900s resort (a.k.a. Morenci Hot Springs) once stood here for mine workers; only ruins/concrete remain
Free to visit: BLM charges fees only at Riverview and Owl Creek campgrounds ($5/night); hiking and backcountry driving in the NCA are free
Summer air temps are extreme; winter/spring runoff can flood the canyon — check river levels
No cell service in the canyon; nearest services in Clifton/Morenci

Temp not reportedFree when open (reported)

Check access status Browse Arizona springs

Current status

Spring

Open

Road

Washed out

Access

Public land

Soaking

Soaking allowed

Water

Dangerously hot at source

Crowds

Usually quiet

Checked August 2026 · verified against an official source · 7 sources ↓

About this spring

Extremely hot vents (~170-180°F — Arizona's hottest natural spring) emerging from the Gila River bank southeast of Clifton, discharging ~400-500 gpm. Site of an early Arizona resort used by Morenci miners; ruins remain. VIEW-ONLY: far too hot to soak. DO NOT TOUCH the water — 170-180°F causes severe burns. Road washed out; flash-flood hazard; very remote.

Gillard Hot Springs is widely described as Arizona's hottest natural spring: scalding vents discharge roughly 170-180°F water along a stretch of about 150 feet of the Gila River bank southeast of Clifton in Greenlee County, on BLM land (Safford Field Office) adjoining the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area. The flow — on the order of several hundred gallons per minute — is far too hot for immersion, and rudimentary attempts to stack rocks in the river to blend hot and cold water produce uneven, dangerous results; at high water the vents are submerged entirely. In early Arizona days a small resort here served Morenci miners; little remains beyond a sign warning of scalding water. Access via Gillard Hot Springs Road off the Black Hills Back Country Byway degrades to rough 4x4 and has been repeatedly destroyed by flash floods — one recent visitor found the road itself replaced by a flood-cut slot canyon — followed by a walk down to the riverbed.

Directions & trailhead access

Access is restricted; do not use historical directions to plan a visit.

Arizona geothermal context

Arizona's hot springs are products of Basin and Range crustal stretching, surfacing mostly along rugged canyon country around the Verde and Gila rivers. Many sit at the bottom of steep desert drainages where monsoon storms (July–September) can trigger flash floods. Desert heat makes winter the comfortable soaking season for most sites.

What a primitive site means here

Primitive springs have no facilities: no changing rooms, no trash service, often no maintained road to the pool. Expect natural rock or gravel bottoms, water temperature that varies by spot and season, and other visitors who may treat the site informally. Pack out everything you bring, test the water before entering, and leave the pool cleaner than you found it.

Fact sheet

Source temp (historical)	175°F
Trail access	Recorded coordinates — access unverified
Access fee	Reported free — verify locally
Geothermal data reference	NOAA Thermal Springs List (1980 archive)
Check land status	BLM — Gila Box Riparian NCA official page (east-side access via Black Hills Byway, open year-round, fee/free details)