Miracle Hot Springs tops the Kern County list as the most easily accessible and best-maintained hot springs on the Kern River. Located less than an hour's drive from Bakersfield, Miracle offers a number of pools that hug the river's edge. Birch trees, granite boulders and the birds twittering in the trees combine to create an idyllic setting. The mineral water, which contains 40 dissolved minerals, bubbles out of the earth at a toasty 122 to 124 degrees. It cools as it reaches the pools, settling down to a comfortable 104 or so degrees. Miracle Hot Springs is open seven days a week. The $5 entry fee ($3 for seniors, students and children 10-18) gets you all-day access. There is staff on site 24 hours a day to provide security. "We try to keep it as safe and peaceful as possible," said manager Colin Appleton. Because the springs are open until 10 p.m. (midnight on weekends), patrons can take advantage of all the sights and sounds a night soak offers. "With all the stars in the sky, I tell you, it's the most beautiful experience," said John Nicholson, president of Friends of the Hot Springs, the group that manages the springs. Nicholson said every effort is made to keep the springs as hospitable and natural as possible, with lots of rocks cemented into place. The pools are tested every two weeks by an independent lab, are drained and scrubbed twice a week and are flushed out every half-hour. Aro Mimeux regularly makes the trek north to Miracle from her home in West Los Angeles. She discovered the springs about four years ago. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had undergone surgery, followed by chemotherapy. "I had a lot of swelling, I was just puffy altogether," she said. "Coming here, I could really see the improvement. It was incredible." Mimeux said that she believes the minerals in the water have healing capabilities. On her first visit, she came with a severe case of laryngitis. Another patron convinced her to take a sip of the water. "I swished it around in my mouth and I felt the soreness go away," she said. "I did that two or three times, then I took two sips. The pain was gone. It was fantastic." A vague odor of sulphur rises from the pools, but after a few moments of soaking, it fades away. Although a hot bath at home feels good after a tough day, there's something completely different about soaking in the hot springs. The combination of being in Mother Nature's lap and sharing the warm waters with others makes it clear -- this is nothing like having a bath at home. 

Unlike Miracle, most of the other Kern River springs are not easily accessible. Of the other eight Kern River hot springs, four -- Caliente Ranch, Scovern, Delonegha and Democrat -- are on private property and off-limits to the public. 

Remington Hot Springs, farther west along Kern Canyon Road from Miracle, is a steep hike down the hillside. It's a small, two-person tub that often ends up under water when the river is high. 

Pyramid Hot Spring, about four miles east of the Bakersfield end of the Kern River Canyon, requires crossing the river to get there, not a safe prospect most of the year, Nicholson said. 

Jordan Hot Spring, deep in the Sequoia National Forest, used to have a rustic resort with permanent pools. Today, permanent pools are no longer allowed, though the hot water still bubbles up out of the spring. 

The most difficult Kern River hot spring to find is the Kern Hot Spring -- it'll take you a full three-day hike. "It's like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'Lost World,'" Nicholson said. "There are waterfalls pouring down, soaring mountains. You have to pay by effort (to get there), not anything else." Getting to the California Hot Springs is no three-day hike, but it is a 65-mile drive. Head north on Highway 99, then take the Highway 65 turnoff toward Porterville. After cruising through the orange groves, look for a stop light at the tiny town of Ducor, turn right and head for California Hot Springs. The twisting drive up to the springs offers a scenic trip through green hills freckled with granite boulders and sturdy oak trees. At the far end of the town of California Hot Springs a large, white building with cheery-red trim and the large swimming pool in front sits on the right side of the road. Ron and Mary Gilbert have owned the hot spring for 15 years, rescuing it from almost-total decay and refurbishing it to its current family vacation destination. The main room of the resort is huge and cavernous, so it's no surprise to find out it began as a roller skating rink. Now it's filled with tables and a snack bar offering breakfast and sandwiches, a gift shop, a lending library and the Gilbert's collection of antiques. Complete with changing rooms, showers and plastered pools, these springs offer a more refined hot springs experience. The pools consist of a larger-than-Olympic-size pool and two hot tubs. The pool's temperature stays at a soothing 88 degrees and the two tubs are kept at 100 degrees and 104 degrees. The hot springs are open seven days a week. Cost is $8 for adults and $4 for children. All the water used at the resort -- pools, showers, drinking water, even bottled water -- comes from the springs, Gilbert said. "Most of the hot springs are mineral-laden," Ron Baker said. "These are just the opposite. This water is super soft and odor-free. "It's a different geology on (the Kern Valley) side of the mountain range and this side. Of course, on that side they found gold. I've never found any gold here." John Baker, his wife, Diane, and his brother Charles, who live in California Hot Springs, hit the springs just about every day. They have memberships in the resort, which allows them unlimited usage of the pools. Memberships are $250 a year or $40 a month for adults. Diane Baker had a number of aches and pains before using the springs, John said. After regular visits, she's seen an improvement in her agility and her pain has diminished. Along with lengthy soaks in the bubbling hot tubs, all three Bakers also utilize the warm pool, swimming laps on a regular basis. John said along with his wife feeling better, he's seen his brother become more toned and fit. Charles credits it all to using the hot tubs and the pools routinely. "There's no mystery here," Charles said. "You do this, you get that. It's just marvelous."