Kirkham Hot Springs

Three miles east of Lowman, Highway 21 follows the South Fork of the Payette through a granite canyon, and at Kirkham the rock on the far bank steams. Hot water seeps and pours from a ledge above the river, falling in small hot waterfalls into a string of pools at the water's edge, with the cold river a step away. A bridge and a staircase lead down to them.

It is one of the most visited places in the Boise National Forest, and it very nearly loved itself to death. Through the pandemic years visitors left trash and human waste, broke glass in the pools, and rebuilt the rock walls until the upper pools flooded and the springs' natural flow was diverted. That damaged a small, specialized community of algae, bacteria and insects that lives only in hot water, and fish habitat downstream. The Forest Service closed the site in 2021, reopened it the next year for day use only, and has put money since into the bridge, parking and paths.

Treat it accordingly: come in daylight, carry out what you bring, and leave the pools and rock walls as you found them. The South Fork below runs good whitewater in early summer, and the Kirkham Ridge Trail, one of the district's long trails, starts a short walk away. Highway 21 continues east from here over the mountains to Stanley, and west down the South Fork to Banks.