Bull Creek Hot Springs

Bull Creek Hot Springs is an undeveloped spring on Bull Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork Payette River, in the roadless backcountry of the Boise National Forest north of Crouch. It is a named USGS feature, prominent enough that the 7.5-minute topo map covering it is the Bull Creek Hot Springs quadrangle. What it is not is a developed soak: no road reaches it, there are no facilities of any kind, no temperature has ever been published for its water, and no guide or survey describes a built pool there.

What the record does support is a real hot spring at the end of a real hike: a state hiking guide routes hikers up the Bull Creek Trail to reach it, and HotSpringsGuy’s roadless inventory counts Bull Creek among Idaho’s hot springs inside inventoried roadless areas. Go for the backcountry and the possibility of warm water in a wild creek drainage, not for a guaranteed tub.

Soak Stats

Location	On Bull Creek in the Middle Fork Payette River drainage, Boise National Forest, north of Crouch, Valley County
Coordinates	44.429, -115.763 (USGS GNIS)
Elevation	About 5,180 feet
Soak type	Undeveloped natural spring in roadless backcountry, reached only by trail
Water temperature	Not published. The USGS thermal springs list records this spring simply as hot, with no temperature figure, and no measured soaking temperature was found in any source consulted
Season	July through September. Runoff submerges the creek-level water until mid to late June or early July, and high water makes the river trail crossings dangerous
Fee	No fee found; undeveloped national forest land
Reservations	None
Clothing policy	No official statement found in any source; a remote trail-only site
Dogs	National forest trail country; no site-specific rule or facility at the spring
Facilities	None at the spring. The nearest developed campgrounds are at the trailheads (see below)

Place Information

Address	No street address. The spring sits on Bull Creek in the Boise National Forest, north of Crouch
County	Valley County
Land manager	U.S. Forest Service, Boise National Forest
Website	U.S. Forest Service: Silver Creek Campground (the Forest Service page that names the Bull Creek Trail)

Location, Map & Directions

There are two trail approaches, and both are hikes, not drives. From the north, drive National Forest Road 698 (the Middle Fork Road) north from Crouch to its end, about 22 miles, and take the Middle Fork Payette Trail #033 upriver, past the historic Boiling Springs Guard Station and a series of natural hot springs, to its junction with the Bull Creek Trail, which follows the creek up toward the spring.

From the south, the Silver Creek Summit Trail #044 climbs from its trailhead at the end of NF-671E, crosses the ridge between Silver Creek and Bull Creek, and descends to Bull Creek Bridge and the Bull Creek Trail junction; the Forest Service notes the Bull Creek Trail beginning near Silver Creek Campground in Peace Valley. Either way, the spring lies roughly two and a half miles up Bull Creek from its mouth on the Middle Fork, in roadless country with no services. An Idaho Department of Transportation hiking guide describes the route simply as the trail “leading past Bull Creek to Bull Creek Hot Springs.”

The Soaking Experience

Honest expectations matter more here than at almost any other spring on this site. Bull Creek Hot Springs is documented as a hot spring by the USGS. But no survey, guidebook, or trip report we could find describes a soaking pool at this spring, so this listing will not invent one.

What the evidence does say: HotSpringsGuy’s spring runoff guide lists Bull Creek among the north of Crouch springs that stay submerged until mid to late June or early July, which places whatever warm water collects here at creek level, exposed only after the creek drops. If you make the hike in late summer, test any warm pool you find carefully before settling in, since no temperature for this water has ever been published. What the trip reliably offers is the drainage itself: a wild, roadless creek valley that almost nobody visits.

Fees, Hours & Reservations

None found, in any category. The spring is undeveloped national forest land: no fee, no permit requirement, no hours, and no reservations in any source consulted. Check current Boise National Forest conditions before you go; rules at the developed campgrounds are separate.

Facilities, Lodging & Nearby

There is nothing at the spring: no toilet, no water, no camping facility, nothing built. The practical bases are the trailheads: Boiling Springs Campground and the Boiling Springs Guard Station rental cabin at the end of NF-698 where Trail #033 begins, and Silver Creek Campground near the south end of the Bull Creek Trail in Peace Valley, a quarter mile from Silver Creek Plunge if you want a guaranteed soak at the end of the day. The nearest town services are in Crouch and Garden Valley.

History

Bull Creek Hot Springs enters the written record through the federal surveys of the 1970s. USGS field crews made a measurement at the spring on July 7, 1979, and in April 1979 the U.S. Department of Energy’s geothermal baseline for Idaho recorded a hot spring near Bull Creek, hot, flowing about 15 gallons per minute, 15 miles east of Alpha.

In 1988 the USGS published the Bull Creek Hot Springs 7.5-minute quadrangle. The spring has stayed undeveloped ever since: in 2006 it was counted among Idaho’s inventoried roadless area hot springs, and it remains reachable only on foot. Why Bull Creek carries its name is not recorded in the sources consulted.

Safety & Health

The hike is the safety story. The lower Middle Fork Payette Trail crosses the river 17 times, and those crossings are dangerous at high flow; do not attempt this trip during spring runoff or after heavy rain. The creek-level water at the spring itself is submerged until mid to late June or early July.

Because no temperature has ever been published for this spring, treat any warm water you find as untested: check it with a hand or a thermometer before getting in, every time. This is remote, roadless country with no services and no guarantee of cell coverage; carry the map (the Bull Creek Hot Springs quadrangle covers the drainage), tell someone your route and return time, and never rush a crossing to beat the dark.

Best Time to Visit

July through September, per the state hiking guide for the Crouch area, and after the creek has dropped: the runoff guide’s mid to late June or early July emergence date makes midsummer the first realistic window. Winter and spring are out; the trails are snowbound or the crossings are dangerous, and the spring itself is under the creek.

Nearby Hot Springs

The Middle Fork Payette corridor holds several easier, documented soaks. Boiling Springs Hot Springs sits by the guard station at the Trail #033 trailhead, Rocky Canyon Hot Springs and Fire Crew Hot Springs are riverside soaks along the Middle Fork Road, and Silver Creek Plunge is the developed resort option in Peace Valley. More South-Central Idaho hot springs →

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you get to Bull Creek Hot Springs?

On foot, either way. From the north, drive NF-698 about 22 miles north of Crouch to its end and hike the Middle Fork Payette Trail #033 to the Bull Creek Trail junction, then follow Bull Creek up. From the south, the Bull Creek Trail connects from the Silver Creek Summit Trail #044 and the Peace Valley side. No road reaches the spring.

How hot is Bull Creek Hot Springs?

Nobody has published a number. The USGS thermal springs list records the spring simply as hot, with no temperature figure, and no guide or survey we found gives one for the source or for any pool. Test any water you find before soaking.

Is there a soaking pool at Bull Creek Hot Springs?

No verified description of one exists. HotSpringsGuy’s runoff guide lists Bull Creek among springs submerged until mid to late June or early July, which points to creek-level water that appears when the creek drops, but pool count, size, and condition are undocumented. Treat a soak here as a possibility, not a promise.

When is the best time to visit Bull Creek Hot Springs?

July through September. Before that, runoff submerges the creek-level water and makes the Middle Fork trail crossings dangerous; the state hiking guide for the Crouch area gives the same July to September window.

Is there a fee, and can I camp nearby?

No fee or permit was found for the spring itself; it is undeveloped national forest land. Developed camping sits at the approaches: Boiling Springs Campground at the NF-698 trailhead, and Silver Creek Campground near the Bull Creek Trail’s south end in Peace Valley.