How do I find out if the lower gate is closed or open?

Go there and push it

You can walk right through it ..

The road gate? It does get closed, but the trailhead is 10 feet before it. We've gone up to the hot springs year round, but, in late fall, and in winter, depending on the rainfall that year, the stream will run low, and the hot pots become stagnant, and way too hot to sit in. Not to mention, green and gross. Early spring to early autumn are the best times to go.

The gate at parking lot is never locked.