Our methodology

Editor

Information across the site is edited by John Levitt. He reviews the source material for each spring, confirms its location against mapping data, and writes the final entry. Questions, corrections, and listing suggestions all reach him directly at the address below.

Our sources

Where there is an official source, we use it. For most springs that means:

• Federal land agencies. The Forest Service, BLM, National Park Service, and USGS for anything on public land.
• State parks and tourism offices. For state run sites, swim areas, and seasonal access.
• The operator's own website. For resorts and commercial pools. For prices and hours we point you to them rather than print a number that goes stale.
• Google Maps. For confirming where each spring actually sits.

We do not use AI sources

We do not base listings on AI generated articles, auto filled directory pages, or scraped aggregator sites. If a fact cannot be traced to a real source, it does not go on the page. A person checks the sources and stands behind what we publish.

How we verify a listing

Every spring goes through the same checks before it goes live:

1. Gather the facts from the agency or operator that runs the site.
2. Confirm the location against mapping data so the pin is right.
3. Check whether it is open, how you reach it, and any hazards.
4. Write and review the entry against the sources. Anything we cannot confirm is left out.

Coordinates

For most springs our coordinates are based on the Google Maps location, so the pin points to the place we researched.

Some remote springs are not on Google Maps. For those we fall back to AllTrails and Komoot as a last resort, since the locations there come from people who have actually walked to them. When we do this, we treat the spot as approximate and say so.

Tell us if something is wrong

Places change. A spring closes, a road washes out, a fee goes up. If you have been somewhere we list and something is off, or you know a spring we have missed, email us at hello@hotspringsguides.com. We read every message and update the listing once we have checked it.