California’s Miracle Hot Springs closed after second person found dead in tub

Sequoia National Forest employees dismantled the rock-and-mortar tubs that had been built at the river's edge -- but they were rebuilt by would-be soakers.

Miracle Hot Springs, on the Kern River near Lake Isabella, has been closed indefinitely after a person was found dead this month in one of the soaking tubs, Forest Service officials said.

No cause of death was made public for either case, but District Ranger Al Watson said both could be “attributed in part to the hot springs,” and that “the area will remain closed until a sustainable long-term solution is reached.”

After the 2022 death, Sequoia National Forest employees dismantled the rock-and-mortar tubs that had been built at the river’s edge — but people continued coming to the area and some attempted to rebuild the tubs. An advocacy group calling itself Kern River Angels sought an agreement that would allow its members to maintain the soaking area.

The Forest Service said that such construction without a permit is illegal on national forest land.

The agency said the closure order will probit access “to the hot springs, tubs, and general vicinity.” Sandy Flat Campground, about a mile upstream, will remain open.

Miracle Hot Springs, whose source is about 120 degrees, saw a large increase in visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they continued coming.

For much of last year, high water kept the tubs under the surface. Two men drowned in the Kern’s Sandy Flat area, in July and August, but they were not thought to have been trying to visit the hot springs.