Trail Creek Hot Springs

What to expect

Trail Creek Hot Springs is a quick roadside soak on the way to Warm Lake, and one of the busiest wild springs in the Cascade area. Hot water comes out of the slope above Trail Creek, and soakers have walled it into two pools on the creek bank using rock and mortar. You hear the creek the whole time, and the pine forest closes in on both sides.

There is nothing official here: no sign, no toilet, no trash can. It is a free, user-maintained spring on Boise National Forest land, and the pools depend on the people who use them leaving the rock walls and pipes alone.

The source is hot, reported at up to about 125°F52°C. To bring the pools down to a soakable level, PVC pipes and small rock dams let in cold water from the creek. Most reports put the pools somewhere between 100°F and 110°F38°C and 43°C once they have been tempered, but they can run hotter when nobody has adjusted the flow. The water is crystal clear.

The pools

• Upper pool: The first one you reach and now the larger of the two. It is about 10 feet across and 3 feet deep, with rock and mortar walls and a sand and rock floor. Hot water slides in from the slope above. It holds around ten people if they are friendly. By late summer, when the creek drops, it can lose its cold-water feed and may need a small hose to keep it from overheating.
• Lower pool: Just past the first, about 8 feet across and 2.5 feet deep, with a sandy bottom. Hot water enters from below and through a pipe, and cold creek water comes in through intake pipes. During spring runoff Trail Creek can rise over this pool and submerge it.

Both pools are deep enough to sit in up to your stomach. The cold creek is right there if you want a plunge.

Getting there

The springs are in Valley County, east of Cascade, along the Warm Lake Highway.

1. From Cascade, drive about 1 mile north on State Highway 55 and turn east onto the Warm Lake Highway (Forest Highway 22).
2. The road is paved. It climbs through forest to Big Creek Summit, then drops toward Warm Lake. The springs are a few miles east of the summit. Allow about 40 minutes from Highway 55.
3. Look for a wide dirt pullout on the south side of the road. There is no sign.

Save the coordinates and an offline map before you leave Cascade. One popular online guide lists GPS coordinates that land at Big Creek Summit, several miles too far west. The OpenStreetMap point used on this page sits at the springs in the Trail Creek drainage.

From the pullout, a worn path drops steeply to the creek. It is short, a few minutes at most, but it is steep enough that people have tied a rope between trees on some visits (do not count on it being there). Boards help you cross Trail Creek to the pools.

From McCall, the drive is about an hour. From Boise, allow a little over two hours.

When to go

The spring is usable all year, and many regulars like it best in winter, with snow on the banks and steam on the creek.

Winter: The Warm Lake Highway is generally open, but it can close in severe weather, and a 4x4 is sometimes needed for the last leg. The footpath becomes a slide of packed snow and ice. Microspikes are close to essential.

Spring: Snowmelt raises Trail Creek. The lower pool may be under water, and the upper pool can run cool from creek water.

Summer and fall: Both pools are usually in play. Late summer flows are low, so the pools can run hot if the cold intake dries up.

Usage is heavy. Weekends and holidays bring a steady stream of cars, so come early on a weekday if you want room, and be ready to share.

Rules and etiquette

• Swimsuits required. A Boise National Forest order bans public nudity on all Boise National Forest land from August 27, 2025 to August 27, 2030. Older guides describe Trail Creek as clothing optional. That is out of date.
• No fee. No parking pass, day-use fee or permit is needed.
• Leave the walls and pipes alone. The pools only work because people have built and maintained them. Moving rocks or pipes can drain a pool or make it scalding.
• No glass, soap or sunscreen in the pools.
• Pack out everything, including food scraps and fruit peels. There are no trash cans.
• Share the space. Keep voices down, rotate out if people are waiting, and ask before you take photos.

Where to stay nearby

You cannot camp at the pools, but there is plenty of camping close by.

• Dispersed sites near the springs: There are level spots with fire rings a little above the springs, below the pullout. Check fire restrictions before you build a fire.
• Warm Lake area: A few miles further east, Warm Lake has Forest Service campgrounds, including Shoreline Campground on the lake, and South Fork Salmon River Campground just off Forest Road 474. Warm Lake Lodge on the north shore has cabins.
• Cascade: Back on Highway 55, Cascade has motels, groceries and fuel. Cascade Lake has larger campgrounds.

Safety notes

• Hot water: The source is hot enough to scald. Put your hand in first, and if a pool is too hot, open the cold-water pipe rather than climbing in.
• Footing: The steep path is the biggest hazard, especially in winter. Use traction devices and take it slowly with wet feet on the way back up.
• High water: In spring, stay out of the main flow of Trail Creek. It is cold and fast.
• Highway parking: Pull fully off the road. Traffic on the Warm Lake Highway can be fast, and snowbanks narrow the shoulder in winter.
• No signal: Cell coverage is patchy to absent. Tell someone your plans.

Nearby stops worth adding

The Warm Lake area has several other springs within a short drive. Molly’s Hot Spring is a hillside pool across the South Fork Salmon River off Forest Road 474, and Vulcan Hot Springs is a short hike further south on the same road. Warm Lake itself has a swim beach and fishing in summer.