Mono Hot Springs Resort has been a High Sierra summer destination since 1935, when the original stone cabins and bathhouse were built along Mono Creek in the Sierra National Forest. The resort sits at 6,500 feet on the western side of the Sierra crest, 70 miles northeast of Fresno on CA-168, with the last 15 to 20 miles on the narrow Kaiser Pass Road that climbs from Huntington Lake up to the resort. The road and the resort both open Memorial Day weekend and close in late October; outside that window the area is genuinely snowed in.
The hot springs themselves are multiple dispersed natural pools rather than a single developed mineral pool. The Old Pedro Bath, a concrete-edged historic pool built in the 1930s, is the most-photographed and the most-used. The Iodine Pool, Indian Bath, and Wamble Bath are smaller natural soaks along Mono Creek. The resort bathhouse offers private mineral tubs for guests who want a covered indoor soak. The mineral profile is mild with notable iodine content at the Iodine Pool.
Lodging is intentionally simple. Historic stone cabins from 1935 are the signature option, with shared bathhouse facilities. Tent cabins fill the budget end, and the Forest Service operates the Mono Hot Springs Campground at the same location through Recreation.gov reservations. A small general store on the property handles basic groceries and limited prepared food; there is no restaurant. Visitors who want full dining drive 10 miles to Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake or much further out to Shaver Lake.
Practically, Mono Hot Springs is a destination overnight, not a day trip. The drive in is slow (130 minutes from Fresno because of the narrow Kaiser Pass Road sections). Cell service is non-existent; cellular contact ends at Huntington Lake and does not resume until back in the San Joaquin Valley. Backcountry trip access is part of the appeal: the Mono Creek Trail connects to Edison Lake (10 miles round trip), and longer trips into the John Muir Wilderness toward Iva Bell Hot Springs and Fish Creek Hot Springs are all accessed from this corner of the Sierra.
