Clothing in the bathing areas is optional,[1] however nudity is not permitted within viewing distance from the Aufderheide Scenic Byway (Forest Road 19).

In the 1860s, Hiram Terwilliger founded the site to be used for mineral water baleanotheraputic purposes after originally filing for a cinnabar mining claim.

At the time, southern access was blocked by winter road conditions and construction, making the hot springs inaccessible to the public.

[8] By the late 90s, issues developed including loud parties during the night, theft, alcohol abuse and drug dealing, as well as vandalism and littering.

[5] The Forest Service made several studies of the site in 1978–79, and improved it by building a posted trail, prohibiting nudity along the roads, as well as camping in the parking lot.

The problems improved following a 1982 study of the site by Chuck Anderson, a Forest Service worker and James L. Caswell, who was a Blue River District Ranger resulting in the area being managed by the Forest Service, the implementation of a day-use fee, with oversight by a non-profit organization, Friends of the Springs, to regulate and monitor its use.

[9] In 1994, the body of a deceased young woman with a fractured skull was found near the parking lot having apparently drowned after falling.

[10] In 1998, a day-use fee was implemented by the forestry service, alcohol use was banned and night use and overnight camping was prohibited within a nine-mile radius.