Poison Springs

Twin Falls County, Idaho · Near Buhl
42.6370°N, 114.8920°W · 3,388 ft
Hot 43°F air · Good soaking weather 3,388 ft Open Short Walk Bureau of Land Management
Aerial view of the ground around Poison Springs LiDAR bare-earth view of the same ground around Poison Springs
Aerial LiDAR bare earth

Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.

Poison Springs is a thermal point in Twin Falls County, about seven miles from Buhl, on Bureau of Land Management ground managed out of the Burley office. The record classes it as hot but carries no temperature measurement, so there is nothing to say about sitting in it. Access is listed as open. With a name like that, a test before touching seems reasonable.

Location

BLM public land at low elevation for Idaho. The climate figures read as desert: around ten inches of precipitation a year and very little snow, with a warm average. The nearest road is a little over half a mile off and is not named in the record, so expect to walk.

No best season is listed and no campground is on file. There is no water sample either. The public may go in, and the land is federal. Without a temperature reading, approach the water as unknown and test it with a fingertip first. Buhl is the nearest town.

Terrain

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 Poison Springs.

Setting
Hillside
The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the northeast.
Highest ground nearby
186 ft above the spring
Within a quarter mile, to the northeast
Cross-section through the spring

A slice through the ground from west to east, about 0.6 miles end to end.

Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.

Heat Below
117 milliwatts per square meter of heat flow

That's about twice the US average of 65. It's higher than at 69% 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.

Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.

Monthly Climate
31°
Jan
36°
Feb
44°
Mar
51°
Apr
60°
May
71°
Jun
81°
Jul
79°
Aug
68°
Sep
53°
Oct
40°
Nov
31°
Dec
Annual Precip: 10.4 in Annual Snow: 14.7 in
Current Conditions
43°F
Clear 65% Good soaking weather
Today 78° Low 44° Sunny
Wednesday 82° Low 50° Sunny
Thursday 77° Low 48° Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Rain Showers 15% precip
Friday 76° Low 46° Sunny 1% precip
Saturday 79° Low 46° Sunny 4% precip
Temperature
Hot
Warm Hot Boiling
Avg Air Temp 54°F
Access
Open
Road Access Short Walk
Distance to Road 0.6 mi
Land
Ownership Federal
Agency Bureau of Land Management
Designation PUB
Unit Burley Field Office
Manager Bureau of Land Management
Protection 3 - Protected, subject to extractive use
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the water temperature at Poison Springs?
Poison Springs is classified as hot. An exact temperature measurement has not been recorded.
Where is Poison Springs located?
Poison Springs is located in Twin Falls County, Idaho at 3,388 feet elevation, near Buhl. Coordinates: 42.6370°N, 114.8920°W.
How do I get to Poison Springs?
Poison Springs has Short Walk road access (0.6 mi from the road).
Is Poison Springs free to visit?
Poison Springs has Open access. It is managed by Bureau of Land Management.