Warm Springs Bay

General.    Situated on the west side of Chatham Strait this is the place where you can have a wonderfully relaxing natural hot tub. You can either hike to the natural pools situated just feet from the waterfall or use the volunteer built bath house's just above the jetty.

Reported.    June 2004 by Fine Tolerance

Charts.    NOAA 17337.

Approach.    There are no off-shore dangers other than the easy to see rock to the north of the entrance. There is a red and white diamond shape daymark on a  light tower on the south point of the entrance which was also easily seen.

Anchoring.    We did not anchor here but took advantage of the state maintained public float which only had three vessel tied up to it. Be careful to avoid the reef that juts out 60 meters from the north shore of the bay about 180 meters before you reach the float. There is a current, caused by the waterfall, that flows eastward along and slightly under the dock which you should keep aware of when docking. For this reason it is better for a  harder to maneuver larger yacht to avoid taking an inside position in the relatively restricted maneuvering room that is available there.

It is said that anchorage can be taken at the head of both the inlet to the south of the dock (shown above with a depth reading of 25 meters) and the inlet to the east (shown with a depth of 14 meters). We did not test these anchorages out.

Points of Interest.   The warm springs make this a must stop place if you are anywhere in the vicinity. The hike up to the lake which feeds the waterfall is well worth the walk. Please be aware that this is bear country so carrying some sort of bear protection could be prudent.

 
Looking along the public float. The walk way leading up the hill to the natural warm springs can
be seen in the background. The public bath house is the building on the far right.

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