The Boise National Forest will close Kirkham Hot Springs temporarily next week from Monday to Friday so they can repave the bridge over the South Fork of the Payette River.
This is one of several improvements coming to this popular geothermal feature by next summer. The project, in total, will cost $1.4 million, but most of those funds will come from the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020 by the Trump Administration.
I met with two engineers with the Boise National Forest who are working on the project. They told me Kirkham Hot Springs is the second most popular destination in the forest, behind only the Banks that’s filled with kayakers and rafters all summer.
“Kirkham Hot Springs is actually quite accessible and it is open year-round,” said Brett Barry of the Boise National Forest, Barry soaks in the springs with his family. “It is really unique geologically and these springs are an outstanding place for folks to reset and meditate.”
The hot springs became so popular during the pandemic that they were being vandalized and trashed. The Boise National Forest closed this area in 2021. They re-opened it in 2022, but changed it from a campground to a day-use area.