Faywood Hot Springs offers relaxing and rejuvenating mineral baths in a desert oasis two hours northwest of El Paso in southeastern New Mexico.
The healing waters seep from a tufa rock dome 30 feet above the desert floor. The mineral-laced water in the tubs ranges from 102 degrees to 110 degrees without the sulfur smell of many hot springs. A soak in the public and private pools leaves the skin feeling revived and sore muscles soothed.
Don’t go expecting a spa with fancy soaps. This is a bare-bones, do-it-yourself health resort with a laid-back old-hippie vibe that offers clothing-optional options.
Overnight accommodations range from cabins, RV slips with full hookups, and tent camping among the trees. Faywood no longer allows day-use visitors.
Just off the Texas-to-California road, the hot springs were a popular stopping place during the 1849 gold rush. The first hotel and bathhouse was opened in 1861 by a pair of former El Paso sheriffs. Billy the Kid’s mother was reputed to have taken the healing waters.
By 1896 the springs were a full-blown health resort promoted by Albert Spalding, founder of the sporting goods company. Three years later, the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs) checked in for spring training. For a while, bottles of the water were sold nationwide, and there was talk of annexing the area to Texas.
The hot springs were off-limits for 47 years until new owners built most of the current facilities in 1995.
Faywood Hot Springs is between Deming and Silver City, N.M., next door to City of Rocks State Park. Reservations are required. The office includes a small store, but it’s best to bring everything you’ll need during your stay.
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