Feb25

The John Dunn Bridge and Blackrock Hot Spring

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SDC10006The John Dunn Bridge is located in Arroyo Hondo, Taos County, New Mexico.

According to Wikipedia, The John Dunn Bridge

crosses the Rio Grande near the confluence of the Rio Hondo.

[It] is located about three miles west of Arroyo Hondo on a gravel road that parallels Rio Hondo.[1] The road, off of NM 522, runs through Bureau of Land Management property, [and] is known as John Dunn Bridge Road and County Road B-007.

Black Rock Hot Springs are located off of a dirt road on the western side of the Rio Grande after crossing the bridge.[10]

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This is a view of the Rio Grande flowing through the Rio Grande Gorge, taken from the trail to Blackrock Hot Spring.

According to http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/blackrock-hot-springs-outdoor-pp2-guide-cid402419.html,

Few of northern New Mexico’s bounty of hot springs have escaped the hands of developers and remain in a primitive condition. Blackrock Hot Spring has two characteristics that kept it from development: It has low flow, and it is located on the west bank of the rugged Rio Grande Gorge.

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View of the Rio Grande and the eastern gorge wall, taken from Blackrock Hot Spring.

Far from isolated today, Blackrock Hot Spring is New Mexico’s most accessible primitive mineral spring. From the parking area at the hairpin turn above Dunn’s bridge, a well-developed trail dives from the road and heads downstream. The trail descends quickly to the river, reaching the spring in less than a quarter-mile.

The pool is small, and the volume of hot water is low. The mineral water issues from the base of the thick pile of black lava in a narrow drainage in the wall of the gorge. Boulders that have tumbled down the watercourse have completely covered the spot where the water bubbles up from the surface.

I’ve visited the John Dunn Bridge and Blackrock Hot Spring many times. In fact, Blackrock Hot Spring was the first natural hot spring I ever soaked in.

In the summer, visitors and locals alike enjoy swimming or floating in inner tubes in the Rio Grande just below the John Dunn Bridge. Blackrock Hot Spring is popular for soaking year round.

There are actually two pools at Blackrock Hot Spring, one warmer than the other. The cooler one is right next to the Rio Grande, and I’ve seen strong swimmers jump right into the river for a quick cool-down. The less adventuress can achieve a similar effect at a slower rate by taking a dip in the cool pool.

There’s no closing time on the hot spring pools, and although folks are not supposed to stay overnight in the small parking area, I’ve done it with friends a time or two. Because I prefer to soak in the hot water when the air is cool, my favorite time to utilize the pools–especially in the summer–is around 2am. It’s usually (although not always) empty then, and other middle-of-the-night soakers (if they’re not drunk partiers), tend to be quiet and respectful of the sacredness of the spring. A friend and I once sat in the hot water with no one else around and watched a meteor shower. That was a sweet night.

Blackrock is one of my favorite undeveloped soaking spots. Clothing is optional as far as the hippies who soak there are concerned, and I’ve never heard of a ranger hassling anyone for being naked there. The water is full of lithium (so the locals say), and it’s not only relaxing, but mood-lifting as well. The view is fantastic, and if there are no stupid rich people around talking about their real estate investments, it’s a wonderful place to rest and rejuvenate.

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View of the John Dunn Bridge from the trail to Blackrock Hot Spring.

To find out about other places where you can soak in hot mineral water, check out the article “11 Hot Springs in New Mexico You Need to Visit” on the All The Rooms blog.

 I took all the photos in this post.
Filed under Places I've Been and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

6 Responses »

      • Hello Blaize, I go by lagunaberry with no caps, as I live among the Laguna Pueblo people in Laguna, NM. I’m disabled in many ways, but still force myself to stay up on my legs, one real, one a prosthetic. I use a Walker most days, but have been known to traverse on a cane, just both cones enormous pain. Nonetheless, I push on. I want to travel to the hot spring beast John Dunn bridge and would live to know, in your opinion, can a determined disabled person such as myself, who loves nature and isn’t afraid to get dirty, make it to the springs to take a dip? Maybe it will have done healing powers in my pain even, who knows? And thank you for your writings, I do enjoy a good read

        Reply ↓

  2. Hi! I have been to Black Rock Hotsprings many times and I love it too. I am looking for information about why the hot springs are considered sacred. I saw that you mentionned that in your post but without any details. Do you know more about it? I can’t find anything about it online, and I am too far to go there, unfortunately.
    Thank you!
    Lauriane

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Lauriane! Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond to your comment.

      I don’t have a quick or simple answer to your question about why the hot springs are considered sacred.

      For me, personally, the Black Rock Hot Spring feels sacred in the same way so many aspects of nature feel sacred. Mother Nature does amazing things and most natural places make me feel like I’m somewhere special.

      If you’re referring to native people’s holding hot springs sacred, I don’t have any evidence. Maybe I read something along those lines in the book Touring New Mexico Hot Springs by Matt Bischoff? I’m not sure. Maybe I’m just projecting my feeling onto our human ancestors?

      A Huffington Post article (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/christine-buckley/an-enchanting-road-trip-t_b_5544127.html) on a hot spring road trip through New Mexico calls Ojo Caliente “secluded sacred sanctuary surrounded by stunning high desert mesas is one of the oldest mineral hot springs in the country,” but doesn’t say why the word “sacred” applies.

      A Texas Monthly blurb about Truth or Consequences says, “This natural hot springs aquifer and resulting aboveground steaming pools were once considered a sacred place of healing by the Apaches.” But again, no reason given for why the pools are considered sacred.

      I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. If I run across something, I will try to remember to post the information here.

      Reply ↓

  3. Pingback: The Ten Best Things About Taos, NM | Rubber Tramp Artist

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