Mormon Ranch Warm Spring
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
Mormon Ranch Warm Spring is a Forest Service spring in Custer County, three miles by foot from the closest road and nearly forty miles from Challis. The name says warm and the survey note says hot, and no temperature was written down, so take the name lightly. The water, sampled decades ago, came back strongly alkaline. Salmon National Forest land, listed open to the public.
Mid-elevation mountain country, a bit over four thousand feet, with snowfall approaching eight feet in a typical winter and moderate precipitation. That much snow closes the approach for a long stretch of the year. The three-mile hike in is the defining fact of the place. No road name is on file. Nothing in the record describes the trail or the ground around the source.
No best months are listed, so go by the snow. Summer into early fall is the realistic window, and confirm with the forest before heading out. Overnight options on file come down to Yellowjacket Guard Station, some eleven miles distant. No fee appears in the record. Because the temperature is unrecorded, check the water carefully before getting near it. It might be a soak or it might be hotter than skin can take.
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 Mormon Ranch Warm Spring.
- Setting
- Canyon floor
- Steep ground climbs away on both sides of the spring.
- Highest ground nearby
- 679 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northeast
A slice through the ground from southwest to northeast, 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 53% 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.
The water at Mormon Ranch Warm Spring is alkaline (pH 9.4).
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Overview Yellowjacket Guard Station is a historic Forest Service Ranger Station and Work Center. Originally constructed in 1925 and remodeled in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the structure is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Recreation Hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers and off-road enthusiasts will find many trails in the surrounding area. Hunting is also a popular activity. Click here for an Idaho OHV safety messageFacilities The spacious...
Mormon Ranch Warm Spring is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear.
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Springs Near Mormon Ranch Warm Spring
Alkaline Springs (pH ~9.4)
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