Commercial and wild springs are different trips
A commercial hot spring can publish explicit clothing policies, hours, reservations, and facility rules. A wilderness spring may have a clothing-optional tradition without any formal designation. Those are not equivalent forms of permission.
Look for the land manager
For a wild spring, identify who manages the land: federal agency, state agency, county, municipality, tribe, private owner, or concessionaire. Then check current rules, closures, trail conditions, fire restrictions, and sanitation information.
Do not confuse custom with law
“People usually soak nude” can be useful social information, but it is not the same thing as an official rule. If a source only describes custom, present it as custom and verify the legal context separately.
Hot-water safety matters more than the dress code
Natural pools can be dangerously hot, slippery, remote, contaminated, flooded, or seasonally inaccessible. Follow health warnings and land-manager guidance. Avoid entering a pool whose temperature or condition you cannot safely assess.
Privacy and photography
Hot springs are often small. That makes camera etiquette especially important. Do not photograph strangers or make people wonder whether a phone is pointed at them.
Leave the spring intact
Do not build new dams, add soap, leave trash, or alter fragile vegetation. Popular springs can be loved to death surprisingly quickly.
How Rebel Naturists will list them
We plan to separate official/commercial clothing-optional springs from informal-use wilderness springs and show the verification source and date. If you have current signage or access information, send it to the Scout Network.
Quick questions
Are all hot springs clothing optional?
No. Policies vary widely. Some commercial springs explicitly allow it, while some wilderness springs only have an informal tradition—or prohibit nudity.
Can I take photos at a nude hot spring?
Avoid photographing identifiable strangers without permission. Small pools make privacy especially important.
What should I verify first?
The current land manager, access status, health or closure notices, and the actual clothing policy.