It is official, Skinnydipper Hot Springs, located north of Boise is closed until June 30, 2013.
According to the BLM, the closure is due to the 2012 Springs Fire, which burned away vegetation on rocky slopes above the hot springs. There is concern that spring rains could lead to falling rocks, flooding and debris flows through the hot springs.
The closure encompasses 41 acres, and includes Bronco Billy Hot Springs and the highway pullout used for parking at the Skinnydipper Hot Springs trailhead.
It is important to note that the 2012 Springs Fire was caused by folks violating nighttime closure and camping up at Skinnydipper. Boise County has expressed concern since the fire because of the lack of BLM involvement with enforcing nighttime closure despite continued problems at the hot springs, but did not possess the authority to do anything about the situation.
Doesn’t this look bad for the BLM? They enact nighttime closure, but don’t enforce it at all. Then, enter the Springs Fire. All I’m saying is it doesn’t look good. The reason why the BLM has authority over the Forest Service, as I understand, is because Skinnydipper is located on critically endangered land. As I said, it doesn’t look good.
Don’t get me wrong, I have contacts within the BLM that want nothing more than to keep public hot springs open, safe and protected for everyone. I think that’s why the Skinnydipper situation is so frustrating.
It also bothers me that our public lands agencies don’t look to other states that have encountered similar problems to help with resolution. Wouldn’t this be preferable to waiting until Idaho’s natural wonders suffer the same fate when there are viable alternatives?
If anyone has some insight please comment below. It should be noted that the punishment for violating the Skinnydipper Hot Springs closure is brutal, with a possible fine of $1,000 AND up to 12 months jail time. I bet nighttime closure might have worked better if those fines were in place… yowch!
As an Idaho native and a springer I am constantly dumbfounded by the thoughtlessness of people who visit the hot springs. I want the springs to remain open but with each passing year I worry about the damage that is being done. Nearly every trip I take ends in me cleaning up the garbage left by others. It seems to me that we must empower all law enforcement officials to help us curb the problems. BLM officers, Fish and Game Officers, and local and county police should be in on this and able to issue tickets or at the very list record license plate numbers to be passed on to law enforcement for ticketing later. These springs are an Idaho treasure. We must take great care to preserve them.
HGS – While I appreciate your update on the closure of the HotSprings, your comments regarding the reason are laughable. What exactly would you propose the BLM do?…Post land managers at the bottom of the trail and ticket people?? I can’t believe you are actually blaming them for the closure and the problems that led up to it. Have you ever been to Skinny-dipper and assessed the level of consciousness half of the people sitting in and around the pools have?? Give me a break – this is NOT the fault of the BLM. The problem with any overused area – hot spring or not, is mostly with the people who use (and abuse) it – not the land manager, alone.
As an Idaho Girl who has grown up with a passion and love for the abundance of hot springs in our state, I consider it a privilege to have access to them. Your inflammatory comments toward the land managers are in part, what gets them blown up!! If people aren’t goign to respect and take care of the land, and they don’t have the manpower or funds to guard it, then they see no choice but to eliminate the temptation to use it.
You seem to have a passion for this beautiful earthly gift as well. So I humbly ask that you consider focussing your ire, not on the agencies and private land managers who are granting general access but instead, on those individuals who selfishly destroy these sacred places.
Michelle,
I couldn’t agree with you more. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. One of the big problems with Skinny is that the BLM does not have the capacity to manage the hot springs appropriately because they do not have a field office in the vicinity. Most likely, the Forest Service would prove better stewards because they are located much closer.
I’m with you, I think the majority of the problem would be solved if someone could simply drive by once a night and ticket vehicles in the pullout, but for some ridiculous reason this has never occurred even despite multiple fatalities each year. It just doesn’t make sense to close the hot springs at night if there is nobody to enforce it.
With no authoritative presence at Skinny, Jackhole soakers were quick to figure out that nighttime closure wasn’t being enforced in the least.
Thanks again for your comment! Happy soaking!
Lea,
I really appreciate your input and am glad for the opportunity to respond…
For starters, I am not blaming the BLM for closing Skinnydipper due to the falling rocks/safety issue in the least. That actually makes complete sense.
However, I am critical of the miss-management of such an amazing resource located on endangered land. It could easily be said that the Springs Fire may not have occurred had nighttime closure been enforced even just a little. Under your assumption, the BLM shouldn’t be held responsible because people suck? Isn’t that why the BLM was put in charge to begin with? I have long contended that if Skinny can’t be managed, after exhausting other alternatives (which have yet to be attempted) – shut it down!!
