Lone Palm and Lost Man Hot Springs Loop

Lake Mead National Recreation Area, AZ Southern Lake Mead

Trip stats

Distance
7.3 mi
Net Gain
2,100 ft
Time
4-6 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 3
Route
Loop

Ratings out of 10

Effort
3.9/10
Personality
7/10
Beauty
7/10
Solitude
4/10
What do these mean? →

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

36.002524, -114.724200

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

Feb 11, 2017 — I was hoping to visit some leser-visited hot springs, and a couple of small notes on a topo map piqued my interest for "Lone Palm" and "Lost Man" hot springs. Both hot springs are commonly accessed via boat/kayak, but my goal was to get to both using the desert. I came back to this area in 2020, but with the goal of bagging peaks surrounding these hot springs. That trip report can be found here, and it's a bit more difficult than the route described here from February 2017.

From the trailhead (a parking area at the end of Kingman Wash Road) I followed a wash to the west. Once in the wash, two options exist: keeping to the right leads to some fun Class 3 down climbing obstacles; heading left continues down a more casual wash walk. Both lead back to the same wash. This wash led through some narrows and to the start of a technical canyon known as Secret Canyon (labeled "dryfall" on my attached map). I didn't have gear for rappeling today, nor for ascending back up for that matter, so I backtracked a bit and ascended along a social trail into the hills to the south. It was a little difficult to find the trail at times, but as of 2020 the social trail is pretty clear. I found myself just above Lone Palm Hot Spring, where a Class 2 section led down into the canyon where the springs live. It's a really lush area relative to the general Black Canyon Wilderness landscape. I headed up the canyon, where a bunch fo sandbags were piled up to form a pool (no longer there as of December 2020). I got onto the right side of the canyon to avoid brush in the drainage, then continued southeast, hopping over some boulder obstacles and emerging into a fairly major wash. I followed this wash to the head of Lost Man Canyon.

The descent into Lost Man had a few Class 2/3 obstacles, the hardest popping up as I approached the Colorado River. A couple of dryfall obstacles could be easily avoided by keeping to the left or right, but I did have to pull a couple of Class 3 moves. Once I reached the Colorado River, I realized Lost Man Hot Spring was just a small stream of hot water, no pool. Definitely a hot spring, but not the kind you'd want to soak in.

Once back out of Lost Man Canyon, I did some scrambling up a few washes and came upon a beautiful red amphitheater-like feature, another desert highlight of the day. I scrambled up and around the ampitheater and headed into the desert hills. Unfortunately the rest of the route follows AZ-93 closely enough to hear vehicles to get back to the trailhead.

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Photos

56 photos

  1. Leave the parking lot to the left and go into the gully.
  2. You can see the bridge that crosses the Colorado River near the Hoover Dam.
  3. There's a dirt road to follow for a bit, which then disappears.
  4. Short section of narrows.
  7. The wash goes into a gorgeous narrow section.
  10. A dead-end, unless you have a rope. I didn't. Plus, I don't think there's a way back up without ascending the rope.
  11. A side trail before the previous narrows that takes you over the hills.
  12. Looking down toward the previous narrows with the dead-end. Not sure what's down there?
  13. Across the Colorado River, you can see people at the Gold strike Hot Springs Canyon.
  14. Continuing south higher up along the Colorado River.
  15. Looking down into the Lone Palm Canyon.
  16. There's some graffiti that labels this concrete blockade Stoney Falls.
  17. From the manmade falls, headed toward the Hot Springs.
  20. Nearby Palm Trees.
  21. Headed up Lone Palm Canyon, looking back toward the Colorado River.
  23. Leaving the canyon and entering a wash.
  26. A random, colorful dryfall that can be easily passed.
  27. Liberty Bell Arch in the distance as you traverse the hills to enter Lost Man Canyon.
  28. The start of Lost Man Canyon.
  37. Looking down into Lost Man Canyon toward the Colorado River.
  38. A particularly sketchy dryfall obstacle that can be bypassed. I didn't realize there was a bypass until after coming down.
  40. Looking toward the Lost Man Hot Springs.
  42. Lost Man Hot Springs.
  44. Rafters across the way at Boy Scout Canyon.
  45. After coming out of Lost Man Canyon, I took the left wash here to continue back to complete the loop. Liberty Bell Arch on the right.
  46. Looking back into Lost Man Canyon.
  47. The hilly landscape. The bridge over the Hoover Dam is in the distance.
  50. A big red amphitheater unlike any of the rock I had seen all day.
  51. From above the amphitheater looking back toward the little wash.
  53. Little canyon to get to the top.
  54. Once out of the canyon, headed back to the car.
  55. You can't see it in this picture, but the road is on the right about a quarter mile away and parallels the route.
  56. Back to the trailhead.

Photo 1 of 1

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Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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GPX track

Lone Palm and Lost Man Hot Springs Loop GPX route and driving track

The complete GPX track is available to download, so you can load the route straight into your navigation app or device. The trip report, route info, photos and planning details stay free.

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