Hike to Seclusion in Grover Hot Springs, by Brie Lenzini

Nestled in between three sides of the Sierra Nevada, Grover Hot Springs State Park is known for its beautiful meadows, pine trees, hiking trails, campground and of course its hot spring swimming pools. Just minutes away from the historic town Markleeville, Grover Hot Springs makes for a great get-away.

My second time camping at the park and quite a bit older, I wanted to take advantage of the isolation. No cell phones, no Internet and even better, no work. With only board games and nature to play with, my boyfriend and I decided to go for a bike ride through the illuminating kelly-green meadow with no destination in mind. Once we reached a trail sign and read our options for exploration, we agreed on a route to a Hot Springs Creek waterfall.

For information on winter use and camping visit Grover Hot Springs State Park’s website.

Crossing another section of the meadow, we left the Kelly-green and entered the forest-green pines. Surrounded by solitude, the trail paralleled the trickling, Hot Springs Creek. Once we hit a giant rocky hill and what we though was the end of the trail, we felt like somehow we wandered off the trail. When we sat to rest, we realized we could actually hear the waterfall was close by.

Hiding our bikes in a bush, we knew we had to trek the rocks; hoping that where we were climbing would take us to what we ultimately came to see. When we made it to the other side, we were there, or so I thought. Trying to hide my disappointment at the puniness of the waterfall, I decided to ignore my expectations and enjoy what was right in front of me.

Being the monkey that I am, I climbed each shelf of the waterfall until I reached what appeared to be the top. My boyfriend followed. On a dry rock looking over what we had just climbed, we sat together but alone in the middle of the woods. We thought about how lucky we were to finally get away from our everyday lives.

The sound of the water was nothing but relaxing. I didn’t want to go back to camp and I definitely did not want to go home. As we were sitting, my exploratory side told me to keep on following the water up stream. Maybe we were closer to Burnside Lake than we thought. Then about 20 feet up stream and to our surprise, we found why people hike to this waterfall.

To our right was a crystal clear pool of water enclosed by two giant boulders and a beautiful waterfall pouring right into it. It didn’t matter that the actual fall was no larger than eight feet tall. It was breathtaking. Straight from a movie. But just for the two of us. How magnificent.

Although the water felt absolutely freezing, its cleanliness felt like nothing I have ever felt before. We enjoyed ourselves for a good chunk of time before we realized that my mom might be starting to worry. We went back to camp and told everyone our discovery. We went back the next day.

Grover Hot Springs State Park is located on the east side of the Sierra at the edge of the Great Basin Province, characterized by open pine forest, and sagebrush and meadows. The park has a pool complex with a hot pool and a swimming pool hot springs, a campground, picnic area and hiking trails. Facilities include flushing toilets, tables, fire rings, and potable water.  Up to eight people are allowed per campsite.