The two resortish-like soaking pools at Sharkey were built by the BLM during the summer of 2001, they were stellar. Even up to 2003, the date of my previous visit, the two pools were still good. After this last visit, I now consider the pools to be in moderate condition. Clear signs of the worsening condition of the concrete housing were visible, and each pool contained a fair amount of slick algae. However, the most blatant difference I noticed is that trash was everywhere! At least the restrooms and changing rooms were in decent condition.
Here’s what one of the pools looked like in 2003:
Here’s what it looks like now (click to enlarge):
A great soak was shared with a couple visiting the area from Montana. About 20 minutes into our soak we heard quite the commotion. Someone was shooting down the dirt road at a very high speed and came ripping into the hot springs parking area. This pickup drove up to the fence, perpendicular to the parallel parking spots, and almost through it! It was the county Sheriff. Wow, quite the dramatic entrance.
Another view of Sharkey’s pool (1 of 2):
After a good sneer and a scowl, the Sheriff ripped on out just as fast as he came in. The Montana couple made a few remarks about the ‘law in these parts’ after some talk about receiving a ticket recently that wasn’t legit. All I know is that wasn’t necessary. If the guy was really looking for someone, our vehicles and license plates were clearly visible in the parking lot.
Central Concrete Fire Pit (click to enlarge):
All of that aside, it was a great soak with good company. The hot 102-103 degree water was a welcome contrast to the cold, crisp mountain air. After soaking, the couple even fired up one of the on-site grills and shared some grub and brew. It was refreshing to have such a great soak and meet some friendly folks, a combination I find to be quite rare in Idaho sometimes. They even started picking up trash first, FTW!
Sharkey is also known as Lewis and Clark Hot Springs (along with a few others). Why? Because Lewis and Clark came through here, maybe they even walked down this road:
Rating: B+ (from March 31, 2008 visit)
View more pictures and past trip reports of Sharkey Hot Springs on IdahoHotSprings.com
Map of Sharkey Hot Springs
I visited Sharkey Hot Springs today (07/26/2010). There is still a bit of algae in the water but not too bad. The pools are drained and scrubbed every Wednesday according to the locals, and I visited on a Monday and they were clean! The cement around the pools shows signs of recent repair and is in great shape. The gravel road had some spots of wash-boarding, but otherwise it was also it good shape. Two small groups of people, one local and one group from Montana joined me in a great soak. The locals were very informative of the history of the valley and the occupants. This is a good place to wash the dust off.