El Dorado Hot Springs
Paradise behind the Arco at Exit 94 on Highway 10
El Dorado Hot Springs is not tucked in a hillside hamlet, nor is nestled nicely in some village. El Dorado Hot Springs is located behind the Arco/ Subway Sub Station off of Interstate 10’s exit 94 in Tonopah, Arizona, population 50.
Turn right after the Arco and drive past the skeleton of Oscar’s Place y Cantina, which mysteriously burned down a few years ago and you will see a cluster of date palm trees. This is El Dorado Hot Springs, shangri la, a place you’d expect to find a diesel mechanic.
Bill Pennington developed this cluster of cropland in 1997 with his partner Camilla Van Sickle. They received support from the Naturist Society to set up tubs filled with water from the land’s irrigation system. This creation earned Pennington the nickname Desert Pete.
Desert Pete is also the name of the section of the hot springs open to the public from October to May of every year. This section consists of three individual bathtubs as well as two hot tubs. Each cistern is full of hundred degree water. These can be reached by walking through the entry way where the sign Desert Pete’s hangs. Visitors are asked one thing- not to wear any clothes in this area.
All walks of life can be found in this section. A nice place to talk to strangers about something when one is wearing nothing.
El Dorado Hot Springs offers other choices for those who are more modest. A handful of tiny houses are available at an affordable nightly rate. These tiny houses come equipped with fenced in spa and clawfoot bathtub as well as a patio and a firepit. Days can be spent soaking in solitude while watching the dozens of species of birds fly above. They are even pet-friendly.
For those who cannot afford a tiny house, El Dorado Hot Springs also offers campground space. Each is on flatground and has a fire ring for the seasons when people can burn things without the fear of fire.
The grounds are surrounded by an estuary. Birds of all walks of life wander the grounds such as ducks, geese and peacocks. The keepers of the land are laid back.
So if you find yourself somewhere an hour west of Phoenix and dying of the heat. Take exit 94 to discover El Dorado Hot Springs, nirvana in an unsuspecting place, where even the dogs stay cool.
