Every spring in this collection sits on public land, most of it managed by the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service. That means no admission fee at the gate and a wilder, more self-reliant kind of soak: you bring everything, you pack everything out, and the setting is the amenity. Conditions vary with the seasons, so follow the posted rules at each site and leave these shared places cleaner than you found them.
Goldbug Hot Springs is a hike-in natural hot springs in the Salmon-Challis National Forest south of Salmon, Idaho, reached by a roughly 2-mile trail with a steep final half-mile. Rock-walled pools and hot waterfalls line the creek at about 6,200 feet elevation.
Warm Springs Creek Hot Springs is a barely used wilderness hot spring, the Sitz Bath, in Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, reached by a difficult hike. Access roads are open only from about July to October, spring runoff destroys the lower pools, and the trip is best done as an overnighter with primitive camping nearby.
Shower Bath Hot Springs is a remote wilderness hot springs in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, reached by a trail that follows the Narrows of Warm Springs Creek. Its rock-walled pools vary in size and temperature, and access roads are open only about July to October, leaving a short 2–3 month visiting window each year.
Skinnydipper Hot Springs is a natural hot springs above the Banks-Lowman Highway in the Boise National Forest, reached by a steep 0.5-mile hike. It is closed to all use under a BLM closure order extended through February 2027.
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.
Boiling Springs Hot Springs sits beside the historic Boiling Springs Guard Station at the end of a forest road north of Crouch, Idaho, in the Boise National Forest. Its rock-walled pools are fed by one of the most powerful geothermal sources in the Garden Valley backcountry.
Bonneville Hot Springs is a natural hot springs in the Boise National Forest, 19 miles southeast of Lowman, Idaho, reached by a 0.25-mile trail along Warm Springs Creek. User-built rock-walled pools and a private soak shack with a cast-iron bathtub sit below the Bonneville Campground.
Fire Crew Hot Springs is a set of user-built, rock-walled soaking pools on the Middle Fork of the Payette River in the Boise National Forest, north of Crouch, Idaho. The road is snow-covered until about late May, and the pools submerge during spring runoff.
Kirkham Hot Springs is a popular Forest Service hot springs on the South Fork of the Payette River near Lowman, Idaho, known for its shallow rock pools and hot waterfalls. Day use is free; the site is open 7 AM–9 PM with no overnight camping.
Rocky Canyon Hot Springs is a series of tiered, user-built pools on the far bank of the Middle Fork of the Payette River, north of Crouch, Idaho. Reaching them requires a cold ford of the river; the pools are best after spring runoff.
Pine Flats Hot Springs is a string of natural hot pools beside the South Fork of the Payette River near Lowman, Idaho, reached by a 0.25 to 0.75-mile hike from Pine Flats Campground. The pools are usable all winter.
Campground Hot Springs is a roadside soak on the South Fork of the Payette River, across the Banks-Lowman Highway from Hot Springs Campground east of Garden Valley, Idaho. Its main rock-lined pool runs about 110°F, reached by a staircase from the road.
Little Anderson Hot Springs, near Garden Valley, Idaho, was once a stellar, locally kept soak in the Boise National Forest. Today the pool and primitive sites are heavily damaged by ATV use and trash; visit with low expectations.
