Gap Spring
Gap Spring is a tepid, heavily mineralized spring on Bureau of Land Management land in Inyo County, within a few miles of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek. Public access is listed as open, and it sits a stone's throw from Emigrant Pass Road. The water runs alkaline and carries a heavy mineral load. A sample taken in the autumn of 2021 covered the usual suite, calcium through chloride. Nobody would call this hot. Warm on a cold morning is the honest description.
This is roadside water. Emigrant Pass Road passes within about eighty feet of the spring, on public ground managed out of the BLM's Tonopah Field Office. The country is mid-elevation desert, dry, a few inches of rain in a year, with light winter snow. That 2021 sample is recent by the standards of these records, so the chemistry shown on this page is probably still close to what the spring delivers today.
Winter is when the record says to come, December through February, when tepid water feels better than it will in July. You can drive up to it. No fee is listed and the land is open, though the Field Office's rules on camping near water are worth a look. Nothing on file describes a pool or its depth. The temperature on file dates from 2021.
The water at Gap Spring is slightly alkaline (pH 8.4) with 4388 mg/L total dissolved solids. It is notably rich in magnesium (known for muscle relaxation and stress relief), sodium (supports circulation and skin hydration), and sulfate (traditionally used for skin conditions and inflammation).
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Gap Spring is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear.
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