Visiting Idaho City hot springs was one of the highlights of our time in the area and such a good balance to all the eating, wandering, and exploring we packed into the trip. Idaho City is already a slower-paced mountain town, and adding a soak makes it feel like a true reset—especially if you’re coming from Boise and want something relaxing without a ton of effort.
We ended up visiting a mix of spa-style and more natural soaking spots, and each one offered a completely different experience. This guide walks through exactly what to expect at the main Idaho City hot springs, how they compare to nearby options, and how to plan your visit so it’s smooth instead of confusing.
If you’re planning a full stay, this pairs well with my Idaho City Guide: What to Do, Where to Eat & Where to Stay, which lays out restaurants, hotels, and how to structure your time.
If you want the most polished and predictable Idaho City hot springs experience, start with The Springs.
This is not a rugged, backcountry soak. The Springs feels like a mountain retreat with spa energy. There’s a large communal soaking pool, a hot tub, and private tubs you can reserve by the hour if you want something quieter or more secluded. Everything is fed by natural geothermal water, and the temperature is consistently warm and relaxing.
Visits are reservation-only and run in timed sessions, which keeps it from ever feeling crowded. There’s also a steam room and the option to order food and drinks while you soak—an underrated perk if you want to fully settle in.
It’s about a 45-minute scenic drive from Boise, which makes it an easy half-day trip or a great addition if you’re staying overnight in Idaho City. If you want the full breakdown on what it’s like, what to book, and whether private tubs are worth it, see my full review of The Springs Idaho City Hot Springs: What to Expect & How to Plan Your Visit.
If you’re staying nearby, browsing hotels near Idaho City here makes planning much easier since everything stays close and low-stress.
Bonneville is for people who want their Idaho City hot springs experience to feel wild, quiet, and earned.
This is a natural, undeveloped hot springs right along the river, and access depends heavily on the season. In summer or when there’s no snow, you can usually park close and walk less than half a mile. In winter or early spring, road and campground closures can mean longer walks and a little confusion—but it’s still worth it.
Facilities are extremely limited. There’s a very rustic changing booth and nothing else. No bathrooms, no food, and spotty cell service. What you get instead are small natural pools, waterfalls, and incredible river views in every direction.
Some pools are extremely hot, especially if there’s no cold river water flowing in. People move rocks to balance the temperature, and once it’s mixed properly, it’s incredibly relaxing. Crowds tend to be minimal compared to other Idaho City hot springs, which makes it feel peaceful and secluded.
If you want all the access details, parking notes, and what to bring so you’re not caught off guard, learn more in my post about Bonneville Hot Springs Idaho: A Scenic & Secluded Soak Near Boise.
Kirkham Hot Springs is only about 20 minutes from Bonneville, but the experience is completely different.
There’s very little hiking involved—the parking lot is right by the springs—making it one of the most accessible Idaho City hot springs. That said, the rocks are slippery, water shoes are highly recommended, and there are steep stairs with small steps to reach many of the pools.
This is the busiest of the three. When we visited, there were roughly 50 people, but the pools are spread out enough that it never felt chaotic—just more social.
What makes Kirkham stand out is variety. There are multiple pools at different temperatures and a hot springs waterfall, which is always a fun bonus. Some pools are very hot, others are just right, depending on how the water mixes.
The top pool was my favorite. It sits above a canyon overlooking the river and feels surprisingly peaceful despite the crowds below. If you’re deciding whether the crowds are worth it, check out my full take in Kirkham Hot Springs Idaho: A Popular Hot Springs Near Boise (Worth the Crowds?).
Here’s the quick decision guide:
Choose The Springs if you want a clean, calm, spa-style soak with reservations and amenities
Choose Bonneville if you want scenic, secluded, and completely rustic with a little adventure
Choose Kirkham if you want variety, easy access, and don’t mind sharing the experience
If you have time, combining more than one gives you the best overall Idaho City hot springs experience.
Having a car makes all of this much easier, especially since conditions can change quickly. We found renting a car gave us flexibility to adjust plans, and and rented using Discover Cars helped with mountain-friendly choices.
If you’re basing yourself in Boise and doing Idaho City as a day trip, check out my guide on Where to Stay in Boise: Best Areas & Hotels for a First-Time Visit to make sure your location actually makes these drives easy.
