Today we started our winter hot spring tour at the snowy Weir Creek hot springs in the Clearwater National Forest in Northern Idaho. If you are planning to visit Idaho or the Missoula, Montana area and are in the mood to take a dip in some of the beautiful natural hot springs around the area this is a must stop place.
The Weir Creek Trailhead is located about 75 miles south of Missoula in the Clearwater National Forest of Northern Idaho. The ride in is a gorgeous scenic road through the mountains just along the Lochsa River. There is no cell signal AT ALL, so, make sure you get all your coordinates and maps before exploring the area. When you get to the parking lot there is a pit toilet with no trash bins, so, make sure you pack out what you pack in. Here are the coordinates:
One of the best parts of this trip are the amount of natural hot springs that are along highway 12. There are three well known springs along this road. Coming from the Montana side of route 12 you will first come across Jerry Johnson Hot Springs Trailhead on the left (the parking lot is on the right), Weir Creek Hot Springs Trailhead on the right, and Stanley Hot Springs further down the road (we didn't make it to Stanley... Yet). The hike at Weir Creek is an easy .7 mile out and back hike (.35 each way) that runs along side a gorgeous river. There is camping all along the river, too, so if you wanted to spend the night out there and do a star gazing journey that option is wide open to you.
As we made our way to the trailhead we didn't expect much snow. One of the rangers was saying about 1 to 3 inches, so, we parked our rig and went out to the hot springs snowless and had an amazing relaxing experience. We came back to our home on wheels and 2 hours later the skies opened up and dumped about 5 inches on us. So, we did what any completely normal, out of their mind nomads would do.
We went back in and had an AMAZING experience! We had the whole place to ourselves and spent four hours soaking up the hot springs and enjoyed the fresh falling snow.
The following day we woke up and there was 10 to 12 inches of snow on the ground. It was perfect! We hiked in again and found a spring past the main pools. It was a spot perfect for two and we soaked it in. It was absolutely breathtaking.
If you are planning to make a trip out to Weir Creek Hot Springs we would definitely recommend a weekday morning trip. Afternoons and weekends can be a bit crowded. Weekends especially. A night time soak is a good one, too. At the end of the day we noticed the place cleared out, so, that makes for a great opportunity for a private star show.
As always safe travels, be adventurous, and pack it in pack it out!