There is a pipe coming out of the right side of the road just before you see the mailbox with the address above. If your coming from St. Helena this water source is a little closer than Rattlesnake Spring and chances are the wait will also be less since it does not get as much traffic. The water is very clean and good tasting. I haven’t been to Rattlesnake Spring but someone who I talked with who has been to both said they taste similar. I have not tested the water but would like to do that in the future.
Nearest Address
1416 Howell Mountain Road
Directions from Nearest Address
If you are coming from 29/Sonoma Calistoga you want to pass downtown Angwin. You want to go a couple of miles and look to your right to find the pipe coming out of the side of the road with a wood plank on the ground. You’ve just passed it if you see the mailboxes on your left starting with the address 1435. You can see the pipes and wood plank if you view Google street view very carefully.
I have been getting water from this spring for about 8 years. The water is the best of the three in my area. The other two being rattlesnake and Stinson Beach. The only thing you need to be aware of is the traffic can come around that curve very fast. We always put out electric flashers so people know we are there. It is also a bit of a trek to get the water up to your car.
Spring is amazing. Drinking only this water for 9 months now and love it. Fill up from the top spout as you’ll get a little debris filling from the bottom… And if you haver extra time, check out Linda Falls on the way back down into the valley. Park right near the sign of Caioca Pass right after the college and before the road goes up the hill. You’ll see a paved trail, follow that, go over a bridge and keep an eye out for some old hay bails on the left. Turn off the paved trail there and follow the path down until you hear the falls. Stay right at the first fork and then keep walking and you’ll find it no problem. (my prof pic is the falls, its amazing 🙂
My daughter and I found this spring the beginning of October, 2011. Seems fast-flowing, clear and cold. I’ve been drinking this water for about 3 weeks now, and feel great. The pipe does look rusted, though, I wonder if that affects the water quality. I can’t tell by the taste, it is delicious to me.
My son and I went to this spring on the day before Easter. It’s easy to find. Only 2 cars passed us while we were there. The water is delicious…and slightly sweet. The water was very, very clear (no cloudiness as mentioned in the comment below). RE: cloudy/milky looking water – I did notice that the above ground surface stream water in the Santa Rosa area this winter had a milky appearance. The only other time I’ve seen water like that was at the glaciers in New Zealand. I really don’t know what is causing it in Sonoma.
went up to howell today and found that the water had a transparent cloudy white hue, I have been before and found great clear water but today I left without collecting. It was a little too odd. Maybe just a lot of minerals. Please post if you notice this
Drove up from Berkeley to the spring today, got 22 gallons in less than 20 minutes. This was my first trip. The water tastes delicious and is cold. There was some debris in basin which leads to the lower spout. Going to bring a copper pipe to bypass the lower spout and fill up that way.
The directions written by Dave below are very helpful.
went to this spring 12/15/10. The water tasted good but when you look inside the pipe, you see rust and crud. When I filled my jug, I could see bits of debris in the water.Aren’t people worried about drinking that? Tested 31ppm.
I bet you the water would be good if you went directly to the fissure. Anyone know where that may be and how to identify it?
Went there 10/11/10. Flow rate wasn’t gushing like a Mt Shasta, but was more than adequate. Water tasted really good, but not amazing. Temperature not that cold. There is a larger pipe where the water first emerges and that’s where I filled my 1 gallon bottles up at. Looking down into the the basin not only was there a rusted grate, but lots of other rusted debris. So I did not get water from the lower pipe (only the upper), so beware of this if you bring very large bottles. As even my 1 gallon bottle (which worked great) I had to tilt it in order to fill it on the upper pipe.
Hey. So I finally made it here today. Just to clarify for folks who are from out of town. There is no such thing as “Anders, CA.' The town is called “Angwin.” Maybe there's a local diminutive or something, but Angwin is what you get on a map. Also, the directions from Google brought me to Anderson Road somewhere out there. . .not helpful. I took Dry Creek til it turned into Howell Mountain Road then past the stop sign at the Chevron station (just past the college) the road climbs, and after it crests you start to descend a mile or two, and it's between 1400 & 1435. Pretty easy to spot on the right going down the mountain, but yes, a good turn-off is a little bit of a walk. . .
