Crystal Crane Hot Springs, Oregon

Crystal Crane Hot Springs is a virtual oasis in the high desert of eastern Oregon.  It’s located in Harney County, the ninth largest county in the country, and the area is known as Oregon’s Outback.  In my opinion, it’s a great place to have as a home base for everything to see in the surrounding area.  It’s billed as being a rustic get away, and that it is.
There are only seven RV sites, two with full hook-ups, and five with 30 amp electric and water.  There is no dump site here, so come with your tanks empty unless you stay in one of the two full hook-up sites.  The five water/electric sites are $18/night, and the full hook-ups are $20.  The rates are based upon two people/rig.  If you have pets, expect to pay $3/night extra for each pet.  This is the first time I’ve ever had to pay an extra fee for Emma since I’ve had her!  Since I travel solo, I asked if she could count as the second person, but it was a no go.  :(  If you have cats that stay inside the rig, there is no extra charge.  They also accept Passport America for the first night of your stay, so two nights here cost me $33.
There are also small cabins available with a camp kitchen across the driveway for fixing your own meals, and rest rooms a short walk away.
The best part, of course, is the hot springs.  Soaking rights are included in the nightly fees.  You can also soak in the springs for a $3.50 day use fee.  They even have a frequent soaker plan for local folks!
When I went to soak last night, I had the whole pond to myself.  What a relaxing way to end a long day!  The scenery is not bad either!
If you’re so inclined, you can do a private soak in a cedar lined tub enclosure (clothing optional  :)), for $7.50/hour.  They say that’s it’s for up to seven people, but I’m not sure how seven bodies could fit in that tub unless they were really, really good friends!  :)  I’m thinking it would kind of be like a can of cooking sardines!
I almost forgot.  You can also choose to sleep in a teepee overnight, or pitch a tent in the no hook-up area.  Seems like they have all their bases covered for rustic accommodations!  The staff is friendly and they give a run down on the best places to enter the hot springs for soaking, depending on your ability to handle the temperatures.  The water entering the spring is 160*!  Way too hot for me!  I walked in from a much cooler spot.  The average temp today was 99*… just perfect.  The gal in the office tonight said she was going to check out my post, since I had to stop there to get a key to take a pic of the private soaking tub.   I know if I’m ever in this area in the future, I’d stop here again.  So, it’s a thumbs up for this little “hot” spot.  :)
I did take a drive over to Malheur NWR this morning to see where and how I’ll move the rig tomorrow.  That’s another interesting tale that I’ll save for later, but I’ll leave you with this picture that I took while I was there.  Any guesses as to what bird this is?  It really did blend in to it’s surroundings.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy