Okay, here is the deal, I checked the weather radar on Friday morning and it showed the winter storm dumping on the northern parts of LA county.....Orange county and Riverside county were not being affected at that time. I thought if I jumped in my car and left Long Beach I could make it up to the Bowen Ranch and set up my camp before the storm hit. WRONG!!! I made it up to Hesperia and by theby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Thanks for the heads up Wizard! From the report it looks like Friday night will be pretty nasty. If it did snow about an inch or two how long would it stick to the Bowen Ranch road? Does it melt fairly quickly once the sun comes out? I would still like to come out on Saturday morning if possible and spend the day and night there.by lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Well looks like the weather is going to put a hamper on a Friday night camping trip to Bowen Ranch. I would be willing to try it but I am afraid that the gate keeper would turn me away after driving 2 to 3 hours to get there. Hopefully I will be able to camp out on Saturday night. I am going to try and make it up early Saturday morning and hope the gate will be open. I have a low riding car,by lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I was wondering if anyone has camped at the Bowen Ranch lately? I am looking to camp there on Friday 4/13 and Saturday 4/14. I was just wondering how cold and windy the nights have been the past week or so. I was looking forward to some clothes free camping and hiking if the weather permits. I should be able to make it up to the Bowen ranch by noon on Friday so hopefully I might have some warby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Splif, I was at the springs on Friday 2/10, the weather this coming weekend looks like it should be similar to when I was there on the 10th. It might be a little cool and breezy at the beginning of your hike down to the springs but once you drop down into the canyons the wind goes away and if the sun is out you stay nice and warm. I free hiked to and from the springs and did not have anyby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Hello Wizard, it was an honor to finally meet you and Phil. I really appreciate both your's and Phil's updates and advice on this website and it was nice to meet both of you in person. Like you posted, it was a beautiful day for a hike and soak on Friday. I was able to free hike both in and out, the weather was perfect. I only passed one person on my hike down and did not meet anyone on my hikby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Sad to report that the two men missing were found dead. Apparently they died on impact when their ATV plunged off a 500 foot high cliff. Our thoughts and prayers go out their family and friends. http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/22/us/california-missing-atvers/?hpt=hp_t2by lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Opps I forgot to mention the trash situation, I brought my trash picking claw with me on my trips to the springs. The springs themselves were pretty clear of trash on Friday, there were only a few cans and cigarette butts about. There were two trash bags dropped alongside the trail, I picked one up and carried it to my car, the other one was a bigger black bag tied to the fence by the lower parby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Hello neogeo, Thanks for the great report, I was also at the springs on Friday and yes that was me who was free camping up on the hill near the white van. I totally agree that the Bowen Ranch road is in really bad shape, it is way rougher than I have seen it in awhile and like you reported there were a few places where rocks are sticking up in the middle of the road. If you have a loby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I am thinking about camping this Friday night at the Bowen Ranch parking/camping area. I was wondering if anyone has camped there lately and had any kind of reports regarding their experience? I would be camping in a small dome tent and I would bring a butane stove for coffee and cooking. I have camped there in the past but it was really cold and windy, I was hoping to camp clothes free thisby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Hello imahighker and welcome to the forum. Your 2 wheel drive CRX would be able to make it to either starting point but for your first trip I would recommend the Bowen Ranch route because it is a better marked trail from parking area to the springs than the Bradford Ridge trail. To access the Bowen Ranch parking lot you would be driving the last few miles on dirt roads. I have a low siby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I was able to hike into the springs at 1:00pm after my business trip on Wednesday, August 17. It was probably in the mid 90's when I started down but the trip was not an issue at all, I was able to free hike in without any issues. I made sure to hydrate myself before taking off and then I made sure to take some sips of water on my way down. I barely broke into a sweat. There were about 5 vehiby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
QuotePaul P. I hate to hear about the additional vandalism. As much as I don't like parking at Bowen Ranch, I would not want to risk a vehicle break in by parking at the Freedom trailhead. Dadinpain, it's important to note that for every car that parks for free at the public Freedom Trailhead, the Bowen Ranch caretaker loses $5.00!! The fee for the Bowen parking area is $5.00 per PERSON!, notby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Thanks nekkid and Sam for your input. The weather reports I have been looking at are showing the high to get up between 94 to 96 degrees. I always carry a few safety items in my pack like a survial blanket that I can use to make some shade, a whistle to blow if I need help and some first aid items. I am really looking forward to a trip down to the springs. Does anyone have an updateby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I am going to be near the springs on a business trip Wednesday but unfortunately I will not be able to get to the Bowen Ranch parking lot until 12:30 pm. I usually visit the hot springs during the spring and fall seasons and go to Blacks beach during the summer months but I really want to stop by the springs on Wednesday afternoon. I will be free hiking in as usual so I will bring plenty of sunby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
