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Dispersed Camping

Crab Cooker Hotsprings - Dispersed Camping

11 Reviews

About

County

Located near Mammoth Lakes, Crab Cooker Hot Springs is one of several hot water springs in the area that are suitable for soaking in. The pool consists of a manmade cement tub with water piped in from a mineral spring about 30 feet away. Though the water at the source is too hot to bathe in, or even to touch, the tub has been outfitted with a valve that allows for the control of hot water.

Crab cooker is located on land that is owned by the LA Department of Water and Power, which forbids camping. However, camping is permitted on nearby public land.

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Location

Crab Cooker Hotsprings - Dispersed Camping is located in California

Directions

The Crab Cooker hot springs are found off of Benton Crossing Road off of Hwy 395 (easy to find as the turnoff to Benton Crossing is marked by an iconic green church.) After turning onto Benton Crossing Road, pass the 3rd cattle gate, and then take a left on the next dirt road. At the end of this road you’ll find a parking area and then a .2 mile path to the hot spring. The dirt road to the hot spring is pretty rough and so a 4WD vehicle is definitely recommended, or in the least a car with high clearance.

Coordinates

37.6627603 N
118.8001536 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Good
AT&T
Available
T-Mobile
Available

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Dispersed
Group
Tent Cabin

Features

For Campers

Picnic Table
Phone Service
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.

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Contact

General Info

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Cindy L.

Traveler

Reviewed Mar. 30, 2024

Great spot

We didn’t want to take our camper and trailer combo down the side road to the hot springs but it was only a short bike ride. We camped in a wide spot on the road, but only 2 cars went by. It was late March and we woke up to snow. There are many nooks to camp in, but some of the side roads are narrow and rutted.

Month of VisitApril

Carrie

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 27, 2023

Easy to find

Was able to easily find this spot using directions from this app. We came on Labor Day weekend, Sunday and easily found a spot. It was right off the main road so not the best spot but it was perfect for the night. The hot spring was awesome and so many stars at night!

Month of VisitSeptember

Issac V.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 20, 2022

Absolute bliss

Decided to camp out for a couple days after work, didn’t get there til 3am and apparently missed a huge rainstorm by a couple hours. Needless to say we had the hot springs to ourselves the majority of the trip, parking at the edge of the dirt road with only one other car in sight , which I was told was super lucky. Woke up to the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my life. The moon was bright but still being able to sit back and watch the stars in a hot spring in the middle of the night was unreal. Not to mention the friendly cows who came to say hello and decided to hang out.

SiteNo sites just the road

Month of VisitSeptember

(4) View All

Dana W.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 26, 2021

Great spot!

I camped here in October and there was only a small handful of people here. Nice open area with views of the mountains. Watch out if it's windy because there isn't much covering.

Month of VisitNovember

Alicia

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 30, 2021

Amazing views

I went here solo camping with my dog in may 2021. Great little spot. Pretty busy on the weekends though. It was also crazy windy which I think cooled off the hot spring a bit.

Month of VisitJune

(8) View All

Alyssa L.

Guide

Reviewed May. 22, 2021

Great vibes, great views

Super cool spot. We set up our tents with a view of the hot springs. The hot spring was kind of broken when we were there so that was a bummer, but you could hike out to the slightly muddy creek for some hot water. Beautiful area, and hopefully the other guys staying there fixed the hot spring by now, they were working on it:)

Month of VisitJune

Amanda

Traveler

Reviewed May. 22, 2021

Beautiful Spot

The sunrise was absolutely stunning!

Month of VisitJune

Tucker B.

Legend

Reviewed Mar. 16, 2021

Super Cool, But Too Hot To Handle!

Got here early in the afternoon to find a group of friendly folks repairing the pipe that fills the man-made tub.

Apparently it had recently broken and caused the pool to cool down so much that it was growing all sort of funky stuff.

They repaired the pipe and cleaned up the pool, but informed me it would need at least one overnight cycle to cool off enough to be enjoyable.

Sure enough, I went down and could barely leave my fingers in for much more than five seconds.

So, I gave it a quick stir (see video) and moved on over to Shepherd's Hot Spring just over the hill!

Rachel W.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 14, 2020

Sleep with the Cows

Camped in August. Busy little spot for dispersed camping. Tents and vans were there. Views on one side are mountains. Views on the other are rolling fields / foothills with lots of cutie vocal Moo Moos and Alkali Lake! You can see other hot springs in the distance. No shade. Lots of flies and red ants. Found this spot just driving side roads off of Benton Crossing Rd which is off the 395. Amazing sunsets and sunrises. The crab cooker hot spring was a little confusing to find. Once you find it... it’s TINY. 3 people comfortably. And HOT HOT HOTTTT!

(6) View All

Thomas K.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 9, 2020

Private hotspring with mountain views

4x4 or high clearance coming in. Long dirt road with dips and rocks. Water only flowing in winter months. Lots of tent camping spots along with 8 back in spots. Really amazing views 360 degrees. No service with Verizon.

(6) View All

Thomas K.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 8, 2020

Hot spring with Mountain View’s!

Rocking road coming in but worth it for the view. About 8 spots at the end of the dirt road. Only one bar of service. It would be hard to access with anything thing over 22ft.

(7) View All