Best Hot Springs in Idaho (2026): The Soaker's Shortlist

The Best Hot Springs in Idaho in 2026

10 picks, 5 with developed pools and 5 wild, checked in October 2026. Fees and hours for 5 of the 10 are confirmed on the operator's or land agency's own pages. Each spring's page links its sources. How we ranked them.

1. 

   1. Lava Hot Springs Foundation hot pools, best for a winter soak

   Listed as Lava Hot Springs, Caribou County

   • Developed pools
   • $8 day pass
   • Pools 102–112°F
   • Year-round
   • Roadside
   • 4.5 from 724 Tripadvisor reviews

   Lava Hot Springs is a cluster of geothermal mineral springs that gave its name to the town of Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. The land is held by the State of Idaho and access is recorded as open. The water comes out hot, a notch above what most people would soak in untouched, with a fair load of dissolved minerals and...

   Getting there: in town, roadside

   Scored 15 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

2. 

   2. Maple Grove Hot Springs Retreat Center, best for camping nearby

   Listed as Maple Grove Hot Springs, Franklin County

   • Developed pools
   • $18 day pass
   • Pools 100–107°F
   • Year-round
   • Roadside
   • Reservations required
   • 4.2 from 38 Tripadvisor reviews

   Maple Grove Hot Springs, seventeen miles or so from Preston in Franklin County, Idaho, is a very hot spring, the temperature at the source far beyond scalding. Nothing can sit in that water as it comes out. The record leaves land owner and public access blank, so there is no confirmation here that visitors are...

   Getting there: Drive to property via Hwy 34 mile marker 29, AWD or 4x4

   Scored 12 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

3. 3. Atlanta Hot Springs, best for free soaking

   Camas County, near Fairfield

   • Primitive pools
   • Free
   • Pools 97–110°F
   • Year-round
   • Roadside

   Atlanta Hot Springs is a roadside hot spring in Camas County, Idaho, far from anything, with Fairfield the nearest town at thirty-five miles or so. The water on file sits right at the top of the hot range, a hair short of what we call scalding. Do not put your hand straight in. Atlanta Cabin is the listed camping,...

   Getting there: short walk from forest road, 4WD high clearance needed

   Scored 11 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

4. 

   4. Burgdorf Hot Springs, best for a full-service soak

   Valley County, near McCall

   • Developed pools
   • $20 day pass
   • Pools 99–113°F
   • year_round (short closures)
   • Roadside
   • Reservations required
   • 4.7 from 114 Tripadvisor reviews

   Burgdorf Hot Springs lies in Valley County, 27 miles out of McCall, at over six thousand feet. The water comes out at 113, hot but at the lower edge of hot, the kind of temperature a body can take for a while. The record does not list a land owner or say if the public is welcome. Upper Payette Lake Campground is...

   Getting there: summer by car via Warren Wagon Road, about 32 mi north of McCall

   Scored 11 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

5. 

   5. Loftus Hot Spring, best for a wild soak

   Boise County, near Idaho City

   • Primitive pools
   • Free
   • Pools 100–110°F
   • Year-round
   • Roadside

   Loftus Hot Spring is a roadside thermal source within the Boise National Forest, thirteen or so miles out of Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho. Open to the public per the record. Hot water, hot enough that it needs cooling before anyone sits in it, and the 1981 sample shows it to be strongly alkaline. There is a...

   Getting there: short hike from graded road, high clearance recommended

   Scored 11 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

6. 

   6. Russian John Hot Spring, best for clothing-optional soaking

   Blaine County, near Ketchum

   • Primitive pools
   • Free
   • Pools 86–105°F
   • Year-round
   • Roadside

   Russian John Hot Spring sits a few steps off the road in the Sawtooth National Forest, Blaine County, about thirteen miles from Ketchum. The water is at body temperature, easy soaking warmth. Access is open. Easley Campground is about three miles away. Forest Service ground, with water chemistry on file from the...

   Getting there: Dirt turnoff 18 mi north of Ketchum on Hwy 75, short uphill walk about 300 ft

   Scored 11 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

7. 

