Loftus Hot Springs Near Boise, Idaho is No More
ByOne of Idaho’s most stellar soaks, which has been around for years, is no more. Portions of the lip from the overhang (above the pool) were broken off and are among the rest of the ruins once known as Loftus Hot Springs. I’ve heard rumors over the last few days it was destroyed and was sent the following pictures (thank you Heather!).
Learn more about Loftus on IHS
Still not sure who the responsible party is… I’ve heard it was the FS and have also heard that someone is attempting to redesign the pool.
Judging by the pictures it looks like Jackholes have visited recently, or are potentially involved. Could a pick-ax really cause that type of damage? Were explosives involved?
Please chime in if you’ve got some intel! I’ll post here and on the Facebook page for Idaho as information becomes available.
15 Comments
damnit people suck! I never got to check Loftus out
According to the Twin Springs crew it was the Forest Service.
Why would the FS do this? What a beautiful spring!
I’ve heard that it was the FS a few times now, they must have pulled the permit card similar to Rocky Canyon because the pool at Loftus was reinforced with mortar.
This isn’t the way to deal with problem hot springs! Rocky is rebuilt as will Loftus. Eventually, they are going to have to address the problem, look to other states and work with hot springers that actually care about hot springs.
The problem is Jackholes. They trash the site, get in fights, crash their cars at 3 a.m. until the FS or sheriff decides that it is a problem and blows a spring up. Not sure what we can do about idiots.
read on Facebook some people went last weekend and put some serious effort in, supposed to be back in good shape
i was up there last week and it was a mess i walk out with a 55 gallon trash bag with trash to the brim. its still there and it needs work.
I was there this last Sunday. There was trash everywhere. Its ovious that the damage was done by hand, without tools, by partiers. Only a small part of the wall was broken and part of the overhang was knocked into the pool. The lower more shallow pool wasn’t damaged at all. If the fs had done it they would have taken it all down. The only “repairs” that had been done was someone threw a tarp over the opening in the wall.
Ok, I used to be a Combat Enigineer, (Army MOS 12B2O), from what I’ve seen, (just the photos here), the apparent damage level would be consistent with explosives being deployed.
This level of damage against the rock I saw on my last visit, with picks/shovels, etc. would take several “man years” (a HUGE number of people over a short time, or a small number of people over a very long period of time)! The “pick marks” COULD actually be the tool marks from a pneumatic drill, or a jackhammer, after the charge/s were detonated, the tool marks would have been altered/reduced. This is a damned shame whether it was done by “Jack-holes” or the Jack-holes of the USFS!!! The “regulations” that these “people” (USFS) see fit to “strictly enforce” are meant to be used as “guidance” to the various directors of the USFS, not “strictly enforced” as if they were the “law of the land”!
I went to Loftus today, the pics here weren’t all that clear, and I was curious,(this place holds some memories).
My assessment is that the damage is consistent with the use of hand tools to partially destroy the retaining wall. the back “wall” is in exactly the same condition it was the last time I visited. With that having been said, it is a real shame that this has happened,local legend has it that this pool was constructed around the same time as Arrowrock Dam, by some of the people involved with the dam’s construction. It may be even older than that, there was logging activity in that area before the dam was constructed and I’m certain the loggers could have noticed and improved it.
The “reconstruction” (so far), is long on talk and short on action. The blue tarp was just lying around outside the “tub”, and someone had substituted a deflated air mattress for it, no one has even moved a single stone, that I saw to plug the hole in the wall. It looks to me as if the Jack-holes have “won” this round!
@Joe: you should go up and check it out anyway, the area is still quite beautiful, and between mile posts 35 and 36 there is a hot spring across the Boise River that cascades down a nearly sheer wall, with a non-mortared rock pool in the river! Crossing the river should not be too difficult right now (Aug. 2011), although I would not recommend it for just everyone, (elderly, “disabled”, less than 10 y.o. w/o adults, etc.)! If I were a stone mason, and had more $, I’d probably repair it myself, the other problem is that whatever Jack-hole did this would probably return and do it again.
I have current pics and video of Loftus on Oct 6, 2011 if you’d like them, as we drove up today to see for ourselves it’s current status. It’s not nearly as bad as your most recent post of May 19, 2011. Please forward an e-mail address to the one listed above and I can forward so you can update your website.
Not sure what everyone is talking about. My family and I go to this hot spring often and it is in good shape. Most recent visit on Dec. 31,2011. Work has been done and aside from is more shallow then it ever has been it is still up and a great hot spring! The part of the mountain that slide into the spring has also been taken out.
if i can help in some way please contact me i love this spring
I hope this spring has not been damaged
My Sisiter , Mom, Aunt, and Best friend all visited there within the last 3 years and would hate to see it damaged. It is so beautiful! The only problem we had when we visited was the garbage from partiers, and we cleaned up what we found. hope this goegeous place is here for many generations to visit…
Went in March 2012.. It was ok. My fav for over 12 years. Gonna check it out next weekend…