North-Central Idaho is river country: the Lochsa, Selway and Clearwater rivers cut through the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests, and the region’s hot springs hide along their banks. Most are natural, hike-in soaks reached from the Highway 12 corridor, including the popular pools at Jerry Johnson and the creekside soaks at Weir Creek and Stanley Hot Springs. Distances are long and services are few out here, so plan fuel and supplies around Lewiston, Grangeville and the small towns along the rivers. Spring runoff swells the rivers and can flood low pools, while late summer and fall bring the most reliable soaking.
Deep in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest east of Elk City, Red River Hot Springs is a developed, year-round resort built around a set of natural hot springs: a large outdoor swimming pool, three soaking tubs, and a lodge where some rooms let you soak in private without leaving your bathroom. The resort runs on…
Weir Creek Hot Springs is a crystal-clear forest soak in the Clearwater National Forest near Lolo, Montana, reached by a short but steep hike from the Highway 12 corridor. Its enlarged main pool runs 105–108°F and holds 8–10 soakers, making it one of the most popular wilderness soaks in North-Central Idaho — expect company, and pack out more than you pack in.
Stuart Hot Springs is a little-known wilderness soak at the edge of a grassy meadow in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, in the Lochsa Ranger District of North-Central Idaho. It is reachable only at the end of a long, arduous, multiday trip involving multiple river fords — one of the most committing hot springs approaches in the state.
Stanley Hot Springs is a chain of rock- and log-dammed pools in the ancient forest of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, more than 20 miles east of Lowell, Idaho — not to be confused with the town of Stanley in the Sawtooths. The pools sit at the end of a grueling 6-mile hike on a rough trail, and the reward is a deep, wide soaker in one of the wildest settings in North-Central Idaho.
Prospector Hot Springs is one of the least-documented soaks in Idaho: a remote hot spring deep in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, in the Lochsa Ranger District of North-Central Idaho. Almost nothing is published about the pools themselves — reaching them is a hard-to-find, multiday backcountry trip in its own right.
Marten Creek Hot Springs is one of the most remote soaks in Idaho, deep in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in Idaho County. Reached only by a multiday backpack with multiple river fords, it is best attempted in mid to late summer.
Jerry Johnson Hot Springs is one of Idaho’s most popular natural hot springs, in the Clearwater National Forest along Highway 12 in North-Central Idaho. Three sources feed rock-walled pools at the end of a short hike; nude soaking is the norm and the site is day-use only, 6 AM to 8 PM.
