Belknap Springs Resort and Gardens: The Lodge Area

Belknap Hot Springs has been in operation since at least the 1870's.  There have been several owners over time, and you can read more about the history of the springs by checking out the following links: "A Historical Guide to Belknap Hot Springs",   "History of Belknap Springs" and "Wikipedia.com".

In 1995, the McDougal family purchased the resort and have done extensive upgrades, especially on the surrounding grounds.  The beautiful gardens make Belknap a great place for weddings and other celebrations as well as a wonderful day trip destination.

Last week when we were visiting the Upper McKenzie River of Oregon, Cary and I stopped at Belknap Springs Resort and walked around. It is free.  I took a lot of pictures to share with you guys, and am dividing them up into several posts.  This post offers up some pictures of the outside of the lodge area.  Inside the lodge there is the front desk, a dining area, hotel rooms, snacks, and the entrance to the pool.   On the outside, there is the hot spring fed swimming pool, a nice patio, The Patio Cafe, the McKenzie River and some R.V. sites. 


The Lodge:

The lodge has 19 rooms, and the price range on the website states that they cost between $100 and $185 per night.  Other options for staying at the resort include renting a cabin (7 of those) and bringing your own R.V. (47 sites).  There is also a small 13 site campground across the bridge for tent camping.  

Spoiler alert, I hate to do this, but you might want to check out TripAdvisor.com or other travel review sources to see about the experiences of folks who have stayed at the resort over the past few years.  There are so many bad reviews about the uncleanliness of the rooms and cabins and the rudeness of the staff, that I can't generously recommend that part to you in good conscience.  

We stayed there in our trailer several years ago and enjoyed our experience very much.  We may do that again someday soon.

The Patio:

"The Patio Cafe" offers ice cream and lunch.  There is lots of room to hang out and enjoy the artwork and the view of the beautiful McKenzie River.

The River:

The Pool:

There are two pools at the resort.  The main pool at the lodge is available for drop-ins.  The upper pool is for guests only.  At this time, it costs either $7.00 for an hour or $12 for all day.  If you are spending the night, the pool cost is included in your stay.  Bring your own towel, but if you don't have one you can pay $2 to use one of theirs.

Make sure to cross the bridge!  If you turn left at the end, the bridge crossing the river leads to a hiking trail up to the mountain.  A woman that we met on the bridge told us that there is a massage studio and a place to wade on that route, but I can't find out anything about that online.  We'll need to check that out next time that we go.

The extremely hot water comes right out of the ground at the end of the bridge.  I don't know why there isn't a sign there anymore, but this isn't cooled off like the pool is.  The water is piped across the river underneath the bridge and is used to fill the pool. 

If you turn right at the end of the bridge, there is a nice path that leads you to the gardens,  meadows,  "The Secret Garden"  and the tent campsites.

Please keep checking back to see the rest, as I get the other posts completed.  Yesterday, I finished a post full of beautiful pictures about "The Secret Garden at Belknap Springs Resort".

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