One of the West Coast’s best hot springs is free. Another costs $35 and a four-mile hike.

One of the West Coast’s best natural hot springs is free. Another one will run you $30 to $35 per person, a reservation booked in advance, and roughly four miles of hiking with 1,100 feet of climbing before you get anywhere near warm water.

The third sits almost exactly in between — a quarter-mile walk, a flat $12 fee, and four rock pools stepped down a ravine like a staircase built for soaking. Same activity, three completely different price tags on the effort.

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Terwilliger Hot Springs, Oregon

Terwilliger — most people still call it Cougar Hot Springs — sits in the Willamette National Forest along Rider Creek, a few miles up the Aufderheide Scenic Byway from Cougar Reservoir. Four stone pools step down the hillside, running from about 85 degrees at the bottom to 112 at the top, so you get to pick your own temperature.

The walk in is a quarter mile on Rider Creek Trail, flat enough that it barely counts as a hike. Entry runs $12 per person for two hours, cash is easiest, and the gate closes at sundown — Thursday mornings the whole site shuts down for cleaning, so plan around that one.

Clothing is optional here, which tends to surprise first-timers more than the price does. My take: go on a weekday morning if you can swing it, because this is the easiest hot spring access on this list and the crowds know it.

Scenic Hot Springs, Washington

Scenic sits above Stevens Pass, about 10 miles east of Skykomish, and it’s the opposite experience in almost every way. You can’t walk up — reservations are required, no walk-ins allowed, and a public-access pass runs $30 to $35 per person depending on the season.

Then there’s the hike: two miles each way with 1,100 feet of elevation gain, steepest in the final third of a mile before you reach the two named pools — Lobster, running 118 to 122 degrees, and Bear Den, a bit cooler at 111 to 114. Kids under six aren’t allowed, and everyone has to be off the property by sunset, no exceptions.

It’s real effort and real money for what’s genuinely one of the more dramatic settings on this list — stone pools with Cascade peaks stacked up around you. Worth knowing before you drive out expecting to just show up and soak.

Buckeye Hot Springs, California

Buckeye is the outlier: no fee, no reservation, no gate. It sits in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest outside Bridgeport in the Eastern Sierra, down a dirt road off Buckeye Road that gets washboarded but doesn’t need four-wheel drive when it’s dry.

From the parking area, it’s a 150- to 300-foot walk down to the pools, which sit right against Buckeye Creek — cold creek water and hot mineral water mixing at the edges, so you move around until you find your spot. Free dispersed camping runs along the road nearby if you want to make a night of it, though don’t expect a bathroom or a trash can.

If Terwilliger’s slammed when you get there — and in summer, it often is — Oregon’s got a long list of backup soaks worth checking, from resort-style pools to ones that take real effort to reach. See our full guide to Oregon hot springs for the rest of the lineup.

Wherever you land, check current fire restrictions before you go — it’s peak wildfire season across all three states, and forest roads can close fast when conditions change.

Free and a five-minute walk, or worth $35 and a real climb? Depends on the kind of day you’re after — now you know exactly what each one costs.

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Trip tips: grab a rental car to get out here, lock in your hotel before the good rooms are gone, or skip both and book a camper van instead — handy if you’re chasing the free camping by Buckeye.

Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.