I have never once implied that Skinny’s problems are due solely to the BLM or a land manager. If you’ve been reading my blog, it is obviously the people (Jackholes)! But, it is the land manager’s responsibility to take care of the land… if the people are the problem, it need be dealt with, not ignored. Ignoring the situation is exactly how we got here!
Posting land managers at the trailhead would be great although obviously unrealistic, but how about at least driving by once a day and ticketing illegally parked vehicles? Isn’t critically endangered land at least worth that? They wouldn’t even have to make the hike, just the pullout. It would be a excellent start… Again, maybe if they had been enforcing nighttime closure (even 1x/day), there is a good chance Skinny would be opening back up at night instead of being closed down 24/7.
Hot springs as popular as Skinny in other states have all gone through nearly the exact same set of problems. It took them awhile, but they have a pretty good handle on management presently. Why can’t Idaho look to these other examples? Why wait until there is no recourse left?
If you propose to let the BLM off the hook for over a decade of miss-management, you’ve set the stage for complete closure. Not very sound logic if you ask me. Especially in light of possible alternatives that have proven successful in other states. If your methodology was in place, one by one, all hot springs everywhere would be sealed off, to be followed by waterfalls, swimming holes, rivers, lakes and so forth. Skinny would have been “blown-up” years ago.
I have personally cleaned-up and hauled out hundreds of bags of trash from Skinny over the years, have helped organized volunteer clean-up groups and actively speak-out about the problems facing Skinnydipper and other popular hot springs with similar dilemmas. I communicate with the Keepers and the BLM, but the problem isn’t as black and white as you think.
My hope is to keep these special places open through active conservation and preservation – through education. Not get them “blown-up”, as you imply. Sheesh. Educating people to pick up their trash is apparently a very difficult thing to do.
Here’s one of the core problems with the management of Skinny:
Since this land is “critically endangered”, management goes to the BLM (protocol I assume). Unfortunately, the BLM does not have nearby field offices or personnel, making it very difficult to apply any kind of effective management to the area. It is also because of this why the Forest Service, ISP or County Sheriff doesn’t involve unless called to the location for a criminal violation. This really seems like a political issue, in that the public lands agencies should be able to work together when dealing with problems of this nature… like other states have done in the past with hot springs facing similar circumstances.
Thanks again for your comment. It would have been helpful had you contributed a suggestion as to how to deal with this problem aside from directing me to focus on the Jackholes, which I already do. A little help would be great! 🙂
Again, I admire your passion, just point that sucker in the right direction! Speak up for Skinny!
Greetings from (the old guy) Hotspring Harley. The keepers are sad to loose the Dipper. A note or two; In March, I spoke with three different soakers , who had received citations for being at the SKD after dark. One citation was from the BLM & the other two from Boise County. I heard of others also. The sad part now is that there are no keepers (like yourself) allowed on the mountain, so the only people there, DAY or night, will be the JACKHOLES.
FYI The water piping system has been dismantled, in part, to deter Jackholes. Happy soaken HH
Thanks for the update Harley, and for all of your hard work taking care of the hot springs.
Can someone explain what a Jack Hole is?
A jackhole is generally a jerk. To be a little more descriptive, these are the people that show up and trash places. They leave their beer cans and other things all over the place for everyone else to clean up. They bring glass containers that end up broken in or around the pools, or littered all over the trail to the springs. They try to break into cars and do anything else that you can consider to be bad behavior. Considering the recent closure of the dipper, these are also the people who think the closure doesn’t apply to them. From some of the reports I’ve heard, these people have torn up the dipper and it is going to take some time and effort to make repairs once the ban has been lifted.
It is this same group of people that get places shut down.
Thanks Dipper Bob, couldn’t have said it better myself.
Just a few jackholes is all it takes to ruin it for the rest of us, unless we take it back.
Hi there HSG! I hate to admit that it has been too long since I’ve visited. Your blog design looks absolutely terrific, and good for you in having so many different options for people to share your posts. As always, I learned something new in this latest post. Your pics of Skinnydipper show it to be a special place, and I hope it will be restored (and forever after respected).
I was at a hotsprings this last weekend for the first time in ages and it was wondrous and healing. Of course it made me think of HSG.
Please let me know if you will be doing a calendar for 2014, as I would not want to miss ordering it.
