Located on the outer coast of Baranof Island on Hot Springs Bay off of Sitka Sound, 16 miles south of Sitka. This may have been the earliest Alaska mineral springs known to the Europeans and before their arrival Indians came from many miles away to benefit from the healing waters. In the mid-1800s there were 3 cottages at Goddard that were used to house invalids from Sitka. In the late 1880s, a Sitka company erected frame buildings for the use of people seeking the water's benefits. By the 1920s a 3-story hotel was built to provide more sophisticated accommodations. The building was purchased in 1939 by the Territorial Legislature as an overflow home for the Sitka Pioneers' Home. After 1946 the building fell into disuse and was torn down. Today, the city of Sitka owns the property and maintains 2 modern cedar bathhouses for recreational use. A few people live year-round on nearby private land.
There are open shelters over the hot tubs, which feature natural hot springs water and cold water. The springs are very popular with area residents. The area has outhouses. Boardwalks provide easy walking. Boaters can anchor in the bay and go ashore in skiffs. This is not a place to take a boat without a chart; there are lots of rocks and shoals, especially around the hot springs. There are protected routes to Sitka and a fascinating series of coves and channels just north of the hot springs. At the springs there are campsites in a grassy meadowlike area and on higher ground. Biting black flies (whitesox) are plentiful in the summer months.
Temperature
153 degrees Farenheit
