Mono Hot Springs

Oh what a place this is. 5 stars just doesn’t do it. 100 stars is more like it. Or as many stars there are in the starry starry night here!
To start-​the road there: Read the review for Mono Hot Springs Resort that Hef A wrote. He’s right. But the scareyness just adds to it’s grandeur. It will only add to your memories of a supremely adventurous trip. The mountain scenery is simply incredible, and as for danger, the necessity for driving under 20 mph probably negates much of the danger that does exist.
About the road I’d have to say the adventure and the sights you’ll see make the risk quite worthwhile (assuming nothing bad happens to you, of which there is no guarantee).
Be super careful, and like one reviewer said, «respect the road and it will respect you.» At least it seemed to when I was there.
Ok, so about Mono Hot Springs, first about the resort. We didn’t stay there, so I couldn’t tell you about their accomodations, but they seemed from the outside to be fine, really mountainy looking, ones I wouldn’t mind staying in from the looks of them. We used the general store and the hot tub baths. The people were really nice there and Jim in the store helped me out of a really horrible situation I had gotten myself into, for which I am so greatful. I don’t know if an overnight stay here would be «truly unique» but I do know that it at least would be very different than many stays a person could experience, and is one I would love to experience in the future.
They have the bathhouse there and then the real hot springs baths across the river. If you try them both you’ll find them to be vastly different. The bathhouse is clean, covered and indoor, and would be good if you have very little timeor if you stay for a few days. But it’s «pure vanilla» compared to the «tutti frutti» outdoor hot springs. That’s the one I’ll talk about.
There’s 3 ways to get to the hot springs, the 1^st 2 only if your very sure footed. Over a log that crosses the river, or over a lot of slippery river rocks. Or, the way I did it, all the way up the road to the entrance, over the bridge and back around to the other side, which is way, farther but a lot safer, especially if you’re walking a dog, like I was. It’s also as heck of a long way back.
Anyway, we walked along a trail, that had tiny «seepages» you had to walk through. Suddenly, disaster! I stepped in s spot that looked muddy and BOOM! Suddenly I was thigh-​deep in mud, my shin striking a rock as it fell, and my dog falling in with me. The thought quickly occured to me that I had just stepped into quicksand and my dog had followed me in, and as a quick review of how to handle quicksand flashed in my mind, my foot hit bottom and I knew we’d be ok. just a muddy mess. I think my dog liked it :) I climbed out and saw an old board laying there, which one could walk across instead of falling in. Maybe. If you go, just beware of the possbility of something like this.
There were some mud baths, but they were river water and probably cold. I didn’t try those but I bet they would be great. We passed a hot spring tub that was being used.
Later I saw a lady walking down from the mountain. I asked her if there was anything up there and she said there’s a shower up there, and I should go try it.
Just what I needed! An old cement tank with a thing at the top that poured hot water into a tub below. I «showered», cleaned the mud off and tried to get my dog to jump in, but she wouldn’t after feeling the hot water.
I then went back down and saw this same lady and her husband at the hot spring. It was a 2 sided rectangular tub, seemingly carved out of the rock, filled with quite warm and somewhat murky, mossy water.
What made this so different from the bathhouse was the water was much hotter, which was monumentally better. Plus this was just so much farther out in nature, away from the more «civilized» resort. It wasn’t the clean, sanitized experience of the bathhouse. I closed my eyes, felt the warmth soak in and felt the feeling that I had somehow gotten myself just a bit closer to God.
As my experience ended the couple who invited me down suggested I cross the river at a more narrow place as a short cut. I tried it, and getting my dog across the river at that point was a another story, but, with the couple cheering my dog on and telling her she could do it, we were able to get across and then I felt like some kind of Grizzley Adams pioneer.
To sum it up, if you go there, expect some hardship and struggle. Expect the thought «boy, should I really be doing this?» to go through your mind. But, and especially if this could be a once in a lifetime trip, try to press on and get it done. It’s just way better to KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE rather than wonder the rest of your life about what you DIDN’T experience.
If you survive, I’m pretty sure the experience will be worth immensly more than the money, effort and hardship involved.