Stuart Hot Springs
Seasonal
Realistic window is mid to late summer, once the approach fords are passableOpen seasons
- Access
- Multiday backpack (multiple river fords)
- Reservations
- None required
- Accommodations
- No known campsites nearby; make your own camp (Leave No Trace)
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.
Description
Almost nothing is published about the pools at Stuart: no documented water temperature, clarity, or pool construction. What is known is the setting — the fringe of a grassy meadow deep in the wilderness — and the effort required to get there. Use is effectively non-existent.
Seasonal Notes
Mid to late summer is the ideal window, once the multiple river fords on the approach become passable after runoff.
Camping
There are no known primitive campsites nearby. Expect to find and make your own camp carefully, following full Leave No Trace wilderness practice.
Stuart Hot Springs Soak Stats
- Season: All
- Access Type: Multiday backpack (multiple river fords)
- Public Land: Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (Lochsa Ranger District)
- GPS: 46.138, -115.090
- Water Temperature: Not documented
- Water Clarity: n/a
- Visibility: None
- Odor(s): n/a
- pH: Unknown
- Usage Level: Non-existent
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best time to visit?
Mid to late summer, once runoff has dropped enough for the approach's river fords to become passable. Outside that window the trip is not realistic.
How hard is the access?
Among the most committing approaches in Idaho: a long, arduous multiday trip with multiple river fords, ending at the fringe of a grassy meadow on Link Creek.
How hot is the water?
Not documented. No published source records a temperature, clarity, or construction for Stuart's pools; the federal place-names record confirms the spring's location and nothing about soaking.
Can I camp nearby?
No established campsites are known nearby, so expect to create your own camp from scratch and leave it traceless, under full Leave No Trace practice.
Is Stuart the same as Stanley Hot Springs?
No. The names invite the mix-up, and both springs sit in the Selway-Bitterroot's Lochsa Ranger District, but Stuart is on Link Creek and Stanley is on Boulder Creek; they are different springs.
What are the pools like?
Nobody has published a description: no pool size, no construction, no temperature. Expect an undocumented wilderness soak where the approach is the main event.
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