Jacumba Hot Springs

52 Hikes in 2025 - Hike # 9

This was another roadside stop on our trip to California. Jacumba Springs is a short 4 mile detour off the Interstate at right about the halfway point between Yuma and San Diego. Our main purpose for stopping was to get something to eat (more on that later). But then we discovered that in addition to the little hot spring pictured above, there as also a lake with a couple of trails around it, so we turned it into a mini-hike in addition to a lunch stop.

The first thing we encountered when we stopped was the old bathhouse. It was all locked up, so we didn’t get to explore the inside, but that didn’t stop Kelly from poking around the outside for a good 15 or 20 minutes. It turns out there’s some real history to this place. In addition to the bathhouse, there was big hotel, and back in the early 20th century, this was a popular destination for movie stars and other celebrities from Hollywood.

As Kelly was checking out the old bathhouse, I walked over to the little outdoor hot spring pool and noticed that there were several paths leading through some trees. It turns out there is a whole lake fed by the spring. Interestingly, there’s a little stream leading from the spring to the lake where the water is still warm. But when we dipped our toes into the lake itself, it was definitely not warm. lol, no swimming happened on this trip.

This was probably one of the shorter walks that were going to count as one of our 52 hikes. But the views were really nice, and by the time we’d wandered around the lake a time or two taking pictures, we’d logged a good mile or mile and a half.

Finally, as I said in the beginning our main purpose for stopping here was to get some food. There was a Subway up near the Interstate that was our intended destination when we left the lake. But then, I just happened to wander across the street into a little convenience store, and at the back of the store was a little deli. Danny, the owner, was super nice. He gave some advice about things to see in the local area, and of course made us some amazing sandwiches.

I had a couple of pictures that I took of the deli and our sandwiches, but then I saw that Danny has a website with videos and pictures: https://www.dannysdelijacumba.com/

You should not only check out the website, but definitely stop here to eat if you’re driving past. If we hadn’t been in such a hurry on the way home, we would have stopped here again for some jalapeno cheesecake. Next time!

Todd