   7. Silver Creek Plunge, best for families

   Listed as Silver Creek Hot Spring, Valley County

   • Developed pools
   • $15 day pass
   • Pools 100°F
   • Year-round
   • Roadside

   Silver Creek Hot Spring, also called the Silver Creek Plunge, runs at a soaking temperature a little over a hundred degrees in Valley County, roughly seventeen miles from Cascade. It sits around a hundred feet from the road. Nobody recorded the land owner or the access status, so both are unknown. Wikipedia...

   Getting there: Gravel road about 23 mi north of Crouch

   Scored 11 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

8. 

   8. Sunbeam Hot Springs, best for a wild soak

   Custer County, near Challis

   • Primitive pools
   • Free
   • Pools 100–110°F
   • Year-round
   • Roadside
   • 4.3 from 8 Tripadvisor reviews

   Way too hot to hold a hand in, that is Sunbeam Hot Springs at the source. It rises in Challis National Forest, Custer County, thirty miles or so down the Salmon River Scenic Byway from Challis, and the Forest Service has it open to the public. Anyone soaking has to let the water cool first. Dissolved solids are low...

   Getting there: Roadside pullout on Hwy 75 about 12 mi NE of Stanley, short path with a few steps

   Scored 11 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

9. 9. Zim's Hot Springs, best for a full-service soak

   Listed as Zims Resort Hot Springs, Valley County

   • Developed pools
   • $13 day pass
   • Pools 90–105°F
   • Year-round
   • Roadside
   • 2.9 from 70 Tripadvisor reviews

   Zims Resort Hot Springs carries a resort in its name, yet nothing on file mentions a business operating there, and no fee or owner is recorded. What is on file is a scalding spring beside Zims Road in Valley County, about thirteen miles from McCall, with water past the scalding mark in the June 1980 survey. It tests...

   Getting there: Roadside resort near New Meadows

   Scored 11 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

10. 10. Prince Albert Hot Springs, best for a wild soak

    Listed as Coyote Hot Spring, Elmore County

    • Primitive pools
    • Free
    • Pools 100–104°F
    • May–Oct
    • Roadside

    Out on BLM land in Elmore County, managed from the Four Rivers Field Office, Coyote Hot Spring is about 12 miles from Glenns Ferry. Mid 130s at the source, too hot to sit in as it comes out. The record has it open to all comers. Spillway Campground is the nearest camping at close to 17 miles, so this is not a place...

    Getting there: park at BLM gate, 1.5 to 2 mi uphill hike

    Scored 10 of 16. Hours, fees and sources

Side-by-Side Comparison

The same picks on the criteria they were ranked by. Pool temperatures are what visitors sit in, not the temperature at the source.

Which Hot Spring Fits Your Trip

How We Ranked These Hot Springs

Every spring in Idaho with confirmed visitor details was scored out of 16. Springs that are closed, private, too hot to soak without cooled pools, or whose details we couldn't confirm are left out.

Visitor rating (up to 4)

4 points for 4.5 stars or better from 1,000+ Google or Tripadvisor reviews, 3 for 4.3+ from 300+, 2 for 4.0+ from 100+, 1 for 4.0+ from 25+.

Soak temperature (up to 3)

3 points when the pools reach 100 to 106°F, 2 for 95 to 110°F, 1 for 90 to 112°F. Pool temperatures are the published ones; for wild pools we use the measured spring temperature. Developed pools that don't publish a temperature get 2, since resorts keep their pools in the soaking range.

Access (up to 3)

3 for roadside or a developed site you can drive to, 2 for a short walk, 1 for a hike, 0 for backcountry.

Cost (up to 2)

2 when free or $10 or less. 1 for $10 to $30 a day, or for a parking or permit fee with no listed price. 0 above $30 or when only overnight guests can soak. A day pass with no published price also gets 0.

Season (up to 2)

2 when open year-round, 1 when open part of the year.

Measured water (up to 1)

1 when a lab analysis of the water is on record (pH or dissolved minerals).

Confirmed details (up to 1)

1 when the operator or the land agency publishes the fees and hours.