Spring soaking in Idaho is a study in timing. Snowmelt fills the pools and the rivers run high and cold, which can make riverbank springs perfect or push them underwater for a few weeks. This collection gathers the springs tagged for spring visits, when the crowds are thin and the hills are turning green. Check river levels and road openings before you go, because spring access changes week to week.
In the unincorporated community of Paradise, near Featherville in Elmore County, Trinity Hot Springs is a private membership club built around one large outdoor pool on Grouse Creek, just off the South Fork Boise River. The pool is fed directly by the spring and kept untreated and chemical free, and the water behind it carries…
Challis Hot Springs is a developed, state-run soak on the Salmon River, about 8 miles east of Challis: two outdoor pools with natural gravel and river-rock bottoms, a riverside campground, and a soaking history that runs back to 1880. If the name is new to you, the place is not. For most of its life…
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…
Most Idaho hot springs ask you to share. This one asks you to book the whole place. On Goose Creek between McCall and New Meadows, the Tibbs Family Mountain Retreat is a 10 acre off-grid property where two natural hot springs feed two private pools in the trees above the creek. There is no public…
Nat Soo Pah Hot Springs & Campground is a family owned hot springs resort in the high desert farmland south of Twin Falls. It is an old fashioned summer soak: a very large geothermal swimming pool with a waterslide and diving boards, a hotter soaking pool, a hydro jet tub, and a grassy RV park…
Mountain Village Resort’s hot springs in Stanley, Idaho, have grown well beyond the single pool the old listings describe: today there are three soaking tubs along Valley Creek — the long-standing Osprey Hot Spring plus two newer private tubs, Sandhill Crane and Bluebird — all with astounding views of the Sawtooth Mountains, and all soaked by reservation only.
Preis Hot Springs is a tiny roadside soak in the Sawtooth National Forest, in the Fairfield/Smoky Mountains area: a small sunken wooden box, just a few feet from a seasonally busy forest road, holding clear 102°F water. It barely fits two people — nice and snug — and that’s most of its charm.
Loftus Hot Springs is a pair of user-built rock pools along the Middle Fork Boise River Road — famous, heavily used, and with a rough recent history: the pools were destroyed by vandals in 2011 and rebuilt by local soak seekers, in reduced form, later that year. The upper pool (102°F, mortar-reinforced) and lower pool (100°F) sit right off the washboard road between Boise and Atlanta, and usage here is extreme — this is a known party spot for hunters and ATVers, kegs and all. Two cautions from the listing itself: watch for broken glass in the pools, and poison ivy grows around them.
Slate Creek Hot Springs — also known as Hoodoo Hot Springs — is a sunken wooden soaking box at the old Hoodoo Mines site in the White Cloud Mountains, in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area northeast of Stanley, Idaho. A short hike at the end of a bumpy, unpaved forest road (FSR 666) reaches one of the most characterful soaks in the Stanley area: a plumbed, drainable wooden box fed by a mine-shaft source.
Elkhorn Hot Springs — better known to regulars as Boat Box — is an easy-access wooden soaking box right next to Highway 75 near Stanley, Idaho, in the Sawtooth National Forest. Fill the tub, temper it with buckets of cold Salmon River water, and settle into one of the most beloved roadside dips in the Stanley area — it’s usable all year.
Vulcan Hot Springs is one of Idaho’s most unusual hot springs: a short hike through the Boise National Forest, in the Warm Lake area, reaches a source so strong that the US Department of Energy studied its geothermal potential for years. Its main pool was once reputedly the largest natural hot springs pool in Idaho — but a wildfire-era cave-in filled it with silt and sludge, and today, per the latest update, only one small pool remains soakable.
Trail Creek Hot Springs is a hugely popular pair of mortar-reinforced rock pools in the Boise National Forest northeast of Cascade, in the Warm Lake area. A short but steep hike from the highway pullout — across a man-made bridge over the creek — reaches two pools whose temperatures soakers fine-tune with creek water and a valved PVC feed. Expect company: usage here is extreme.
Molly’s Hot Springs is a log-dam and rock-bordered pool in the Boise National Forest’s Warm Lake area, a quarter-mile from the forest road — the best-known soak of the Molly’s cluster, close enough to the road to stay popular but far enough to feel like a real find. Its temperature is adjustable via a hose-and-valve system fed from the source.
Burgdorf Hot Springs is a historic, rustic hot springs resort and ghost town on private land surrounded by the Payette National Forest, about 30 miles north of McCall, Idaho. Founded in the 1870s, Burgdorf soaks visitors in three historic log-sided pools fed by two ~113°F sources — and today it runs reservation-only, booked online in advance.
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.
Banbury Hot Springs near Buhl, Idaho, is now owned by Miracle Hot Springs and reopened in 2026, offering a large general pool, individual private pools and lodging.
Indian Springs Resort & RV is a commercial hot springs resort and campground in American Falls, Idaho, centered on “The Nat,” a historic pool with slides and a jumping board, open seasonally from May 9 to September 22. Swim prices run $9.50–$11.50 for ages 12+, and tent, RV, and car camping are open year-round.
Riverside Hot Springs Inn & Spa is a historic 1914 adults-only inn in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, with three indoor private soaking tubs and one outdoor tub included with an overnight stay. Its 18-room hotel adds the Portneuf Grille & Lounge and a continental breakfast, at 255 East Portneuf Street.
Bear River Hot Springs (formerly Riverdale Resort) is a year-round natural mineral hot springs resort five miles north of Preston, Idaho, with four pools including a hot tub and a therapy pool. Lodging includes an 8-room hotel with in-room jetted Jacuzzi tubs, plus cabins, RV sites, and camping at 3696 N 1600 E, Preston.
Lava Hot Springs Inn & Spa is a historic inn in downtown Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, with 6 outdoor mineral pools ranging from 94 to 107°F plus a 44° cold plunge pool. Public soaking passes are $15 with pools open daily 7 AM to 11 PM, and lodging includes a full hot buffet breakfast.
Home Hotel Lava Hot Springs is a historic hotel in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, operating since 1918 and known for private in-room natural mineral hot springs in over-sized two-person baths in most rooms. Check-in is 3:00 PM and check-out is 11:00 AM, with a 24-hour front desk at 306 E Main St.
Downata Hot Springs is a family-run resort south of Downey in South-East Idaho, built around a natural hot spring flowing at about 109 degrees. Its 300,000-gallon recreation pool with slides, quieter hot soaking pools, restaurant, spa, and campground make it a full-service stop.
Epic Hot Springs (formerly Bear Lake Hot Springs) is a beachside soak on North Beach at Bear Lake near St. Charles, Idaho, with two shallow outdoor pools held at about 103°F and lake beach access included with admission. It is open daily in summer and closed for the winter season; rates are not published online, so call (208) 242-8589 before visiting.
The Lava Hotel & Spa (formerly Aura Soma Lava Hot Springs) in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, has a large hot springs soaking pool open daily from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM for overnight guests. Lodging spans 5 rental homes — 3 with private natural mineral pools — and 2 motels, with a conference center, the on-site Lava Spa, and Liège waffles at Lava Waffle in the lobby.
