← All Days Day 25 Thursday, June 18, 2026

Lava Hot Springs Rest Day

📍 Lava Hot Springs, ID

No historical sights today — just rest and relaxation.

A carpool of us went to experience the hot springs waters in Lava Hot Springs. There were three pools: 102 to 105 degrees, 105 degrees with jets, and 105 to 110 degrees. We were in the shade in the 102 to 105 pool. The bottoms of these pools are large slabs of beautiful rocks.

Lava Hot Springs pool area
Hot springs pool with shade
Beautiful rock slabs at the bottom of the hot springs pool

Sunken Garden

As you walk in and head for the pools, you see a sunken garden.

Sunken garden near the hot springs entrance
Garden path by the pools

Floaters on the River

Nearby there is a float company. Four- and two-person inflatable tubes are shuttled upriver and then let into the water. They float down underneath a bridge which is right outside the hot pools. You can hear the riders screaming — with delight… — as they go by and hit the “rapids.”

Inflatable tubes floating under the bridge near the hot springs


Campground Life

The campground where we are currently has nice parking spaces and we hear that, by the weekend, it will be full. They have cute little trailers parked here and used as vacation rentals — left of the building if you can zoom in.

The weather is beautiful — cool in the evenings. No A/C on today. 🎉

Campground with small vacation rental trailers near the building


Dutch Oven Cookout

This evening we had a Dutch Oven cookout. We had three different types of chili, potatoes and green beans, salad, berry compote, peach cobbler, cornbread, and bannock bread — all cooked by our campers.

Keith is in his element. He cooked three dishes!

Dutch Oven cookout dishes
Campers gathered for the Dutch Oven dinner

Our intrepid leaders a la Wyeth.

Our intrepid leaders a la Wyeth


“The comforts of life’s essentials — food, fire and friendships”

— Unknown