Thank you, Lydia! I love getting comments from you! I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.
I hope life has been treating you well. Take good care.
wait so is this place closed or not because i was planning on going this morning
Fully closed until June 30.
I heard from a friend who went up there not knowing that it was closed, that the closure sign is half way up the hill and not knowing why or wanting to turn around after going that far he ended up going all the way. The springs is in bad shape. All piping has been disconnected and some of the pipes have been busted up. All plugs have been removed so there is no way to fill the pools. The cold water pipes have no flow to them so there is no way to adjust the pools anymore. I was truly disappointed when I heard this. The good thing about this closure is the trash level is low lol. Although my friend did come out with a trash bag with a few items in it. Lets hope sometime in July this spring can be back to its former glory and that people start understanding how quickly and easily these treasures can be ruined and taken from the public.
hey HSG thanks for your updates and love for nature. I’ve got tomorrow off and want to head up to skinnydipper. is it open or closed on the 30th? I don’t want to get up there and see the foreboding signs saying “enjoy your drive back”..
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the comment! I believe the official last day of the closure is tomorrow, then open on the 1st.
However, as Harley and Boise Born mentioned, there isn’t a soak to be had without some elbow grease. It sounds like Jackholes made it up there and smashed-up whatever Harley didn’t take out.
I just found out that the BLM (yesterday) is planning to not re-open Skinny for daytime use, but close it for good… citing pool violations, sanitary waste issues and others. More on this as I find out the legitimacy of the matter.
I also have seen recent pics of Skinny, and the dipper is in rough shape. Let’s hope the BLM will work with us soak seekers to find some way to work out the kinks. If indeed this is true.
If the BLM is reading this, let me say thank you for taking care of Skinny over the years and dealing with the challenges of a public hot springs located near a large population center. And, to please consider using Oregon public hot springs management as an example of how to address situations like this.
Skinny could be one of the first that we have lost for good, while restrictions have already been imposed on Jerry Johnson, Weir Creek, Kirkham, Gold Bug, Rocky Canyon and more. These problems won’t go away, and neither should the hot springs. We just have to figure out how to best manage them w/o destroying them. If Oregon, Washington and a host of other states can figure this out, so can Idaho.
On July 10th, I am wondering if anyone has an up-to-date report of how things are at Skinnydipper. It would be so sad to see this place disappear. Anyone heard anything?
Hotspring Harley here (the old guy). Sorry I didn’t think to post here earlier. BLM is proposing the removal of Skinny Dipper Hot Springs.
The BLM will be holding two public meetings to discuss issues and concerns and encourage participation in development of potential alternatives.
The first of the two public meetings will be held in Boise at the BLM Boise District Office at 3948 S. Development Ave., on July 17, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The second public meeting will be held in Garden Valley at the Community Hall at 329 Village Circle on July 18, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Comments from the public should be received by BLM August, 15, 2013 to be most helpful in developing and analyzing proposed alternatives.
Please tell all keepers and other soakers, to be there early, ( BLM public meeting), that would like to keep this beautiful place to soak in. Also Needed; A saturation of letters to the BLM (Bureau of Land Management)expressing the value to us soakers of the use of Skinny Dipper hot springs. They have no idea how many people soak there and that they come from all over the USA and the rest of the world. Have everyone that will, write the BLM ( address is below). E-mails or snail mail. Please write NICE costuctive & appreciative (thank you) e-mails & letters. Show them how many KEEPERS exist.
Direct letters to Jon Beck, BLM Boise District Office, 3948 Development Avenue, Boise ID 83705. email: jmbeck@blm.gov
Thank you “HSG” for this forum. HH
The BLM has virtually zero law enforcement rangers on staff. The few they do have are responsible for tens of thousands of acres. Boise County Sheriff is a poorly funded Department. At any given time they may have two officers on to provide service to the entire county, which is bigger than many eastern states. Babysitting a little hotspring on the fringe of nowhere puts a serious ding on their responsiveness to their other areas of responsibility. So before everyone goes railing on these Federal and County employees for not doing their job, consider they are doing more work than has ever been asked of them before with fewer resoruces, and one ought to consider railing against our elected government representatives for reducing/redirecting/wasting tax dollars into other things. Can’t have it all when you only pay for a little.
any update on skinny dipper’s status since the last post?
Last I’ve heard is that is it currently open sunrise to sunset, but the BLM has yet to decide if they will ‘close’ Skinny for good or keep day use going.