Jerry Johnson Hot Springs Idaho

Jerry Johnson Hot Springs is a series of natural geothermal pools in the Clearwater National Forest of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in Idaho, accessible by a 1.5-kilometre hiking trail from Highway 12 along the Lochsa River — one of the most remote and pristine river corridors in the continental United States. The silica and bicarbonate-rich hot spring water emerges through the forested riverbank at temperatures around 43–46°C, filling a series of natural rock-lined soaking pools where bathers can simultaneously immerse in thermal waters and listen to the roaring Lochsa River — a Class IV+ white-water river — a few metres distant. The surrounding Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness is one of the largest wilderness areas in the lower 48 states, protecting habitat for wolves, grizzly bears, moose, and mountain goats in an essentially roadless forest landscape. Jerry Johnson Hot Springs' combination of accessibility by road with a genuine wilderness character, natural geothermal spring pools, and the extraordinary river gorge setting makes it one of Idaho's most beloved and wild natural thermal experiences, protected within the national forest from commercial development.