![]() ![]() This extra approach keeps the springs much quieter on a winter afternoon. The campground that sits adjacent to the hot springs is typically bustling in the summer months, but in winter the gate at the road is closed and accessing the springs requires a bit of a walk-first on a snowy road, then a well-maintained trail. A series of separate baths have been built along the creek, fed by hot water cascading down the rocks above, getting hotter as you head upstream.Īfter a quiet night in Garden Valley, we ventured east and just before we reached the tiny hamlet of Lowman we found Pine Flats Hot Spring. The pools themselves were a perfect temperature and not too crowded (even on a Friday evening). A few ropes helped us keep our footing, but micro-spikes were key on both the ascent and descent. The quick hike down to the springs was treacherous at best as the snow had been scraped and slickened into ice by other soakers. Our first stop was just outside McCall at Trail Creek Hot Springs. Some 19 miles down a snow-packed road we found a turnoff scattered with a few cars and telltale steam rising out of the forest. Even though the scenery changed from prairie to mountains to scrubby hill country, two things remained constant: the air was cold and the springs were hot. We traveled in a loop from McCall to Salmon along the famed and scenic Banks-Lowman Road (Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway) and Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, through Stanley and Challis along the way. ![]() ![]() I set out on a road trip with four friends seeking Idaho’s most idyllic and picturesque hot springs. But when the mercury drops in the colder months, evidence of a whole other wonder can be seen: steam drifting up along the water’s edge-signs of geothermal magic bubbling out of fissures in the rock inviting you in for a dreamy soak. Aromatic Ponderosa pines speckled across tawny hillsides. Nick Lake worked in partnership with Visit Idaho to create this Travel Tip.Ī drive through Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains is always stunning-craggy peaks heaped in stacks above emerald rivers that parallel the highway. ![]()
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