Blue Point Spring – Lake Mead, Nevada

Just down the road from the more famous Rogers Springs, Blue Point Spring is an overgrown and unkept natural spring within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It’s no longer open to soaking.

In the past, there were times when visitors could soak in the waters of Blue Point Spring, but it has since overgrown and lost any ability to provide visitors with a good dip into mineral water.

What happened to the hot springs water?

Blue Point Springs Sign Nevada — Blue Point Springs near Lake Mead. Photo by: Sarah Nichols

This natural hot spring emerges from the ground at a temperature in the upper 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it warmer than Rogers Spring on average. However, it can be difficult to even find the spring when you arrive. The water bubbles out of the sand and flows down in a thin and shallow creek until it collects near palm trees. By the time it collects, it has chilled and does not have the typical warmth of a hot spring.

Plants have overgrown the entire area and made it impossible to find a section of the spring that is big enough to soak in. It is best to visit between September and May when the weather is a little bit more manageable. There are bathrooms available onsite. The National Park system keeps it open from sunrise to 10 pm. There are no places to camp nearby.

The relationship between Blue Point and Rogers

Blue Point Springs Nevada Outfall — Blue Point Spring outfall. Photo by: Thure Johnson

These two hot springs are thought to share the same mysterious source. No one has been able to tell for sure where or what the source is. There have been a few attempts to connect these two springs in hopes of diverting the water to help with farming.

In 1903, a project began to build a canal to do just that. With the use of all kinds of tools and a whole horse team, they did their best to move the springs. They found that it didn’t work because the water would flow only a short distance before it started to disappear into the sand.

Next, they tried lining the ditch with clay to stop the water from absorbing. It also did not work. With a loan, they purchased cement and tried using that to line the ditch. Though they managed to divert the water to their farmlands, the whole project was given up for an economic failure.

The story goes that the workers drank the spring water as they worked. Due to the number of minerals found in natural hot springs, minerals that would act as laxatives, the workers ended up losing lots of weight. They began to nickname the channel from Blue Point Spring “Slim Creek.”

Blue Point Spring Nevada Palm Trees — Palm trees at Blue Point Spring. Photo by: rjcox

Others have tried to connect the two springs as well. In the late 1930s, some people tried to construct a waterfowl refuge. It was never finished. Later, in the ’50s, a tropical fish hatchery tried to operate at Blue Point Spring. That also did not work.

Much like the attempts to make something out of the water, Blue Point Spring seems to have a mind of its own. Its heyday were certainly days in the past. Stop by if you want to explore the stream and see if you can find where it guzzles out from the depths of the ground. Blue Point Spring, though not a hot spring you will be able to sit in, has a unique history and an incredible desert view all around.