Fifth Water Hot Springs

The Fifth Water Hot Springs southeast of Provo is great place to enjoy a beautiful canyon while relaxing in a bunch of nature-made hot tubs. Also known as Diamond Fork Hot Springs because of its location in Diamond Fork Canyon, a series of hot springs dot the Fifth Water Creek and create a great place where locals and tourist mingle. It's a beautiful area with tremendous fall colors that receives year-round visitors, and you get to bring your dogs!

From the trailhead you follow an obvious and easy trail. It has the occasional steep section, but overall it consists of flat terrain. After 2.5 miles the first set of hot springs appear in the river. You can tell you have arrived when the color of the river water changes to a light, milky blue. Several sets of hot springs are further up the trail, so keep walking if the first ones are too crowded.

There are many places here where you can easily get burned by scalding water, so always enter slowly and test areas out before your kids or dogs touch the water. Watch for the richly colored red rocks; these indicate the source of the geothermal vent and thus the hottest water. Finally, it's easy to become dehydrated very quickly in the hot springs, so be careful. Keeping these things in mind, Fifth Water Hot Springs is still a great place for a family outing or to hang out with your friends.