Every hot spring we have written up in Idaho: where to park, whether the road is open, what the water is actually like, and which ones are clothing-optional.
4 spots have been written up by hand. A further 50 are on the map from public data but nobody has confirmed them yet.
Someone has actually been to each of these. Where we are unsure, the spot page says so.
Getting there. The trailhead and parking area are accessed via Warm Springs Road off US Highway 93, about 23 miles south of Salmon, Idaho. From the trailhead, reaching the springs requires a steep 2-mile (4 miles round-trip) hike with roughly 1,000 to 1,350 feet of elevation gain.
US-12, near Lolo Pass · Idaho Panhandle
Getting there. Clearwater NF. ~1 mi riverside trail off US-12 to multiple pools. Very popular; day-use only, no camping at the springs. Clothing-optional by custom.
Rules on the ground. National Forest; CO customary.
If it is your first time. The famous US-12 soak between Idaho and Montana. Go on a weekday — weekends and evenings get packed.
Getting there. Parking is at a paved pullout along Idaho State Highway 75 about 12 miles northeast of Stanley, followed by a short walk down the bank to the riverfront pools.
US-12, near Lowell · Idaho Panhandle
Getting there. Clearwater NF. ~0.5 mi trail off US-12 (unmarked pullout) to tiered pools by the creek. Clothing-optional by custom.
Rules on the ground. National Forest; CO customary.
If it is your first time. Quieter neighbor to Jerry Johnson up US-12. The trailhead is easy to miss — watch your odometer.
These come from OpenStreetMap. They are real places at real coordinates, but nobody has been to them for us yet, so there is no write-up: no parking notes, no word on whether the road is open, no clothing policy. We label them exactly that way rather than pretending otherwise.
If you go to one, you can be the first person to confirm it, and you stay credited on that spot permanently.
Takes about a minute, and you do not need an account.