Bunkhouse and Amenities

Serpentine bunkhouse and bathhouse

NPS - Savannah Glasscock

The bunkhouse, outhouse, and bathhouse are located just a short walk from the gravel airstrip and present just one of the many ways visitors can interact with the landscape.

No reservations are needed to use the facilities. Keep in mind that it is on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

Main room of the Serpentine Hot Springs bunkhouse.

NPS - Bev Levene

The Bunkhouse

The bunkhouse is a barrack-like structure divided into three rooms that sleep about 12 people. The middle room is used to store gear, tools, cleaning supplies, water filters, and miscellaneous items.

The two outer rooms each contain:

• Six bunks with thin mattresses. Bring your own sleeping bag.
• A large kitchen table with benches.
• A 2-burner Coleman stove. There are two types of Coleman stoves available for use: Dual-Fuel Coleman or propane. The Dual-Fuel stove can use either white gas or unleaded gasoline. The propane gas stove uses small portable propane canisters. Bring your own fuel and matches.
• A heat drip stove. The heat drip stoves operate on heating oil. Bring your own heating oil and matches.
• Bear safe storage locker. Please store all food in the storage locker and pack out open food packages.

The bunkhouse is outfitted with basic cooking ware, cutlery, serving utensils, large and small bowls, cups, mugs, and cleaning supplies such as a mop, broom, dishpan, and biodegradable cleaning spray.

Trash cans are available, but please make sure to pack out ALL trash and recycling you accumulate during your stay. One or two heavy duty garbage bags are helpful for packing out trash.

Please store fuel in the Fuel Storage Locker located on the backside of the bunkhouse. Place fuel in the locker (doors are unlocked). Do not place fuel on top of the locker. The wooden enclosure of the storage locker is made of wood and therefore not fireproof.

 

Outhouse

An outhouse is located approximately 100 feet west of the bunkhouse near the airstrip. Bring your own toilet paper. During the winter, be prepared to dig out the outhouse. Honey buckets are not allowed for health and safety reasons.

 

Bathhouse

Across from the bunkhouse is a small structure enclosing a soaking tub made from redwood and two changing rooms. The water is fed directly through pipes from the hot spring and the river into the tub.

The cold-water pipe may freeze during the winter or the river may be too shallow during the summer to allow flow into the cold-water pipe. Be prepared to use the supplied five-gallon buckets to carry water from the river to the tub to cool the water in the tub.

Leave spigots running inside the bathhouse at all times, as turning them off would cause the tub to dry up and shrink, resulting in structural damage.

 

Health and Safety Tips

Please keep in mind that water temperatures in the hot spring can reach a dangerous 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

Water from the river contains high levels of coliform bacteria, so be sure to boil or filter it before consuming.

There are two gravity fed Katadyn water filters in the center room. These filters remove coliform bacteria and giardia. Unfiltered water goes in the top, water trickles through the 3 ceramic filters and down into the bottom reservoir. Filtered water comes out of the black spigots. To filter water, remove the top lid and pour your unfiltered water into the top reservoir, replace the top lid, and let gravity do the work for you!

It is best to not solely rely on the Katadyn water filters as they could be frozen, broken, or the filters may have not been replaced in the last six months.