Steamboat 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.
Steamboat Hot Spring sits on the edge of Soda Springs in Caribou County, southeastern Idaho, less than three miles from town. The name promises more heat than the water delivers. The only temperature on file is tepid, cooler than body heat, and it dates to a survey made in October 1923. Nobody has filed a newer reading. The water carries a heavy load of dissolved minerals, with calcium, magnesium, sulfate, chloride and iron all showing up in that old sample.
A short walk gets you there, roughly a hundred yards off a road the record does not name. The ground sits a little under six thousand feet, high valley country where winters bring a good deal of snow and the other seasons stay fairly dry. Who owns the land is not listed, and there is no public access status on file, so treat the spot as unverified until you can confirm it locally.
Winter is marked as the best stretch for a visit, which fits a place where the water runs lukewarm at best. Expect snow on the approach in those months. The closest listed camping is Eight Mile Guard Station, about nine miles away. Before driving out, check whether the spring is open to visitors, because that is not recorded, and remember the temperature figure is a century old.
The US Geological Survey keeps a monitoring site for this spring. The chemistry shown on the page traces back to a federal sample taken in the fall of 1923.
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 Steamboat Hot Spring.
- Setting
- Gentle slope
- The ground tilts gently up to the northwest.
- Highest ground nearby
- 113 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northwest
A slice through the ground from north to south, 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 18% 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 Steamboat Hot Spring contains 1450 mg/L total dissolved solids. It is notably rich in calcium (may support bone density and joint health), magnesium (known for muscle relaxation and stress relief), and total dissolved solids (higher mineral concentration for therapeutic soaking).
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Overview Eight Mile Guard Station is a short drive from Soda Springs, Idaho. It was established as early as 1908. Several buildings have appeared on this site, although most were replaced or relocated. The current cabin was built in 1962. The guard station only accessible by snowmobile in winter, and guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety. Many conveniences are provided, especially in the warmer months, but additional supplies and gear may be needed to ensure a co...
Steamboat Hot Spring sits at 5,723 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.
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Steamboat Hot Spring is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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