**As with all my hot spring reviews, I'm starting this out with a plea/admonition: I get a lot of…read moreguff from hot springs regulars for my "irresponsible" compulsion to share hot springs info with the world -- I guess the old-timers are afraid that the more people know about these places, the worse condition they will end up in. I steadfastly maintain that sharing is caring, and that to hoard these locations is greedy and selfish...so I'm sharing this info here with the request that, if you visit these springs, PLEASE be respectful and PACK OUT YOUR TRASH!!! I've see so many hot springs strewn with gross litter (including human and pet waste) that it really turns my stomach.** Spectacularly gorgeous, ultra remote little warm spring, sort of near the ghost town of Bodie, about 37 miles outside Hawthorne, NV in the eastern Sierra. I used the directions at this site to find it: http://www.communitywalk.com/location/walker_hot_springs/info/15719. The roads in are pretty burly, so even with 4WD my sis and I ended up parking and hiking down the last 3 miles into the canyon. If you have a Jeep or other hardcore rig with a short wheel base, you might could make it all the way down. Otherwise, just hike -- it's easy. Pass the old mine and the rusted out schoolbus, then follow the river to the left a ways, and the spring is off to the left. I'm docking a star because the water wasn't warm enough to soak in at the time of my visit, in late February. The source water was piping hot, but by the time it filled the pool (which is small and made of stone -- would fit maybe 5 people max) it wasn't warm enough to soak in comfortably. This is probably an amazing place in summertime -- I'll have to come back. The area is probably AMAZINGLY gorgeous then!

Sarah. You are pet waste. Stay away from hot springs bro, nobody likes people like you.read more

This is one of my favorite hikes in Nevada! There are a few trailheads from which you can start…read morethis hike. But one of the most popular (if you want to use that word in the Toiyabe Range) is the Stewart Creek Trailhead at the Columbine Campground. The Columbine Campground, a high altitude campground in an aspen forest, is a nice destination in and of itself. And you would be hard-pressed to find a better place to camp. The only downfall is that it only has about five spots, so it could potentially be full on weekends despite its 'middle of nowhere' location. Of course, you don't have to drive anywhere to start your hike - you are already at the trailhead when you are ready to hike. The hike is about seven miles each way and starts out in an aspen forest with running streams. You climb up through the aspen forests and through subalpine pine forests until you reach the cool, treeless alpine plateau along the ridgeline of the Toiyabe Range. Just before the peak, you unfortunately have to drop down about 600ft before making the final climb to the summit of Arc Dome. But the scenery makes it all worthwhile. The summit is downright spectacular! Views include the spine of the Toiyabe Range, the Toquima Range (and Mount Jefferson) to the east, and the surrounding valleys all around. Far to the west, you can see the Sierra along with the imposing White Mountains to the southwest. To the south, you can see the bright, concentrated sunlight on the central receiver of the Crescent Dunes Solar Plant in Tonopah. And, of course, you are unlikely to encounter the hordes of people that are so common on many hikes elsewhere.

Sitting here in my apartment overlooking Lake Michigan, I am thinking of places I've been that have…read morereminded me I am alive. The Arc Dome is one such place. It's the highest point in central Nevada's little known (among Midwesterners) Toiyabe mountain range, in the Toiyabe National Forest. You have to walk in or go in on horseback, which is how I've done it the two times I've been there. No vehicles allowed. (Horseback saves a lot of time!) Here is what the Arc Dome looks like: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/FFJAvdYJcMUICOOHhz78Qg?select=sb5HDUINfJ94hQIi6D0HXA Arc Dome is the centerpiece of the Arc Dome Wilderness Area. It towers over very lush, alpine canyons which could fool you into thinking you are in the Alps or Canadian Rockies. They are a stark contrast to the desert below. You can climb the Arc Dome in a day from the edge of the Wilderness Area, but it's more fun to pack in and camp the night before among the thick Aspen trees. The hike up to the summit is so worth the view of thousands of square miles of scenery. Both times I've been there it was clear enough that I could see the Sierra shimmering in the distant West. Check out this view: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/FFJAvdYJcMUICOOHhz78Qg?select=rOvTT3csiKmjWSoUZL2QxQ At the summit there is jar in which people have left notes of their experiences and feelings once atop the summit. There is one note in the can left by an 80-something year-old retired judge who says he still climbs the Arc Dome once annually to remind himself that he is alive. Here is a picture of the summit, in the middle of which if you look closely you can see the jar where I found this man's note about being alive, and it stuck with me. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/FFJAvdYJcMUICOOHhz78Qg?select=spH72L7PyodvD1X5Tjbpxg