Sykes Hot Springs

(update - see the end if you want some dog info)
Well, we finally were able to take one of our "off-Fridays" off last weekend, and Kate, Dustin, and I decided to go backpacking. Banjo came, although he didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. Our first plan was to head up to the Desolation Wilderness just SW of Lake Tahoe, but a call to the rangers the day before revealed that above 7500' there was still significant snow making the trails tough and campsites difficult. Not wanting to subject Banjo (and ourselves) to quite that much adventure, we opted for a trip south to Big Sur and the Ventana Wilderness, with Sykes Hot Springs as or destination.

Being one of the few hot springs within a reasonable drive from the Bay Area, Sykes is understandably quite popular, and all I had read warned me to expect crowds and not much privacy on summer weekends. We started the ten mile hike in from Big Sur Station at around 2:30 pm, expecting to stop at one of the camps before Sykes, but as reached and passed Ventana Camp, Terrace Creek, and finally Barlow Flats and decided to keep going the last 3 miles towards Sykes to give us the luxury of spending a Friday night and Sat morning there, as well as having a more leisurely hike back out over the next 2 days. Along the way there the trail meanders about 1000' above the Big Sur river, going in and out of dark, damp redwood groves and past little waterfalls and then out around open meadows with views up and down the canyon and over to Ventana Double Cone, the Ventana Wilderness's 5,000' peak, rivaling the Grand Canyon for elevation change in such a short distance (the ocean is only about 5 miles away at that point). We made it to Sykes in time to set up our camp, collect firewood, and even take a short nap before heading down to the springs around dark. The campsites around Sykes are plentiful and some quite developed with nice big fire rings and benches, which did nothing to dispell the notion that it was a popular place, but we only saw 2 other groups there that night.

The hot springs were fantastic, too. Guidebook descriptions had led us to lower our expectations, but there were maybe 5 or 6 pools built into the rocky banks of the Big Sur river, about 1/3 mile downstream from the camp area. Some were shored up with sandbags to make them deeper, and they were all fed by an inconspicuous network of plastic tubing. I can see how they wouldn't be quite as nice with crowds of people around, but we lucked out, having a big pool to ourselves Friday night and Saturday morning the whole area was deserted except for the three (four) of us. The water was probably around 95 deg F, just cooler than a hot hot tub, but warm enough that you felt fine laying submurged for a seemingly indefinite amount of time. Only Tom was brave enough to jump in the cold river and then back in one of the pools. Poor Banjo probably didn't like the springs as much as we did - for one the water didn't seem to taste too good, and after that he mostly sat around waiting for us to leave. Oh gosh, I forgot to mention - we had STEAKS for dinner. Steaks and mashed potatoes. Ok, the potatoes were instant, but still, backpacking steaks?! Pretty awesome. Good job Kate. Almost topped by our Saturday morning pancake breakfast, good job Dustin.

Saturday was spent exploring the river a little, where I found this little water snake, along with a number of really nice-looking swimming holes. Reminded me of wandering up one of the small mountain creeks in the Whites, like the one near Ritchie-Smith cabin, while at Dartmouth. We packed up and hiked back to the Ventana Camp, which involved a 800' descent down to the river in about 1/2 mile or so. Phew! Another nice camp here, there's a picture of our campsite where you'll see Dustin, Kate, and a konked-out Banjo. What a good dog for hiking 10 enthusiastic miles one day and 7 or so the next! Other than wanting to be let out of the tent a little earlier than we might have otherwise chosen to get up, he did great for his first backpacking trip. He was by far the smallest dog out there that we saw. Oh, on Saturday, hiking away from Skyes back towards civilization, we passed 13 groups presumably headed into Sykes for Saturday night. One group was an 11-person bachelor party, one of whom had a blow-up doll inflated and strapped to his backpack while they marched through the woods. Needless to say, we were happy we made it there for Friday night.

Sunday we hiked out pretty quickly and uneventfully, stopped in Carmel for some emergency ice cream sandwiches, and then made it home with about 4 minutes to spare before I ran off to my softball game and Kate to her soccer game. Phew, we were tired Sunday night! So all in all Sykes was a pleasant surprise - the springs were a really nice destination, and the Ventana wilderness, with its combination of views, forest, flowers, water, and really nice camps, was enjoyed by all of us, but I think Banjo in particular had fun chasing the lizards.

Update - In response to apparently being the top listing for Google searches of "Sykes Hot Springs dogs" I thought I'd write some general info on hiking to Sykes with your dog. It's a great hike for both you and your dog. Dogs have to be on-leash in State Parks in CA, of which the trail to Sykes starts in. I think there's an exemption for the trail that goes up the canyon to Sykes (before it's officially in the Ventana NF), so you can have your dog off leash pretty soon after the start. The trail is nice and well traveled, but there are definitely ticks, so watch out for that. And late in the summer there isn't much water on the trail until you get down to the river, so you might want to make sure you have some for yourself and your pup. Do be aware of wildlife, if you have a small dog that might look like prey. You will likely meet other people and/or dogs on the trail, so if your dog is aggressive make sure it is under your control, as always. But all in all, it's a great place to go with your dog. Enjoy.