Preis Hot 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.
Preis Hot Spring is a roadside spring in the Sawtooth National Forest, Camas County, sixteen miles from Fairfield. Hot, but only a little over soaking range, so it would need less tempering than a hotter source would. Open to visitors, per the record. The 1981 sample found strongly alkaline water carrying the usual calcium and sodium along with sulfate and chloride.
Carrie Creek Road runs past about a hundred yards off, so there is no real walk. Elevation is high country, with a cool year round average and nine feet or so of snow. The ground is national forest, run by the US Forest Service. Rain and snow together come to about two feet.
Bowns Campground is a few miles away, the only camp the record ties to it. December through February is the stretch on file as best, and with nine feet of snow the access road will be the question in those months. Temperature is only a touch above comfortable soaking, which is as good as it gets for sitting in. The reading is from 1981.
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 Preis Hot Spring.
- Setting
- Hillside
- The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the northeast.
- Highest ground nearby
- 549 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northeast
A slice through the ground from northwest to southeast, 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 59% 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 Preis Hot Spring is alkaline (pH 9.6).
Bowns Campground, located 25 miles east of Featherville and 18 miles north of Fairfield, is a developed campground composed of 10 units along Big Smoky Creek. Two of the camp sites are double family units. Camping, fishing, hiking, and picnicking are popular activities. Campground amenities include picnic tables, fire rings, drinking water (seasonally) and restrooms. Miller Creek Trail (#087) starts just south of the campground and is open to motorcycles.
Preis Hot Spring sits at 5,670 feet above sea level, way above the mile-high mark. You may not feel the altitude strongly, but hot water still dehydrates you faster at elevation. UV is about 23% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Springs Near Preis Hot Spring
More Springs Around 106°F
Alkaline Springs (pH ~9.6)
Hike 6 waterfalls near Preis Hot Spring
Looking for more outdoor adventures? Explore waterfall hikes near Preis Hot Spring, Idaho.