The water tasted good to me, but I'm not so sure about the metal grate that is almost entirely rusted away. It's not mine to remove, but I can't imagine it adds much to the water. I filled my jug from the upper pipe as much as I could and just topped it off from the bottom one. Dunno, but looking forward to gulping this stuff down.
Despite it being a walking distance from a good parking space, once you reach this spring you are safely on the side of the road. I drank nothing but this water for two weeks and felt great! This water tastes amazing and fills up very quickly.
I went to this spring from Napa last week and filled-up two five gallon containers in about 10 min.. A little tricky carrying them up the road about 100' to my car, but doable if you're in decent shape, i.e. carrying 40 lbs. this distance. The water tasted great and my whole family has been enjoying it. Beats Napa's nasty tasting tap water by a mile. Takes about 40 min. from Napa to get there on way. Looks like the water should be safe to drink, since a forest sits on top of the hill and a few houses near by are hooked up to the spring, but I don't know if they filter it first.
Great spring. The water tested a TDS at 39. The collection process is somewhat unfortunate as it is some distance from where you can safely park a car and the traffic near the spring can be dangerous. Be alert during the harvesting process. Located in a gorgeous area though!
I like this spring a lot. I have been here 3 times and there has never been a wait. In fact i have never seen anyone else at the spring. I'm not here for long though. I usually fill up 15 – 20 gallons or so and am back on the road in 15 minutes. The water here is very fast flowing. A 5 gallon jug will fill in less than 5 minutes. The one time I was at rattlesnake, just filling a 5 gallon jug took over 30 minutes!! There is a shoulder area where you can park about 100 feet or so up the hill. So you will need to park there and walk down the hill. The listing has a typo. The name of the town is actually Angwin.
The water from this spring is delicious, I didn't measure the temperature but it seemed a bit cooler than the rattlesnake spring. Only thing is it's not very convenient to get water from since there's no shoulder on the road but hey, that pretty much ensures no waiting time!
This spring is still running wonderfully. I was there a couple weeks ago and will be going back again shortly. The water is clear, tastes great, with that cool crispness. It is relatively easy access once you see where it is. There is a spot you can park right on the side of the road just before the spout. It is a low traffic road – however do pay attention to cars coming as there are some bends in the road that make it hard for them to see you.
I filled up several bottles a few days ago. The spring was flowing nicely, cool, not cold, bottles filled quickly, the water was clear, odorless and tasted great.
I did not test because a friend fills up there weekly with no issues and all good here, too.
Love this spring! Cloudy sometimes but always gentle on my body, and usually to my taste buds. Last couple weeks I have tasted a trace of gasoline. Has this happened to anyone else?
Have been drinking this water for over a year. Today while investigating where it originates from, we found a piece of plastic and wood about 8 feet uphill from the pipe. When I opened it there was a black salamander bigger than my face chillin in the water. I doubt it hurts anything but it made me question the overall quality of the water. What does this being eat? We believe this mystical creature lives purely off the magic of the spring, and excretes only love and wellbeing into the water. And maybe colon bacilli. who knows.
This is not my favorite spring anymore. Going to check out rattlesnake springs.
His name is Thomas. He is a pretty docile salamander leaving there for years (as far as I remember). When Thomas gets sick we can very much tell the water tastes different.
There are fairy rings all around this place the water if left in a jug too long starts to green the bottle .. But it has never made us sick and i dont like water but i can drink this water its good
I first went to this spring 4 years ago. I went there today (midweek) and there were quite a few cars and trucks passing by on this winding narrow road. Be prepared. I wish I had brought a hose to attach to the pipe. It would have been easier to fill the bottle. The water tastes good. I was able to fill a gallon in less than 1 minute.
