Three Forks Hot Spring

Three Forks Hot Spring occupies a remote canyon at the triple-border intersection of Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, deep within the Owyhee Canyonlands — a spectacular high-desert plateau where rivers have carved dark basalt gorges over millennia. Reachable only on foot or by packraft down the Owyhee River, this wild spring remains one of the most isolated thermal sites in the American West.

The neutral water (pH 7.3) pools naturally along the river's edge, creating a seamless boundary between geothermal warmth and cold desert current. Canyon walls rise hundreds of feet on either side, their layered rock strata glowing amber and rust in the low desert light. River runners and backcountry hikers have long used this spot as a waypoint during multi-day descents of the Owyhee, stripping down to soak in the riverside pools before the next rapid.