Complete Guide to Idaho Hot Springs: Second Edition

A review of Doug Roloff's Complete Guide to Idaho Hot Springs: Second Edition. 

Volunteering information about Hot Springs is a tough proposition. The springs listed in this guide are generally public record.

Doug Roloff has put together what I would consider the definitive guide to Hot Springing in the state of Idaho. The book lists over a hundred Hot Springs in Idaho (and a few in Oregon). Having visited 44% of the Hot Springs listed in the book, I can attest to its accuracy (at least for the ones I'm familiar with, and having researched most of the others).

This book is packed full of helpful information. An insightful introduction to various factors of Hot Springery is featured at the beginning of the book. Roloff then cordons off Hot Springs by geographical areas. He has included maps, Global Positioning coordinates (sometimes approximate), hiking information, pool temps, and a wealth of information.

Idaho has over 224 Hot Springs, so this book is not exhaustive. It doesn't feature commercial or privatized Hot Springs (though some closed/privatized ones, like Last Chance/Krigbaum). The content of the book seems to be aimed mostly at unimproved Hot Springs (though the pools at Sharkey or Baumgartner would be exceptions). I think it is generally aimed at unimproved or free Hot Springs. Some of the Hot Springs are probably less than soakable, as they don't all feature pools (such as Ninemeyer, etc on the road to Atlanta). The book features black and white photographs of almost all the springs (Mormon Ranch Hot Springs featured a nice vista).

The Hot Springs chosen evidence thoughtful insight in the presentation of excellent spring choices. One of the bonuses that come with this book is camping information near the various springs. I wish that I'd found this book long ago. It would have saved me from traipsing up a creek in the dark (probably more than once).

Important aspects of this book:

• Idaho focused
• Generally unimproved or non-commercial springs 
• Navigation and hiking directions as well as Global Positioning coordinates
• Black and white photos of almost all of the springs

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Here are a selection of books that I found helpful in finding and enjoying Idaho's Hot Springs:

Burgdorf Hot Springs

On our family vacation, we visited one of my favorite places, the Hot Springs at Burgdorf.  It was a very peaceful and serene morning that we visited.  We didn't stay too long, but it was great to visit again.

 

 

 

Yellowstone

Visiting Old Faithful

Land of Hot Springs, Geysers, and the Wildlife.

We stayed in the Old Faithful Inn.  Some rooms are pretty rustic, but ours was great.  Some of the rooms even have a shared bathroom.  Shared with the rest of the Hotel.
Being a big fan of Hot Springs, Yellowstone is one of the top places in the world for hot springs.  However, they're pretty much all reserved for the animals.  the geothermal activity, being mildly dangerous, and not impervious to human destruction has enabled Yellowstone Park to evolve a decent boardwalk system for viewing the pools and geysers.  This was a nice feature for going on walks with our daughter.  However, she caught a cold and was having a hard time sleeping, so we cut short our vacation.

We saw grizzly bears, baby buffalo, elk, wolves, coyotes, and lots of squirrels and chipmunks.

• more of our vacation photos

Helpful Websites with information about Geyser activity:

• A website that keeps track of Geyser eruptions, and when they are approximately going to erupt:
• http://geysertimes.org/
• The National Park Service's website about Geyser Activity:
• http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/geyseractivity.htm
• Webcams of Yellowstone.
• http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm

Milford Sweat

We recently went on vacation, and we stopped at the Milford Sweat hot springs near the Craters of the Moon National Monument.  The hot springs was a little cool, but probably just about right for the weather in the coming weeks.

Spa-sitively Excellent

We recently found a spa to adopt from Craigslist.  It was only a few years old, and in need of a good home.  It's a Bullfrog 462.  When getting a spa for an addition to the family, it's a good idea to get the electrical setup by a professional, or at least inspected.  So we had the electrical inspector come and find the insufficiencies in our work.  We got them fixed and have been enjoying it since!  We're trying out using a Silver Catalyst cleaner Nature 2 W20750 and Potassium Monopersulfate (MPS) Leisure Time LES-RENU6 instead of Chlorine or Bromine .