I went to this spring yesterday and let me just say not only was it a great experience/adventure going to find the spring but it was so amazing to be in this place with beautiful redwoods and natural spring water coming out of the mountain.
We got lost going there. I used my iPhone as our form of GPS and apparently there is another 1416 Howell Mountain Rd. that is about 10 miles away in St. Helena. For some reason it does not recognize the address in Angwin but MapQuest will. We drove around in circles trying to find it but it was fun to see the beautiful wine country and enjoy the sun. Thankfully my Dad brought his GPS and it gave us different directions. We thought, we might as well try it and see where it takes us and sure enough his GPS was correct. If you are coming from the East Bay area you would go 80 North, exit 33 CA-37 towards Napa and then take exit 19 to CA-29 and turn right onto Sonoma Blvd, stay on 29 for a while, pass through the downtown area and then turn right on Deer Creek Rd. Take that all the way until it becomes Howell Mt. Rd. You will pass a sign that says Angwin letting you know you know that you are now in that city. A few miles after that sign you will see the beautiful trees and curvy rds. There will be a large area on the right (enough for 3 to 4 cars) stop there and about 50 feet from that area is the spring. Be careful cars come flying by and because it is right off of the side of the road there isn’t much room to walk without going into the road.
I met a lady there who has been drinking the water for 3.5 years now. It tastes wonderful, its super clear and it is located in a beautiful place. From this point forward this will be me and my families main drinking source.
The water from this spring is delicious, I didn't measure the temperature but it seemed a bit cooler than the rattlesnake spring. Only thing is it's not very convenient to get water from since there's no shoulder on the road but hey, that pretty much ensures no waiting time!
Drinking pure spring water is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Our bodies are over 99% water at the molecular level, so water affects every aspect of our biology. Yet, not all water is created equal. Almost all the bottled spring water available is pasteurized for shelf stability, which neutralizes many of the powerful health benefits such as increased hydrogen, healthy probiotics, and crystalline structure. For more about why unprocessed spring water is the best water to drink, read this.
The best way to guarantee you are getting real unprocessed spring water is to collect it yourself. This is a short and simple guide filled with information about how to gather spring water. We will cover how to find a spring, how to collect the water, how to honor the spring, how to store the water properly and other tips.
FindASpring.org is the best resource for locating a spring near you. However, not all springs are on the map. First, check the map to see if there is a spring in your local area. If there is, look at the reviews and comments. Has anyone shared helpful information about flow rate or posted a water test result? Is the spring in a pristine area? Do a bit of research and make sure the spring is safe to drink from. If you have any doubt about the purity, don’t risk it and get a water test, HERE. If you don’t see a spring on the map in your area, there still might be some that aren’t listed yet. First, ask the older generation who have lived in your area a long time if they know. You can also ask people in your community who might already get spring water such as people at a health food store or at a farmers market. Another great option is to view A US forest service map, where many springs have been marked. You can view these maps through the Gaia GPS or All Trails hiking apps on your phone. The map overlay you want is USGS Topo. Not all are easily accessible or ideal for drinking, but some are and it can be a fun adventure to find them. We have found over half a dozen great springs this way.
Once you’ve found your spring, figure out how you are going to gather the water. Is it right on the side of the road and easy to access or do you have to hike to it? We recommend storing spring water in glass instead of plastic to preserve the purity of the water. It is better for the environment, your body, and the water. Even BPA free plastic has toxic chemicals that can leach into water and cause health issues. If you do want to use plastic for safety reasons when filling at the spring, we recommend transferring the water to glass as soon as possible. FindASpring is sponsored by Alive Waters, which offers beautiful reusable glass. They have a 2.5 gallon option, which is a convenient size for carrying that isn’t too heavy. They also sell handles that you can use to transport the jugs even more easily. If you have to hike to access the spring, we recommend putting the water jugs into an extra large backpack to hike the water out with ease. We use Osprey packs that hold 2 jugs each. You can also use a wheelbarrow or even a stroller depending on how easy a walk it is.
