Button Springs
Button Springs discharges at 93 degrees Fahrenheit within Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nye County, emerging 25 degrees above ambient at 2,325 feet elevation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the spring under restricted access protocols within a National Wildlife Refuge holding permanent protection status. The spring sits 162 meters from the nearest road, requiring a short walk to reach this thermal feature in one of the Mojave Desert's most biologically significant oases.
At 2,325 feet in the Amargosa Desert, the spring emerges within Ash Meadows' network of carbonate-rich wetlands fed by a massive fossil aquifer. The landscape receives just 3.9 inches of precipitation and 0.5 inches of snow annually, with ambient temperatures averaging 68 degrees Fahrenheit in this low-elevation desert setting. Salt grass, mesquite, and wetland vegetation surround the spring pools, creating isolated habitat patches in otherwise barren terrain. The spring flows contribute to wetland systems supporting the endangered Devils Hole pupfish and numerous other endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. Limestone outcrops and spring mounds dominate the immediate geology.
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1984 following decades of conservation battles to protect the area's unique spring systems and endemic species from groundwater pumping and development. The springs have supported continuous biological evolution for tens of thousands of years, creating a living laboratory of desert aquatic adaptation. Indigenous peoples utilized these reliable water sources for millennia, though specific documentation remains limited in refuge interpretive materials.
Access requires coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to restricted status protecting sensitive habitats. Visit October through April when temperatures moderate; summer heat regularly exceeds 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Stay on designated paths to avoid damaging fragile wetland vegetation and disturbing endangered species habitat. Bring binoculars for wildlife observation of pupfish, springfish, and wetland birds. No swimming or soaking permitted. Combine with visits to Devils Hole or Crystal Spring. Headquarters in Amargosa Valley provides current access information.
Is Button Springs worth visiting?
Best for
- Warm-water soaking