Hooker Hot Springs (Muleshoe Ranch)

Willcox, Arizona (Cochise County)

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

Closed — verified below

Historic geothermal springs (~106-127F reported) on The Nature Conservancy's Muleshoe Ranch in the Galiuro Mountains; TNC's current official page states all ranch headquarters buildings AND the hot springs are closed to the public — day visitors may hike preserve trails (dawn-dusk, sign in at kiosk) but cannot reach or soak at the springs.

The Nature Conservancy — Muleshoe Ranch CMA official page ('All Muleshoe Ranch headquarters buildings and the hot springs are closed to the public')

Field notes — checked September 2026

Hazard: 14 mi unmaintained high-clearance road — washouts common, especially monsoon season
Hazard: Remote desert/riparian terrain — heat, flash floods in canyons, rattlesnakes
Hazard: Closed private preserve infrastructure — entering the springs area is trespassing
Springs + all HQ buildings closed to the public per TNC's current Muleshoe Ranch CMA page — historically soaking was via overnight casita guests / member reservations, but the casita program appears discontinued
Day hiking IS allowed on preserve trails from the day-use parking lot south of the main gate (dawn-dusk, year-round, sign in at entrance kiosk) — but trails do not go to the soaking area
Approach: ~14 mi on Jackson Cabin Rd/Muleshoe Ranch Rd from Airport Rd/Cascabel Rd out of Willcox — high-clearance 4WD, unmaintained, subject to washouts
Preserve protects 7 permanently flowing streams — among the best remaining aquatic habitat in AZ; sensitive-site etiquette essential
Historic site: Glendy King opened a spa here in the 1880s; ranch passed to Henry Hooker (of Tombstone fame), then to The Nature Conservancy
Nearest services: Willcox (~30+ mi including rough dirt); no facilities at the springs

106°F reportedFees reported

Check access status Browse Arizona springs

Current status

Spring

Closed

Road

Rough — high-clearance advised

Access

No public access

Soaking

Soaking prohibited

Water

Unconfirmed

Crowds

Usually quiet

Checked September 2026 · verified against an official source · 8 sources ↓

About this spring

Historic 127°F-source spring in the Galiuro Mountains on The Nature Conservancy's Muleshoe Ranch — site of Henry Hooker's 1860s ranch. Bathhouse soaking restricted to TNC members with advance reservations or overnight guests; surrounding preserve trails open to day hikers. Fee: Nature Conservancy members/advance reservation or overnight stay only. NO walk-in soaking — members/reservations only. Rough unmaintained road.

Hookers Hot Springs is a group of about a dozen springs scattered over several acres of hillside in the southern foothills of the Galiuro Mountains, described in Joseph Amasa Munk's 1905 Arizona Sketches as 'beautifully situated,' with water around 127-130°F piped into a bathhouse supplying 'a row of bath-tubs with water of any desired temperature,' the surplus irrigating a small farm. Pioneer Glendy King homesteaded the springs and ran a spa by the early 1880s; he was shot dead in an 1884 property dispute, and the ranch was auctioned in 1885 to Colonel Henry Hooker of Sierra Bonita Ranch fame. Consolidated into the Muleshoe Ranch by 1930, the springs now sit inside the Muleshoe Ranch Cooperative Management Area — tens of thousands of acres co-managed by The Nature Conservancy, BLM, and Coronado National Forest — protecting seven permanently flowing streams. TNC currently lists the ranch headquarters and the hot springs as closed to the public; preserve hiking trails are open dawn to dusk via the rough 4WD Jackson Cabin Road.

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 private-access site means here

This spring is on private property. Listing it documents the location's existence — it is not an invitation. Visiting requires explicit owner permission, and some sites are accessible only through memberships, hosted events, or arrangements with the land manager. Do not arrive unannounced.

Fact sheet

Source temp (historical)	106°F
Trail access	Recorded coordinates — access unverified
Access fee	Fees reported
Geothermal data reference	NOAA Thermal Springs List (1980 archive)
Check land status	Private land — contact the owner/manager for permission