Filling 2.5 Gallon Alive Waters Jug
When you get to the spring, remember to first give back before you take. Springs are considered sacred in indigenous cultures around the world for their life giving water and also as a connection to the inner earth. A powerful and simple way to give back is to clean up. Is there any trash that needs to be collected? Could you move any dead leaves or sticks to improve the flow rate? Show up in service. Some other wonderful ways to give is with a moment of expressing verbal gratitude, singing songs to the water, offering the water an ethically sourced crystal, a feather, or some other physical gift. Flowers are a popular and beautiful thing to offer, but please be careful to source organic ones as most flowers from the store are sprayed with pesticides and can be toxic to put near a spring. Also, flowers can attract bugs as they decay, so it can be best to offer them to the flowing water directly or a little downstream from the spring head.
When gathering the water, fill the jug as close to the spring head as possible, never gather downstream. Be very careful as wet glass is extremely slippery. Make sure the lid is securely fastened. When transporting the spring water home, the jugs can sometimes slide around the car. Secure them in place or wrap them with towels or something so they don’t crash into each other.
How you store your spring water is essential. It is not pasteurized like spring water from the store, so it will start growing algae if left in direct sunlight. This is good because it means it’s alive! If the water you drink can’t even support the most basic life forms, how do you think it will support your body? Store your water in a cool, dark place such as a dark corner, pantry or closet. The fridge is ideal if you have room. Some people prefer to filter their water through a Berkey filter before drinking, but if the spring is pure, it’s not necessary. We drink our spring water completely unfiltered.
How long the water stays good for depends on how cold a temperature it’s stored at. Spring water is best fresh. We personally do not prefer to drink spring water past 2 weeks old. However, we know other people that will drink it at a month old. It’s great to get in a rhythm where you know how long the water lasts you and put your collection day on the calendar in advance.
I believe that water is calling us to reconnect with her in the deepest way, to gather our own water. Just like our ancestors did. Our ancestors didn’t have fancy water machines. They also didn’t create villages or settle where there was no water. Water was revered as the center of the community and the nodal point around which life could spiral out and take root.
Here’s to restoring the sacred connection with the waters of life.
Written by Dakota Chanel. Water Priestess and Ceremonialist. DakotaChanel.com
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Howel Mountain Spring, Angwin, CA
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I have been getting water from this spring for about 8 years. The water is the best of the three in my area. The other two being rattlesnake and Stinson Beach. The only thing you need to be aware of is the traffic can come around that curve very fast. We always put out electric flashers so people know we are there. It is also a bit of a trek to get the water up to your car.
Spring is amazing. Drinking only this water for 9 months now and love it. Fill up from the top spout as you’ll get a little debris filling from the bottom… And if you haver extra time, check out Linda Falls on the way back down into the valley. Park right near the sign of Caioca Pass right after the college and before the road goes up the hill. You’ll see a paved trail, follow that, go over a bridge and keep an eye out for some old hay bails on the left. Turn off the paved trail there and follow the path down until you hear the falls. Stay right at the first fork and then keep walking and you’ll find it no problem. (my prof pic is the falls, its amazing 🙂
Water tasted like sulfur and stank like it too.
One year later and this is my primary water source.
My daughter and I found this spring the beginning of October, 2011. Seems fast-flowing, clear and cold. I’ve been drinking this water for about 3 weeks now, and feel great. The pipe does look rusted, though, I wonder if that affects the water quality. I can’t tell by the taste, it is delicious to me.
