Hailey Hot Springs

Closure notice: Hailey Hot Springs is closed to the public. There is no public soaking access here, and there has not been since the resort hotel burned in 1899. The spring sits on Hailey Hot Springs Ranch, now held by the Wood River Land Trust, which is developing a long-term access plan with the Blaine County Recreation District. Until that plan produces a public access point, the spring itself is off limits. This page is a history and status record, not a visitor guide.

Hailey Hot Springs was one of Idaho’s grand nineteenth century resorts: a hotel heated by spring water, separate men’s and women’s plunge pools, a ballroom, a bowling alley, and, in its early years, a working hospital. It is often described as Idaho’s first real summer resort. Today the hotel is long gone, the spring water runs into a buried pipe system, and a stand of willows marks the resort site on conservation land west of Hailey.

At a Glance

The facts below describe a historic, closed spring. They are collected here so readers are not misled by older sources: there is no soak to visit at Hailey Hot Springs.

Status	Closed to the public. No public access and no soaking
Location	Democrat Gulch, Blaine County, south-central Idaho
Land & management	Hailey Hot Springs Ranch, owned by the Wood River Land Trust since December 2025
Source temperature	138°F (59°C) at the source, far too hot to soak in undiluted
Flow	About 68 gallons per minute (265 liters per minute), combined from several grouped discharges
Elevation	5,420 feet
Resort era	1879 to 1899. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1899 and never rebuilt
Facilities	None. No pool and no visitor facility
Fee / hours	None. The spring is not open to visitors

Current Status & Access

The Wood River Land Trust completed its purchase of Hailey Hot Springs Ranch at the end of 2025, after a $16 million community campaign. In its announcement, the Land Trust addressed the spring directly: the springs sit in a sensitive area, a long-term plan for safe public access away from the sensitive wildlife area will be developed with the Blaine County Recreation District, and “for now, the hot spring will remain closed to the public” until that can be developed. The full announcement is quoted in reporting on the acquisition.

The future ideas under discussion include a simple visitor center and a geothermal pool near Croy Canyon Road, reached by a bike path from downtown Hailey. Those are plans, not built facilities, and no opening date has been announced. The ranch’s trails in Democrat Gulch remain a public recreation draw under Land Trust ownership, and the property is managed first for wildlife habitat, but the spring itself stays closed. See the Land Trust’s vision for Democrat Gulch and its profile of the ranch for the current state of the planning.

Location & Place Information

Hailey Hot Springs rises in lower Democrat Gulch, near its meeting with Croy Creek, about two miles west of Hailey in Blaine County. Because the spring is closed and lies in a sensitive wildlife area, this listing gives the county only: there is no street address, no public access point, and no directions to the spring source. The nearest town is Hailey, the Blaine County seat. Current information about the property comes from the Wood River Land Trust.

The Spring Itself

The water is real, and it is hot. Several tightly grouped discharges in Democrat Gulch produce a combined flow of about 265 liters per minute (68 gallons per minute) at 59°C (138°F), according to a University of Idaho geothermal report. Earlier measurements agree: 58°C reported in 1970, and a 1988 sample at 60°C, so the source runs roughly 136 to 140°F, far too hot to soak in undiluted. The same technical literature records the spring’s modern condition plainly: the water is enclosed in a concrete headbox and funneled into a buried pipe system, and a 1994 site visit described the springs as ditched, dammed, drained, and piped, with restoration potential in the surrounding habitat. The site’s ecology is documented in the Idaho Conservation Data Center’s Democrat Gulch report.

History of Hailey Hot Springs

Idaho’s first resort: 1879 to 1881

The Croy family established the springs in 1879, among the first developed and promoted in the Wood River Valley. A family named Smith later bought them and charged patrons a dollar “for a couple of clean towels.” By 1881 the resort was operating as a hospital for miners, and an on-site hospital used the waters to treat miners and other patients. That same year, Union Pacific chemist Charles Pentez analyzed the water and praised it as a natural sulfur water comparable to famous springs in New York, Virginia, and the Pyrenees. The early history is traced in Sun Valley Magazine’s history of the valley’s hot springs hotels and the Blaine County transportation history.

