Terwilliger Hot Springs - Eugene, OR - a hot spring that runs into a series of pools

Terwilliger Hot Springs also known as Cougar Hot Springs can be found just a little ways from Eugene, Oregon. Forest and large boulders surround the eight creek pools found there. While there is no camping permitted at the hot springs fishing, swimming, camping and water skiing can be done at lakes near them.

Getting to Terwilliger Hot Springs is easy take State Route 126 to mile marker number 45. Take a right at the mile marker onto the road close to the sign for Cougar Reservoir, pass the bridge, and take a right. Follow the road for approximately three miles until you reach the damn. Go to the right for four miles and you will notice a small lake to the right and a sign for a waterfall. Parking is on the left side of the road with a trail on the lake's north side. It is a hike of around a quarter mile through the woods to the hot springs from here.

The geothermal pools that make up Terwilliger Hot Springs are in Willamette National Forest which is fifty-three miles east from Eugene, Oregon. Rider Creek is where the springs drain and it drains into the Cougar Reservoir. The springs can be found approximately one quarter of a mile from Auferheide Memorial Drive or the Forest Service Road 19. The Terwilliger Hot Springs are managed by Hoodoo Recreation Services.

Four of the pools were built with river stones by visitors to the area with sizes ranging from three to twelve feet across and being up to three feet deep. The source of the hot springs is located above the highest pool; it is a spring flowing out of the face of a rock at an estimated temperature of 112 degrees Fahrenheit. This creates a waterfall that flows into the three pools below it. The floor of the pools is mainly bedrock unless they have not been cleaned recently then sand, gravel and debris can be found there as well.

In 2009 volunteers and a stones-man based in Eugene renovated the pools. The concrete was removed and natural mortar was used to build the pools. This made the pools easier to keep clean and increased the appeal as a place to relax and soak in the water. The cost of the renovations is estimated to have been $40,000. The hot springs do not have a strong sulphur odor. The cost of using the hot springs is five dollars each person, payments are made to the person that guides you down the trail to the springs.

There are people of all ages at the Terwilliger Hot Springs and clothing is optional. This means that if you have smaller children you may want to go alone. When visiting the hot springs it is vital to remember that the rocks are slippery so you must take care. Those in the Eugene, Oregon area that just want to relax in a hot spa while enjoying the outdoors should make it a point to visit the Terwilliger Hot Springs found there.