My son and I went to this spring on the day before Easter. It’s easy to find. Only 2 cars passed us while we were there. The water is delicious…and slightly sweet. The water was very, very clear (no cloudiness as mentioned in the comment below). RE: cloudy/milky looking water – I did notice that the above ground surface stream water in the Santa Rosa area this winter had a milky appearance. The only other time I’ve seen water like that was at the glaciers in New Zealand. I really don’t know what is causing it in Sonoma.
went up to howell today and found that the water had a transparent cloudy white hue, I have been before and found great clear water but today I left without collecting. It was a little too odd. Maybe just a lot of minerals. Please post if you notice this
Drove up from Berkeley to the spring today, got 22 gallons in less than 20 minutes. This was my first trip. The water tastes delicious and is cold. There was some debris in basin which leads to the lower spout. Going to bring a copper pipe to bypass the lower spout and fill up that way.
The directions written by Dave below are very helpful.
went to this spring 12/15/10. The water tasted good but when you look inside the pipe, you see rust and crud. When I filled my jug, I could see bits of debris in the water.Aren’t people worried about drinking that? Tested 31ppm.
I bet you the water would be good if you went directly to the fissure. Anyone know where that may be and how to identify it?
Went there 10/11/10. Flow rate wasn’t gushing like a Mt Shasta, but was more than adequate. Water tasted really good, but not amazing. Temperature not that cold. There is a larger pipe where the water first emerges and that’s where I filled my 1 gallon bottles up at. Looking down into the the basin not only was there a rusted grate, but lots of other rusted debris. So I did not get water from the lower pipe (only the upper), so beware of this if you bring very large bottles. As even my 1 gallon bottle (which worked great) I had to tilt it in order to fill it on the upper pipe.
Hey. So I finally made it here today. Just to clarify for folks who are from out of town. There is no such thing as “Anders, CA.' The town is called “Angwin.” Maybe there's a local diminutive or something, but Angwin is what you get on a map. Also, the directions from Google brought me to Anderson Road somewhere out there. . .not helpful. I took Dry Creek til it turned into Howell Mountain Road then past the stop sign at the Chevron station (just past the college) the road climbs, and after it crests you start to descend a mile or two, and it's between 1400 & 1435. Pretty easy to spot on the right going down the mountain, but yes, a good turn-off is a little bit of a walk. . .
The water tasted good to me, but I'm not so sure about the metal grate that is almost entirely rusted away. It's not mine to remove, but I can't imagine it adds much to the water. I filled my jug from the upper pipe as much as I could and just topped it off from the bottom one. Dunno, but looking forward to gulping this stuff down.
Really fun being a water tourist!
D
Despite it being a walking distance from a good parking space, once you reach this spring you are safely on the side of the road. I drank nothing but this water for two weeks and felt great! This water tastes amazing and fills up very quickly.
I went to this spring from Napa last week and filled-up two five gallon containers in about 10 min.. A little tricky carrying them up the road about 100' to my car, but doable if you're in decent shape, i.e. carrying 40 lbs. this distance. The water tasted great and my whole family has been enjoying it. Beats Napa's nasty tasting tap water by a mile. Takes about 40 min. from Napa to get there on way. Looks like the water should be safe to drink, since a forest sits on top of the hill and a few houses near by are hooked up to the spring, but I don't know if they filter it first.
Great spring. The water tested a TDS at 39. The collection process is somewhat unfortunate as it is some distance from where you can safely park a car and the traffic near the spring can be dangerous. Be alert during the harvesting process. Located in a gorgeous area though!
I like this spring a lot. I have been here 3 times and there has never been a wait. In fact i have never seen anyone else at the spring. I'm not here for long though. I usually fill up 15 – 20 gallons or so and am back on the road in 15 minutes. The water here is very fast flowing. A 5 gallon jug will fill in less than 5 minutes. The one time I was at rattlesnake, just filling a 5 gallon jug took over 30 minutes!! There is a shoulder area where you can park about 100 feet or so up the hill. So you will need to park there and walk down the hill. The listing has a typo. The name of the town is actually Angwin.
The water from this spring is delicious, I didn't measure the temperature but it seemed a bit cooler than the rattlesnake spring. Only thing is it's not very convenient to get water from since there's no shoulder on the road but hey, that pretty much ensures no waiting time!
