Penny Hot Springs in the Boise National Forest

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Welcome to Penny Hot Springs, 3 hot springs sources located in the Boise National Forest NE of Cascade, Idaho and NW of Warm Lake, Idaho. Only 1 of the 3 is a good soak. There is also a bonus hot springs in the Payette National Forest at the end of the clip.

Aside from the guy asleep sitting up in his flatbed pickup in the parking area (been there minus the flatbed), the trip was fairly uneventful. No trash too!! I was really happy about this fact after the rampage I witnessed here during the July South Fork Payette River fishing destruction derby. Major Kudos to the Krassel work crews for taking good care of such a special place.

View Complete Listing for Penny Hot Springs in Idaho on IHS

The following trip report is from a mid-July Boise and Payette National Forest venture, that took place northeast of Cascade, Idaho in the Krassel Ranger District.

Trail Creek = ultra slammed! A brief stop revealed less trash in the pullout than my last visit. On down the road.

Forest Service Road (FSR) 474 South was under heavy construction. ALL official and primitive camping areas are still off-limits due to area restoration efforts. Why the National Forest doesn’t just close the road to recreation traffic, or AT LEAST post 474 S as being under construction (massive mud/rocks) and that no camping is allowed, is beyond me. You would think they could work more efficiently with less traffic. Plus, aside from visiting (not camping) Vulcan (only roadside parking), Molly’s and Molly’s Tubs all other areas are off-limits.

The tubs at Molly’s Tubs are really, truly … gone. And, (big surprise) so is the trash. I recently received a trip report about the formation of two natural pools, however.

In regard to Molly’s Hot Spring… red spider mite alert! More and more people have been letting me know about this, and a recent email entailing of a spider mite infestation got me thinking it was time to ring the alarm. Why are so many of Idaho’s hot springs afflicted by the mites? Here’s the complete list of hot springs that have reported red spider mite activity… if you have more to add – please comment!

FSR 474 North was under pending construction. Nothing was going on, but the signs stated that construction would begin soon and would completely shut down the south fork road for about a month. They are going to replace all of the main culverts that run underneath the road.

Also worth noting, 474 N currently does not grant access to Yellow Pine and the Mule Hill trailhead to hot soaks in the Frank Church Wilderness (Kwis Kwis and the Middle Fork hot springs). Bridge out. To reach the afore mentioned destinations, take the Stanley-Landmark Highway instead. Drive past the 474 N turnoff towards Warm Lake and look for it near the lake heading north. There are plenty of signs to help you along.

This brings me to the title of this post. After turning onto FSR 474 North (AKA the South Fork Road) I began to notice a trend that made me feel very uneasy. Trash. Everywhere. Yep. Animals got into it.

I’ve been coming up here for almost a decade and have never seen it this trashed. Not even close. Not even after (or during) a fourth of July weekend. Campsites, both primitive and official – trashed. Garbage on the roads, trails and riverside. Fish entrails everywhere.

Apparently, this week a particular tribe is granted access to this area for fishing rights and free camping. Sadly, this type of behavior was something I’m accustomed to from other groups. I know so few fishermen that respect the land these days. Gotta give the Krassel crew a pat on the back for the cleanup. I picked up a ton of trash myself… it’s a compulsive habit nowadays. It barley made a dent though.

This was also the first time I have witnessed pimped-out cars bumpin gangsta rap in this area. Lovely to say the least. It was especially fun having a car pull into my campsite late at night just to be rudely asked “where are the hot springs?”. Oh joy. You can guess what I did. Played dumb.

Keep in mind, great soaks under the stars were had along with excellent mild-weathered hiking during the day. Wildlife was abound everywhere. Including the bugs. Even with bug juice on they ate me alive. Mosquito bites on my hands and face, a big (itchy) spider bite on the inside of my palm (still visible) and a mutant bug bite on my belly that left a scar! After a trip like this I’ve decide to look into garlic tablets.

“Keep close to Nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” –John Muir

Summer Greetings!

Apologies for the lack of updates… however, that only means one thing – I’ve been out and about. I would have had a video clip of Jerry to post, but Revver has been gummed-up lately. Looks like I’ll have to go with YouTube when I’ve got some time to re-upload the clip.

Not hot springs related, but here’s some incredible pics of Coeur d’Alene Lake that I recently took while traveling…

I just received an email update from Will about Loftus (Boise National Forest) Hot Springs stating that the springs are clean save for glass in the upper pool… most was removed (courtesy of Will, many thanks friend) but not all was completely removed.

Rnspringer posted on the forums about a recent visit to Pine Burl and Moondipper (Boise National Forest)… you can check that out here…

A good friend of mine, Conedog, just returned from the Warm Lake area where last weekend was the once a year weekend when the Nez Pierce and Shoshone tribes are granted fishing rights to the area. My knowledge is pretty weak regarding the ordeal, and will be researching this soon, but it sounds like the rights are granted as part of a treaty or some kind of agreement for tribes that inhabited the land prior to the deal making. Please chime in if you’ve got some knowledge to share. Anyway, Conedog was fortunate enough to share a soak with a Nez Pierce family that enlightened him of the situation. The family also told him that there was a tribe hunting in the area that shouldn’t be… i.e. they were not involved in the agreement, but are taking advantage of the right. Conedog mentioned that they used nets to trap the fish, then a modified spear to bring ‘em in. I had no idea.

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule AKA RAC Rule AKA Roadless Rule controversy is heating up again… thank goodness! I’ve gone on and on and on about this… and decided to create RoadlessIdaho.com, please visit, take action, link-up and spread the word. Let me know if you link-up, and I’ll add you to the supporters list on the site. Please take a minute to send a message to the prez – Earthjustice style – Ask Obama to Protect America’s Roadless Forests!

I’ve also received brief, positive reports for Goldbug, Molly’s Tubs and Juntura (Oregon). Overall, it seems I’m getting more reports of cleaned-up hot springs vs those that are trashed. I would love to see that trend.

Hope you are all out enjoying the great outdoors, or have got plans to do so. Please remember to pick up all trash and never bring glass. Happy Trails!

Bighorn Yearlings
Originally uploaded by RHMiller

Tens of thousands of Bidhorn Sheep once lived in Idaho. Now, there are only an estimated 2,000 Bighorn Sheep statewide due to diseases carried by domestic herds grazing on public lands.

The Payette National Forest is looking for a long-term solution to save the Bighorn Sheep– they need your input today!

There are only six days left in the public comment period. Will you send a message asking public land managers to provide disease-free habitat for Bighorns?

Protecting wildlife from domestic animal diseases is a critical piece to public land management. Payette National Forest land managers can prevent Bighorn and domestic sheep from coming in contact by closing overlapping habitats to the domestic sheep’s grazing.

We could lose Bighorn Sheep in Idaho if we don’t put a long-term solution into place. Deadline to submit comments is March 3rd – Take Action!