Four Hot Springs Excursion

Last weekend, we went to several different hot springs.  We trekked to Givens hot springs on Friday.  On Saturday, we headed to Kirkham hot springs, then up towards Stanley, head off at bear valley towards Deadwood reservoir, then to Warm Lake.  From Warm Lake, we drove north to Milepost 16 hot springs.  We then drove north to Lick Creek summit, and dropped into McCall from the East.  Sunday, we went to Burgdorf hot springs, enjoying the brisk fall weather.

Costa Rica

Recently returned from two weeks in Costa Rica.  I went down with my work, MAFLT.  I was doing survey work, and looking for ways to support our Latin America team.  Melissa went with me, and we had a great time experiencing the culture of Costa Rica, and also of South American influences.  We visited the volcano Arenal.  We also stayed a few days at Playa del Coco.  And took lots of photos.

Bear Valley, Burgdorf, Goldfork

     In the past few weeks, we've visited Bear Valley Hot Springs, Burgdorf, and Goldfork.  As the weather cools down, visiting the different springs becomes a great outdoor experience.

     Burgdorf Hot Springs is under new management, they have added a septic system, and electric solar panels to heat the the changing rooms and provide electric lighting.  As well, they've put some paving stones around the edges of the pool.
     Goldfork was a relaxing visit.  One of the lower pools has a sandy bottom and a waterfall from the upperpool, that made for a perfectly relaxing enviroment.
     My first trip to Bear Valley hot springs was probably one of the last trips to bbe made to the hotsprings without the aid of snowshoes or crosscountry skis.  The walk was a little treacherous, as we didn't take the footbridge the first time, and ended up fording the river a few extra times.  But it was a worthwhile trip and the springs there are gorgeous.

Pergola, Balanced Rock, and Indian Bath Tub H.S.

Recently finished up our pergola project in our back yard. That should make the patio much more pleasant in the sunshine. Spring is here and it's been raining alot. The changing weather's exciting, as our plants around our house are starting to grow.
Last weekend Melissa and I went on a day trip down to Balanced Rock state park, near Castleford, Idaho. We drove back through some dusty side roads and stopped at Indian Bath Tub hot springs; a fun trip.

Echo Rock Revisited

We went back to Echo Rock hot springs last weekend. We brought an ATV with us this time. We had an excellent trip, the reservoir had risen about four feet from the last visit. As a result there was a few parts where I had to ride the ATV on the steep angle of the sides of the reservoir in order to bypass the waters and mud. It was a muddy too! Anyway, if the reservoir keeps rising, it should now be accessible by boat only until the Reservoir empties out again.

I'm in the middle of reading The silver Chalice, by Thomas Costain. I've read a few of his books before and enjoyed them. This one is historical fiction about the creation of the Antioch Chalice. It is set in the New Testament period of Acts of the Apostles. I libraried some Rock and Roll biography books, Watch you bleed and Old gods almost dead by Stephen Davis. They weren't as interesting as I had hoped.

I've also been enjoying Fieldrunners for the iPhone. It's a great Tower Defense game. I also played through MySims Kingdom for the Wii, which was mildly entertaining. I recommend a few online flash games, Battalion Nemesis and Gemcraft

Echo Rock Hot Spring

Melissa and I recently headed off to Owyhee reservoir in Oregon to visit Echo Rock Hot Springs. We went with some friends, Tony and Janat. We hiked the majority of the way, on the bottom of the nearly empty reservoir. A six mile round trip hike, the hot springs was worth the exercise. The pool was cement lined and had an intake and outlet valve. Pretty nice for being out in the middle of the Oregon wilderness.

Goldbug Hot Springs

I recently visited Goldbug Hot Springs near Salmon, Idaho. The hot spring lies high up on the hillside; a two mile hike uphill. Once you arrive, there are several pools ranging from 110° to 75°. There are several waterfalls and some of the pools are three to four feet deep with gravel bottoms. It was a fun trip, and a nice hot spring.