This spring is still running wonderfully. I was there a couple weeks ago and will be going back again shortly. The water is clear, tastes great, with that cool crispness. It is relatively easy access once you see where it is. There is a spot you can park right on the side of the road just before the spout. It is a low traffic road – however do pay attention to cars coming as there are some bends in the road that make it hard for them to see you.
Spring tasted a bit off when we tried last week. Stomach upset as well. Wonder if there’s an issue since we’ve had so much rain??
I filled up several bottles a few days ago. The spring was flowing nicely, cool, not cold, bottles filled quickly, the water was clear, odorless and tasted great.
I did not test because a friend fills up there weekly with no issues and all good here, too.
Used only the upper pipe.
Love this spring! Cloudy sometimes but always gentle on my body, and usually to my taste buds. Last couple weeks I have tasted a trace of gasoline. Has this happened to anyone else?
I’ve tasted too. It tasted weird more like an unburned gasoline.
Have been drinking this water for over a year. Today while investigating where it originates from, we found a piece of plastic and wood about 8 feet uphill from the pipe. When I opened it there was a black salamander bigger than my face chillin in the water. I doubt it hurts anything but it made me question the overall quality of the water. What does this being eat? We believe this mystical creature lives purely off the magic of the spring, and excretes only love and wellbeing into the water. And maybe colon bacilli. who knows.
This is not my favorite spring anymore. Going to check out rattlesnake springs.
His name is Thomas. He is a pretty docile salamander leaving there for years (as far as I remember). When Thomas gets sick we can very much tell the water tastes different.
There are fairy rings all around this place the water if left in a jug too long starts to green the bottle .. But it has never made us sick and i dont like water but i can drink this water its good
here is the link:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6012134,-122.4400889,3a,75y,195.57h,72.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4aEHXqvadOZqDULRWPLazw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
here is a google link to the exact location on google maps. hit street view and you will see the tap station in its entirety
I first went to this spring 4 years ago. I went there today (midweek) and there were quite a few cars and trucks passing by on this winding narrow road. Be prepared. I wish I had brought a hose to attach to the pipe. It would have been easier to fill the bottle. The water tastes good. I was able to fill a gallon in less than 1 minute.
Was there 3 days ago and the water is wonderfull!
I live near Sacramento and if anyone is going out towards this spring I will pay to come along.
Hit me up! zjames50@gmail.com
I went to this spring yesterday and let me just say not only was it a great experience/adventure going to find the spring but it was so amazing to be in this place with beautiful redwoods and natural spring water coming out of the mountain.
We got lost going there. I used my iPhone as our form of GPS and apparently there is another 1416 Howell Mountain Rd. that is about 10 miles away in St. Helena. For some reason it does not recognize the address in Angwin but MapQuest will. We drove around in circles trying to find it but it was fun to see the beautiful wine country and enjoy the sun. Thankfully my Dad brought his GPS and it gave us different directions. We thought, we might as well try it and see where it takes us and sure enough his GPS was correct. If you are coming from the East Bay area you would go 80 North, exit 33 CA-37 towards Napa and then take exit 19 to CA-29 and turn right onto Sonoma Blvd, stay on 29 for a while, pass through the downtown area and then turn right on Deer Creek Rd. Take that all the way until it becomes Howell Mt. Rd. You will pass a sign that says Angwin letting you know you know that you are now in that city. A few miles after that sign you will see the beautiful trees and curvy rds. There will be a large area on the right (enough for 3 to 4 cars) stop there and about 50 feet from that area is the spring. Be careful cars come flying by and because it is right off of the side of the road there isn’t much room to walk without going into the road.
I met a lady there who has been drinking the water for 3.5 years now. It tastes wonderful, its super clear and it is located in a beautiful place. From this point forward this will be me and my families main drinking source.
The water from this spring is delicious, I didn't measure the temperature but it seemed a bit cooler than the rattlesnake spring. Only thing is it's not very convenient to get water from since there's no shoulder on the road but hey, that pretty much ensures no waiting time!