Every week I am going to post one or two favorite spots I have discovered through my travels state to state, a panoramic portrait if you will- in no particular order...
I have two favorite spots in Idaho:
1.) The first being, Lolo Pass right on the Montana/Idaho border at 5235 feet - Lochsa Wilderness region HWY 12. Park .25 mile after mile marker 151 and hike Forest Service Trail 49 for 1 mile (Jerry Johnson Hot Springs)...
Missoula, where I went to College, is the closest sizable city to this Idaho soak. Jerry Johnson consists of three separate series of hot spring pools scattered along the banks of a rushing creek in a valley of statuesque cedar trees. The road (12 West) goes through steep mountains with endless pine forest - it's almost too amazing to describe. There is nothing along the road as it is in a National Forest. It follows Lochsa River which gets progressively wider. There are no billboards, houses, absolutely nothing except endless breathtaking views.
Notice the forest service sign saying clothing is optional. Yes, you do see naked hikers for good and bad.
There is one place to stop for food, lodging, and fuel- The Lochsa Lodge which is located along the Lochsa River on US Highway 12 in north central Idaho. This river corridor and trail were used for generations by the Nez Perce Indians as they passed through the heart of the Rocky Mountains and the Bitterroot Divide on their way to hunt buffalo in Montana. Lochsa Lodge is a family business, owned and operated by the Denton family.
Cabin visited by Bill Clinton and family.
--www.lochsalodge.com
While in college, on the weekends my friends and I would go up and hike to the hot springs. We always met the most random people. I remember one night, I was sitting talking naked to a 18yo horse trainer whose dad was an isolationist until the sun came up. Another time, talking for hours to two hippies who lived off the grid and as time passed got progressively weirder. But mainly it was college kids at night and during the day hikers and families. You can hike and go in the hot springs naked and most due after 5 pm but during the day I would stay in a bathing suit. The hike is about a mile in, pretty easy, unless it is winter and it is the middle of the night and you are drunk. One time while headed home it started snowing badly, and my land rover slid right off the side of the mountain. Thank god for two massive trees that prevented us from rolling down the mountain. Meanwhile, triple A and the state troopers assisted us in getting my truck back up on the road, thank god it was totally mechanically fine. But up the road a bit another two cars went off and an oil rigger. So they shut down the pass. So we ended up stuck at the Lochsa Lodge, it was like out of a movie. We hung with the other people who also went off the road and had dinner and drinks. I randomly met a snowmobiler whose son decided to cancel on him last minute and had an extra snowmobile and took me out for a few hours. Snowmobiling is A LOT harder than I imagined, I thought it would be like jet skiing but on snow- NOT AT ALL! It is a hard sport. We were stuck there for like 36 hours and I missed an important economics exam early Monday morning- but luckily I was able to retake it. Even with my near death experience I still have very found memories of this random little spot off HWY 12 west mile marker 151 .
From the Lodge you have access to the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness, Jerry Johnson hot springs and the Lolo Pass Visitors Center and Recreation Area, which was remodeled in 2002 and is located just 12 miles from the Lochsa Lodge. During the winter, cross-country ski and snowmobile trails are maintained. During the summer you can enjoy hiking on marked trails.
cool snowmobiling video filmed in the area. (not a fan of the music choice but it is a stunning video that brings me back nonetheless.)
2.) My second spot in Idaho is South of Jackson hole and a bit north of the Utah Boarder- a town named Lava Hot Springs...
I attended UM Missoula in Montana for undergrad. Airline tickets out of the airport in Missoula back east were astronomical. So I planed to drive down to Salt Lake City and fly out on Jet Blue with a really cheap ticket I found for Thanksgiving. Well, after driving all the way to Utah, I ended up missing my flight. It was a real bummer. After realizing that there was no way I was getting back in time for Thanksgiving dinner, even if I took the a.m flight I decided to scrap it and grabbed a hotel room in Salt Lake City at Little America. Little America was REALLY nice for the price by the way. The next morning, Thanksgiving, I went and checked out the Mormon Tabernacle then headed back up to Montana. My Jack Russell Hero, was with me- so it was just him and I. Along the way back I discovered, right past the Utah boarder into Idaho, this little town named Lava Hot Springs. I pulled up into town and immediately bought a cheap bottle of Champagne, and found the only restaurant open in town and went and had a Turkey dinner with pumpkin pie.
The town was totally shut down and no one was out. Hero, my dog, was beside himself to have an entire town to himself to run wild off leash. Well, Hero ended up at a Children's park overlooking the river that meanders through the town, which is made up of sporadically placed old buildings that dot the river bank. Hero went nuts running up and sliding down the old metal vintage slide. I noticed a steam coming from up the river. I called Hero and we traversed up the river and came to this hot spring inside the river with huge boulder rocks to keep the cold river water out. I got naked and went it. It was awesome. It was such a fun, peaceful and random day. One of the best holiday's I have ever had actually. There were roman style well designed clean man made pools around town too with little pebbles on the floor of the pool and the water was pumped in from the natural hot springs. There is something really fun about swimming and being naked with snow all over the ground. A side note- this seems like a conservative family town, so the only reason I was able to go naked is because it was totally desolate. If you go I suggest wearing a bathing suit.
After visiting the town I did some research and in the summer there is tubing the river and a high dive jumping board as well. The town is easy to get to from either Salt Lake City or Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
More information at www.lavahotsprings.com
