Mooncrow's Naturist Pages: Goldbug Hot Springs, Idaho

Goldbug Hot Springsis on BLM (maybe Forest Service) land about 23 miles south of Salmon Idaho.

DIRECTIONS: Take Highway 93 south of Salmon, 23 miles to mile marker 282. Then left (east) up a short gravel road to the parking area and trailhead. Cross the footbridge and that's the beginning of a 2 or 2 1/2 mile hike to the springs which are up a canyon. Great site with a fun mix of hot soaking pools and cold water cascades.

Subject: pics of goldbug
Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2001
From: Kirk S (capt_kirk50@hotmail.com)

hey I have a great trip report but its late I will send it later

Kirk

During the last few weeks of January I was in Bosie for business and took two days off for R&R. I learned about Gold Bug from this Web site and am very gratefull. The drive up was an excellent geology tour of the valley between the Sawtooth Mts. and the start of the Rockies. I drove up Rt. 93 to Salmon between the Sawtooth on the left and Rockies on the right. The Mt. Borah quake of 1983 was a 7.3 and attests to the ongoing movement of the plates. This peak the tallest in ID goes to 12662 Ft. The entire range was spectacular.

Gold Bug was easy to find from the directions. It was the hike I found and epiphany. Snow had been falling about once a week and the trail was icy. The first half hour was switch backs with a can of gravel at each switch back. Of course I had my sneakers on, didn't bring my hiking boots.

The following hour, it took me longer due to my lack of conditioning, was a great hike with a gain of about 500 ft. The thermal springs were hinted at by the warm stream to the right. The last half hour was a big problem, I was walking up the goat trail and sliping more than I cared to. I reached to top and was very tired.

As promised, it was worthy of the gods. The dozen or so pools were ideal and the one just below the last bridge was the best. From here I could view the valley I had just hiked. The snow showers cleared and some sun blessed me. While the pool was chest deep, it offered a shower of 100 degree water in a small cove just big enough to squeeze in.

The joy of being in the ancient water from the depths of the earth and in the rock pool while the snow fell from a clearing sky is cause for ecstasy. A must go for any CO.

i just returned from goldbug, and i must admit it was one of the most greatest trips of my short life! the surroundings are breathtaking, and the pools themselves are worthy playpens for the gods! one interesting thing about the place was all the rocks. i think they were a lava rock of some kind, i'm not quite sure, but when you strike one rock against another, it creates a spark! and since the pools are made of the same rock, you can do the same underwater, and receive a small, energy balancing jolt of electricity! it's quite a phenomenon! anyway, one of the people journeying with us was not feeling well (as a matter of fact, she was crawling up the last part of the hike, deep in the throes of flu symptoms), but we finally made it all the way up well after dark. We immediately set up camp, and then headed for the pools (it was New Year's Eve, and nearly a full moon!). The next morning, she felt completely recovered, and has ever since! i don't think that one need much more proof than that to say that this place is one of great spiritual healing power. One can feel the land breathing as they lay in the mountain's sweat gland pools. this will be a place that i visit often, but not too often, because it's one of those locations on the earth that is untouched by the "real world", and i wouldn't want to ruin that. i hope that all others who visit these pools of liquid energy would adopt the same caretaking attitude so they don't ruin it for the rest of us... this place is truly a gift from the earth!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that we'd visited Gold Bug Hot Spring in Idaho and offered a writeup. I had done one for Richard Gerber's Naturist Reference pages -- I've lifted the following from that source. If you prefer only original material you may want to skip this as it's still on on Richard's site. You're welcome to it - and have my permission to post.

I learned of the Goldbug Hot Springs in the book Hot Springs of the Northwest - available from The Naturist Society. The book is great if you're traveling in the northwest, particularly in Idaho there are myriad hot springs and most of them you wouldn't learn of without some help from a guide book.

Goldbug Hot Springs is on BLM (maybe Forest Service) land about 23 miles south of Salmon Idaho. The directions in the guide are good and pretty foolproof even though in my edition the numbers on the map referring to Goldbug are transposed with another springs. Take Hiway 93 south of Salmon, 23 miles to mile marker 282. Then left (east) up a short gravel road to the parking area and trailhead. Cross the footbridge and that's the beginning of a 2 or 2 1/2 mile hike to the springs which are up a canyon. Great site with a fun mix of hot soaking pools and cold water cascades.

The trail to the springs is described as "steep at times". That it is but the steepness makes it even more special when you get there. It's a great combination of hot springs alongside and flowing into a natural stream with cold waterfalls and pools. The local users have created some several soaking pools of various temperatures. It's about a one and a half hour hike up to the springs area. We were alone at the springs on a Friday afternoon although we had met several others who were coming down the trail as we were climbing. If you do get there, be sure to cross the upper footbridge and follow the path back down the far side of the stream to probably the best pool of all. It's larger, the temperature is just right and has a great view back down the valley.

There are dozens of other hot springs in Idaho, it's the mother lode for such. We also visited a "soaking box" outside of Tendoy. Not nearly as much fun as Goldbug but interesting in that these soaking boxes were used by the long ago miners and cattlemen. That was the Sharkey springs I believe it was called.

If you're headed to the northern Rockies, look up some of these hot springs. One nice benefit, after what for us was a fairly healthy climb to Goldbug the hot soak must have done the trick. Fully expected stiff sore legs the next day but nothing at all. Felt fine. Take water in, take trash out. The trailhead and first part of the trail cross private property and continued access depends on continued good will of the landowner.

Incidentally if anyone has the book Hot Springs of the Northwest, the map on page 82 has sites 426 and 427 reversed. We visited both Sharkey and Goldbug, and sites are reversed on the map. Directions are fine in the narrative portion.

Goldbug was a treat. CO should the norm. We were alone there so no other soakers to judge by. Our visit for the report was in July 1995.

GOLDBUG HOT SPRINGS, IDAHO

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