The Strahorn hotel era: 1888 to 1899

A carriage ran at all hours from Hailey, and the resort drew 50 to 100 guests a day. Railroad magnate Jay Gould and his family were noted guests. In 1888, Union Pacific publicist Robert E. Strahorn and a relative bought the springs and about 1,000 surrounding acres and built a first class hotel heated by spring water, with separate men’s and women’s plunges, a ballroom, and a bowling alley. In 1890 a new company formed to raise $150,000 to buy and improve the resort, with a planned three story, 65 room hotel addition. John Lundin’s history of the Wood River Valley’s hot springs resorts documents the era, and the county’s own history introduction records the Gould visits and the crowds.

The 1899 fire and the piped water years

Fire destroyed the hotel in 1899 (the state historical summary dates the hotel from June 27, 1889 to July 27, 1899), and it was never rebuilt. The spring water did not go to waste: it was piped to a pool at the Hiawatha Hotel in Hailey, and geothermal water heated the Hiawatha, later the Alturas Hotel, whose rooms were heated throughout with 136°F spring water. Geothermal space heating use in Hailey continued until 1978.

A century on ranch land

Through the 1900s the springs sat on private ranch land, ditched, dammed, drained, and piped, most recently under Seattle based Sweet Potato Ranch LLC. The resort era survived mainly in photographs, prospectus artwork, and local memory, while the water kept flowing at 138°F into its buried pipes.

The 2025 Land Trust purchase

The ranch was listed for sale in the summer of 2024. The Wood River Land Trust launched a $16 million campaign, reached its contract milestone in February 2025, and announced the completed acquisition on December 30, 2025, protecting one of the last large intact landscapes in the valley and keeping 360 acres in Democrat Gulch from residential development. What happens next for the spring is the access planning described above: a possible future geothermal pool, built away from the sensitive wildlife area, with no date attached.

Fees, Hours & Reservations

There are none. Hailey Hot Springs does not operate as an attraction, takes no visitors for soaking, and has no hours, fees, or reservations. For the current status of the ranch and the access plan, check the Wood River Land Trust.

Nearby Hot Springs

Hailey has no soak to offer today, but the Wood River Valley still does. Frenchman’s Bend Hot Springs, a set of natural pools on Warm Springs Creek west of Ketchum, is the closest classic soak to Hailey, and it is day use only. Russian John Warm Springs, north of Ketchum in the Sawtooth National Forest, is a shallow warm pool that suits the summer months. If you want a developed resort soak in the same region, Mountain Village Resort Hot Springs in Stanley soaks by reservation. More South-Central Idaho hot springs →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hailey Hot Springs open to the public?

No. The spring has been closed to the public since its resort hotel burned in 1899. The Wood River Land Trust, which bought Hailey Hot Springs Ranch at the end of 2025, states that the hot spring will remain closed to the public while a long-term access plan is developed.

Can you soak at Hailey Hot Springs?

No. There is no pool or soaking facility at the spring today, the site is closed, and the source water itself runs about 138°F, far too hot to soak in undiluted.

Who owns Hailey Hot Springs now?

The Wood River Land Trust. It completed its acquisition of Hailey Hot Springs Ranch, announced December 30, 2025 after a $16 million community campaign, and manages the property first for wildlife habitat.

Will Hailey Hot Springs reopen?

Possibly, in a new form. The Land Trust and the Blaine County Recreation District are developing a long-term plan, and the ideas under discussion include a geothermal pool near Croy Canyon Road reached by a bike path from downtown Hailey. No opening date has been announced.

Where can I soak near Hailey instead?

The closest options are Frenchman’s Bend Hot Springs west of Ketchum, a day use natural soak, and Russian John Warm Springs north of Ketchum, a shallow warm pool best in summer.