Sky Ranch Lodge, Sedona. Booked it for the location, stayed for the sunsets.
This is not a five-star resort with ten restaurants and a spa menu the length of a novel. It’s a family-owned boutique hotel on Airport Mesa that knows exactly what it’s good at: red rock views from basically everywhere and one of the best sunset spots in town, private, with maybe four other couples instead of a crowd.
We booked a Premier Rim Room and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Watched the sunset from our own patio one night and it’s still one of my favorite moments of the whole trip.
✨ Six acres of botanical gardens to wander morning and evening
✨ Pool + hot tub that hit exactly right after a day of hiking
✨ On-site food truck for easy breakfasts and lazy room service nights
✨ Complimentary shuttle so you’re not fighting Sedona parking
✨ Robes, slippers, and a staff that felt genuinely happy to help
Two stays in and I’d book it again without a second thought. This is where to stay in Sedona if you want it to actually feel like Sedona.
Thank you to @skyranchlodge for having us, link in bio for the full review 🌵
Four hours on a train through a canyon you can’t reach by car — such a fun experience! We picked the indoor seats with unlimited access to the open-air viewing car, which honestly felt like the only right call. You’re not stuck in an assigned seat the whole time we bounced between the two, snacks in hand, chasing the best light.
The scenery is the whole point. Red rock cliffs, the Verde River, a 734-foot tunnel, historic trestle bridges views most people visiting Sedona never see, because you literally can’t drive to them.
The charcuterie box that comes with your ticket is shockingly filling ✨ so skip lunch at the Copper Spike Café beforehand, save your appetite for dinner back in Sedona.
Four hours with no stops did start to feel long by the end, but the trade-off for scenery like this? Worth it.
Would I ride it again? Yes. Would I buy lunch first again? No.
Link in bio for the full review cost breakdown, what to pack, and exactly how early to arrive 🚂
I ate chilaquiles while a Cessna taxied past the window, and that’s just a normal Tuesday breakfast in Sedona.
@mesa_grill_sedona sits right beside the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout, so along with your food you get red rock views stretching in every direction and a front-row seat to tiny planes lifting off. Chef Mercer Mohr runs the kitchen, serving up Southwestern comfort food from breakfast through dinner, chilaquiles, elevated diner classics, burgers, steaks, seafood, all of it.
The view is what pulls people in the door, but the food actually holds its own. Good enough that this place stays packed with locals, not just tourists passing through on their way to the lookout. It also picked up the 2025 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice and OpenTable Diners’ Choice awards, so it’s not just me saying it.
Indoor seating if you want the AC, a pet-friendly patio if your dog’s along for the trip. Either way, get there before plane-spotting turns into a wait for a table.
Link in bio for the full Sedona breakfast roundup ✈️🌵
Confession: my newsletter is where the good stuff lives. Not the polished, edited-for-the-grid stuff, the “here’s the hole-in-the-wall I almost skipped” stuff, the packing lists I actually use, the “don’t book this hotel” warnings before you waste your money on them.
The newsletter is basically me texting you before a trip instead of after one. Sign up and you’ll be the first to know where I’m headed next, plus a few things I’ll never post here.
Link in bio if you want in. ✈️
Yes, it’s only July. Start planning anyway. Fall books faster than people expect, and a few of these destinations are worth getting ahead of. Here are five places worth putting on your radar right now.
Ireland: Cooler temps, moody skies, dramatic coastline fall was made for it. Tourist crowds drop, the green stays, and the whole country feels a little more like itself.
Great Smoky Mountains, TN/NC: Fall foliage in the Smokies is the real thing. The color peaks mid-October and the views from the ridgelines are hard to argue with. It’s also one of the most visited national parks in the country, so going on a weekday makes a real difference.
New York City: Fall is NYC at its best comfortable temps, the energy of the city shifting into a new season, and every neighborhood doing something worth showing up for. It’s also just a great walking city when it’s not brutally hot.
Japan: Fall foliage season is as good as spring cherry blossoms and somehow less talked about. The colors are dramatic, the temples and gardens are stunning, and it’s worth planning around peak dates by region.
Mystic, Connecticut: Small, walkable, genuinely charming Mystic in fall feels like exactly what a New England autumn is supposed to look like. Easy to pair with a broader New England road trip if you want to extend it.
Full guides linked in bio 🍂
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