Barth Hot Springs
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
Ten miles from any road, Barth Hot Springs sits deep in the Payette National Forest, Idaho, a backcountry hot spring. The record lists the county as Ravalli and Hamilton as the nearest town. Source water runs at the top of the hot range, hot enough to scald. Open to the public on Forest Service land.
Around twenty-six hundred feet. Magruder Road is the jumping-off point, ten miles back, and it is the only road the record names. The climate on file is mild on average, around fifty, yet winter still dumps eleven feet of snow. Horse Heaven Cabin, a Forest Service rental, is the camping the record points to, nearly eleven miles off.
This is a multi-day trip. Ten miles each way from Magruder Road, backcountry class, no road closer. Source water is at the edge of scalding, so test before entering anything. The winter months get the nod as best on record, which does not square with the snow total; use judgment. No fee on file.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Barth Hot Springs.
- Setting
- Canyon floor
- Steep ground climbs away on both sides of the spring.
- Highest ground nearby
- 471 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northwest
A slice through the ground from south to north, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's about 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 20% of the springs on this site.
Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
Overview The Horse Heaven Cabin is a historic cabin that sits between two scenic wilderness areas in central Idaho. It provides access to a variety of trails and recreational opportunities unique to the area. Recreation Visitors to the area enjoy big and small game hunting. Proper licenses are required to hunt within the Idaho and neighboring Montana. There are a variety of hiking and horseback riding trails in the area. Bicycles and motorized travel are not allowed within wilderness boundar...
Springs Near Barth Hot Springs
More Springs Around 140°F
Hike 6 waterfalls near Barth Hot Springs
Looking for more outdoor adventures? Explore waterfall hikes near Barth Hot Springs, Idaho.