Three Forks Warm Springs

 We went to Three Forks (Tudor) Warm Springs last Saturday, and it was fantastic. The trip was 110 miles Southwest from Boise. The Springs are nestled behind Three Forks Dome on the Owyhee river. The road is decent until the last two miles where it becomes a 4x4 worthy adventure. The Springs (the entire creek) are between 90° to 95° and makes for an absolutely enjoyable summer soak, with stellar pools and wonderful views.

Deadwood Hot Springs

Melissa and I recently went camping at Deadwood reservoir and made a trek up to Deadwood Hot Springs. This was a rewarding journey, as a few friends and
I were unable to find it last year while hiking around in the dark. But this year, with the aid of daylight, we were able to trek about a mile further up a small trail and find the hot springs. It is an impressive setup with a hillside of hot water and tubes filling pools alongside a small cliff. The pools had drainage valves and scrubber brushes to facilitate in cleaning them. There were alot of elk around, and a few were brave enough to briefly say hello. It was a sun drenched hike of three miles one way and three miles back which could have been accomplished much easier on bicycles. Overall it was a fun excursion.

Seven Hot Springs

Recently we went for a hot springs discovery excursion, visiting seven springs in a day. We drove up towards Featherville and then over towards pine and then back down to Fairfield. The first hot springs we visited was 'bridge' near Anderson Ranch reservoir. And the next we looked at Paradise which is private and near abandoned. Then we went up towards Featherville and hiked up to Willow Creek hot springs. Next, we drove to Baumgartner hot springs, and then drove to Lightfoot hot springs. We were going to go to Skillern, but it was too much of a hike at that point (two miles each way), and we were hoping to hit Fairfield for dinner. So we proceeded onwards to Preis hot springs (probably the smallest developed hot springs in the world, see photo). The last one hit was Worswick, which was the grandest. The spring runoff made it to much for sandy deposits filling the pool, but it was a blast to explore. After that we headed down to Fairfield for dinner, and back to Boise. More photos here.

Hot Springs Section

I've added a new section of content to my website. It is entitled Hot Springs. It's pretty self explanatory, but I am finding it really fun and useful. I'm still working on it, but if you like hot springs, you'll want to check it out.

Olympic Hot Springs

A few weeks back, Melissa and I traveled to the Olympic Peninsula here in Washington and visited Olympic Hot Springs. It was a fun drive (riding the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston) over to Port Angeles, and a nice hike up to the hot springs. Not the best hot springs, but Washington doesn't have the greatest selection.

Vulcan Hot Springs

Vulcan Hot Springs had some work done a few years back, and the main pool has been enlarged to make the pool significantly deeper. A few friends and I attempted to visit Vulcan earlier this spring, but the snow was too great to allow us to travel there. The Spring thaw has since cleared all the snow, and made for some wonderfully muddy roads and hiking. The pool was an excellent temperature, but needed to be drained, as there was a large amount of silt and bugs. We also ventured up to the source to see the field where the hot waters comes nearly boiling out of the rock.

Snively Hot Spring

I recently made a trek to the base of the mountain where Scenic Hot Springs is located. I was going to scout things out, but there was too much snow, and not enough trail to find the hot springs, even with the help of a GPS. The following day, I found several hot springs listed in the Baker, Oregon area, though none turned out to be viable. They were either dried up, or privatized. However, on the way back from Yakima (visiting my wonderful girlfriend), I stopped at Ontario, and made a detour to Snively Hot Springs, near Owyhee Reservoir. It was a fun excursion, as I got to experience a Hot Springs, unlike the previous six I had visited earlier in the day, and the day before. The water, however, was too hot, and needed to be mixed with the cooler water from the Owyhee river. This made for a passable Hot Springs™ experience, but I wouldn't put Snively on my repeat offender list for Hot Springery.

Bruneau Hot Springs

Went to Bruneau hot Springs yesterday, it was an excellent trip, seeing several of the area's hotsprings, or lack thereof. Took the explorer four wheeling, and it was good times.