Blue Heart Springs, Idaho

Definitely now on my top 10 list – my kayaking adventure at Blue Heart Springs!

I had planned a trip to Southern Utah and while doing so, I combed the internet looking for good places to stop and kayak on my journey. I’ve driven through Idaho, but never stopped for more than gas and food. So, this was going to be a whole new adventure for me!

There are a zillion places to kayak in Idaho! So, I looked at my route down to Southern Utah and planned accordingly. And that is when I found information about Blue Heart Springs. It is located on the Snake River and about 110 miles southeast of Boise. The river and hot springs are thought to have been formed by a whirlpool that caused the Bonneville Flood. Of course, this was a very very long time ago!

Apart from being underground for an estimated 100 to 150 years before emerging into a beautiful heart-shaped lagoon, the luscious blue pool remained hidden. It wasn’t until folks traversing the waterway began to stop and check it out did others become aware of it as well. It has the bluest tropical waters you’ll ever see and is North America’s 13th largest freshwater spring. The only accessible route is by water.

My journey began at Banbury Hot Springs. This was the closest launch area to where I was headed. There was a $10 fee to park my car there. As a side note, if this is a trip you hope to take, just be aware that the parking lot for your vehicle is a bit of a distance from the actual boat launch area. But, there were a lot of other people around, so it felt safe to me.

Speaking of which, this is an incredibly busy tourist attraction. I was there on a weekday, still in the morning hours, and there were already people that had kayaked down to the hot springs, many returning folks and even more waiting to rent kayaks to take the trip themselves. So, if you want to make this a more “private” event, go early in the morning!

Once you enter the Snake River, you turn left from the boat launch, traveling with the current. However, it was the end of August when I went and so there wasn’t much water movement. It’s about an hour or so paddle down to the hot springs. The landscape is so different than what I’m used to in Oregon.

The river is bordered by these massive lava mountains! They’re so jagged and rough, my first thought was thinking about old Western movies – seems like these were always in their backgrounds.

To offer an explanation for their formation, I found this information on an internet search: “Volcanoes are vents, or openings in Earth’s crust, that release ash, gases and steam, and hot liquid rock called lava. When the lava cools and hardens, it forms into the cone-shaped mountain we think of as a volcano.” The first picture above definitely looks as though it were a volcano. They were very cool to look at.

About half way down the river to the spring, or about 3/4 mile, on the right side of the river, you meet the inlet from Box Canyon Springs. Not only was it incredibly picturesque, but it was the cleanest natural water I think I have ever seen.

I could have sat there all day and just watched and listened to the water flow. But, there were three other kayaking tourists there when I was looking and it took a lot of patience to wait for them to exit my camera view. Ha!

The remaining journey was relatively short. However, I wasn’t paying attention as close as I should have been and kayaked right past the entrance to the spring. I kayaked a little further down the river and realized that I had probably come too far because at that point, I wasn’t seeing any other kayakers. So, I turned myself around (and another couple kayaking as well) and headed back to the spring. It was easy to miss because it’s sort of nestled back through overgrown vegetation and it isn’t until you paddle directly towards the spring do you finally see it.

Now, to be completely honest, my very first thought was, “Is this it?” The reason for my inquisitiveness is because it was a lot smaller than I was expecting. I guess I was expecting it to be a bit larger. But, I’m NOT saying it wasn’t something else!

As I entered the spring, it was absolutely 100% clear water. It reminded me a lot of my trip to Clear Lake in Oregon. I leaned over the side of my kayak to look at what laid underneath. It was really something!

Because it’s a natural spring, the water temperature is about the same temperature all year = 58°F! There was absolutely no way I was going to jump into the water. However, there were quite a few tourists there when I arrived and I watched a few of them jump into the water and then scurry out as fast as they got in.

I stayed for awhile and just looked at everything I could see under the water. One of the aspects about the spring that I read before going was that it is deeper than it appears. I wanted to get in the water and check it out, but the cold water temperature deterred me. However, it was about 95°F the day I was there.

I finally decided to head back to my launching point. This time, I went to the other side of the river to see what I could find. The vegetation was thick and very green! I saw dozens of ducks, birds and an osprey. Most people I saw returning stayed in the middle of the river and so I’m not sure how many others realize how much there was to see. I took photos of the critters, but none of them turned out very well. I did capture some of the scenery.

All total, I think my kayaking adventure took me a couple of hours. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite the high temperature! I felt rejuvenated and ready to travel to my next destination in Utah.