mgray, I was just a the springs on Saturday 4/9 and hiked in from the Bowen Ranch parking area. The creek crossing was not too terribly difficult. If you take some time and observe others crossing you will find that there are some shallower places than others to cross. I am 6'0" and where I crossed the water was just above my waist. There are some sand bars that angle across and keep youby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Well I finally was able to spend my first night camping near the springs. I paid the fee and set up camp at Bowen Ranch ($10.00 for one person). There were a good 7 to 8 vehicles parked in the Bowen Ranch parking lot when I arrived at 4:00 pm Sunday night. I did not set up camp right away because I wanted to enjoy a soak before it got dark. I hiked down to the springs about an hour before sun dowby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Very sad to hear about Dave's accident, he and his family are in our thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate his insight and care for the springs and the surrounding area. I have always enjoyed reading his comments here on the forum, he is a great asset to our community. I hope and pray for his speedy recovery.by lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
After reading Melloguy's post about his camping trip to Bowen Ranch I discovered that there is a 3 sided outhouse for the campers to use and he mentioned that Mike Castro allows you to obtain water from somewhere near his home. I did not know that this was an option in the past and I have always brought my own. As mentioned in another post you can drink the spring water where it comes out of wby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I did not get a chance to soak in the other pools, I swam in the creek and was going to get out down by the crab cooker but at the time there were a lot of people in womb so I just spent most of my time in the Arizona pool. The sand bags seemed to be in place in the Arizona pool, the water in the pool was very warm, not much of the creek water was flowing into the pool. There were spots that yoby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I arrived at the Bowen ranch parking lot at 10:30am on Saturday 6/12. Bowen Ranch road was in good shape, I drive a Saturn station wagon that sits low to the ground and I had no issues getting to the ranch parking lot. I saw maybe 2 or 3 camp sites set up at the ranch and there were another 3 cars in the parking area. A group of 3 guys were just starting down the trail when I parked my car. Tby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I was at the springs on Saturday and I did not notice the shower pipe operating. I never got in the anniversary pool but I did swim in the creek near the Arizona pool, the water in the creek was not too cold, I was able to swim for about 5 minutes without getting overly cold. After the swim I sat in the Arizona pool to warm back up. Hopefully someone else has more info on the shower pipe statuby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Hello Jobe, I went straight on the trail over Bradford Ridge, I have done the Family canyon trail before. The trail over the ridge is probably just in poor shape from all the use it has seen recently. I have never seen so many vehicles parked at the Bradford Ridge trail head before. There were a couple of out of state vehicles parked there on Tuesday, one from Colorado, another from Utaby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Visited the springs on Tuesday morning. As soon as I got to the Bradford Ridge trailhead at 6:00 AM I knew it was not going to be very peaceful and secluded time at the springs because there were about a dozen vehicles already parked at the trailhead. So much for the theory about the middle of the week not being very crowded anymore. Once I started hiking in I warmed up rather quickly and wasby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Hiked into the springs via the Bradford Ridge trail on Saturday. Arrived at the trailhead at 11am, there were three other cars parked there. It took me a little over an hour to get to the springs. This time I took the trail that actually runs along the top of the Bradford Ridge and it is was much easier than going down via the steep canyon descent. There were about 20 people at the springs,by lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I wonder if it was the same bunch of cattle that I ran into a few weeks back. I met them on my way back the Bowen ranch parking lot. Thew were on the Bowen ranch side of the forest service parking lot. Thankfully they were not feeling agressive that day. They had stopped moving when they saw me and we had a kind of stare down, eventually they went on their way and left me alone. Not sure whaby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I was able to get to the springs on Wednesday. Arrived at Bowen Ranch at around 10:15 am. When I got to the parking lot there was only one other car there, a couple from San Diego. We hiked down together for part of the way. A few errant cow pies could be found along the trail. There were motorcycle tracks on the trail for about half of the trip down. Between the cattle and the motorby lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
I am planning on getting back to the springs on Wednesday at around 10 am, anyone else going? It has been too long since my last visit, hope it is not too cold, looking forward to a little sun time on the hike down and back. I see it is suppose to rain on Wednesday night but I hope to beat it.by lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Thanks Wizard and Murray, with the way the government's budget is these days I was wondering if they were looking at increasing the size of the Forest Adventure Pass area in order to collect some more revenue. I just wanted to get a confirmation that the boundry line is still nearer to Arrowhead than to the Bradford Ridge trail head. Thanks again.by lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California
Just wanting to double check, when you park at the Bradford Ridge trailhead, by the white bridge, are Forest Adventure Passes still not required? I have gone to the Forest Service website and pulled up the High Impact Area map but I cannot tell where the white bridge is in relation to the High Impact area marked on the map.by lbcalrr - Deep Creek Hot Springs, Apple Valley, California