Serpentine Hot Springs. Photo courtesy Ken Hill, NPS.
Visit what is likely one of the first hot springs in North America used by humans. Archaeologists think Serpentine Hot Springs were likely discovered shortly after humans first arrived on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula about 12,000 years ago. Indigenous people have used the springs for centuries as a place for healing.
Charles McLennan traveled to the springs by dog team in 1900 and is thought to be the first non-Native to see the springs, according to the National Park Service. Miners frequented a hot springs resort on the site until 1910, when it was abandoned. In 1953, a surplus military building was moved from Nome to the springs and refurbished as a bunkhouse. Visitors still use the same bunkhouse today.
The remote springs are about 100 miles from Nome in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. They are accessible by plane or snowmachine in the winter. NPS maintains an on-site bunkhouse and bathhouse that are open year-round and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Learn more about Serpentine Hot Springs here.
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