Utah Hot Springs Question

[garwhal]

I will be in Park City/SLC at the end of the week and am looking for beta on a hike to hot springs in the area. So far the best info I can find is on one called "Fifth Water Hot Springs."
Three questions:
1) Here are the directions I gound: "Take I-15 south to the US-6 (Price/Manti) Exit (exit 258) Take the exit east towards the mountains all the way up Spanish Fork canyon for about 11 miles (from the exit) Not too far after the highway turns from one lane each way to two lanes you will see a turn off on the left side of the road that says Diamond Fork. Take that turn off and follow the road until you see a sign that says Three Forks Trail head. It's kind of hidden behind a log fence." Will all those roads be open in the winter?

2) Does the trail (2.5 miles from the road) need to be skinned or shoed? or is it bare and can be hiked?

3) Are there any other recommended hot springs where I can take a pretty lady near SLC or Park City. Hiking a bit is a plus.

Thank you!

[Ubersheist]

Fifth water is the only one that requires hiking. All the rest that I know of are just off a road. I don't know what the current conditions are like over there, nor have I ever been to them. However, I did enquire to some other more knowledgable people about them last year when I was in the area. My understanding is that it's usually a snow-covered trail with some pretty steep spots where snow shoes or skis would be beneficial. A good place to ask for current conditions is at the forum at http://www.soak.net/. It's also my understanding that it's far and away the best hot spring in Utah.

Another good one is Meadow Hot Spring. However, that's often very busy with families and scuba divers. Yes, scuba divers. The spring flows out of an underground cavern. It's sort of ice-cream cone shaped. I think it's over 30 feet deep in parts. It runs a tiny bit cool, but a still pleasant 100 degrees. Don't expect any privacy at all unless you show up mid-day during a week day. Weekends are busy all day, and the partiers always show up Friday and Saturday nights.

Here's a couple of pictures of it:

[powderripper]

We found an nice hot one off of 39 just out of Ogden. A small pool right next to river to cool off. It's called Ogden hot springs.
also check http://www.hotspringsenthusiast.com/USsprings.asp
we found another one (Inlet park) south of sandy but was shallow and marshy.
A good soak always feels great after skiing.

[DisArray]

Check this out- http://www.hotspringsenthusiast.com/Utah.asp

There is Hot Springs near Heber City. A heck of a lot closer than Fifth water. Can't tell you what they are like, because I've never been there. But I've heard that they are there. There is always the Homestead which has some sort of thermal feature too.