Durfee Hot Springs, Idaho: A Soaking Guide to Almo

Where Durfee Hot Springs sits

Almo sits in Idaho's Raft River Valley, south of Interstate 84 and close to the Utah line, with the City of Rocks reserve rising just beyond town. Durfee Hot Springs is right in the Almo area, so you reach it on the same drive that brings climbers and campers to the reserve. Load the address before you leave, because services thin out once you leave the highway.

From Twin Falls, the route runs southeast through the Magic Valley and then south toward the reserve, and the drive works best as a loop with a stop in the Hagerman valley on the way. Once you turn off the main road, fuel and groceries get scarce, so top off and stock up before the final stretch into Almo.

The pools and how to use them

The resort has three pools: a kiddie pool for small children, a hot tub, and a swimming pool filled with flowing, hot water. That arrangement lets families split up without leaving the property, with the shallow pool handling toddlers while stronger soakers head to the hotter water. Think of it as a small aquatic center with geothermal water rather than a wild riverside soak.

Because the water moves through the pools instead of stagnating, the soak reads cleaner than a closed tub, but the trade-off is a busy rotation on weekends when every pool has a line. The swimming pool gives you a cooler place to alternate with the hot tub, which is the practical way to stretch a visit without overheating. Bring your own towel and plan to shower on site before heading back to camp.

Water temperature and pacing your soak

Visit Southern Idaho lists a 104-degree pool at Durfee, which is squarely in the range where you soak in short stretches rather than settle in for an hour. Rotate between the hot water and the swimming pool, and keep your head above the surface in untreated geothermal water. Families with small children should start in the kiddie pool and watch how the kids react before moving to the hotter water.

Fees and hours

Admission and opening times change with the season and Durfee's own schedule, so settle both before you drive out to Almo, where your fallback options are limited. Call the resort at Durfee Hot Springs directly and confirm the day's hours along with the current entry cost. That one call saves a wasted detour on a holiday weekend.

Amenities on site

Durfee has an outdoor shower, guest dressing rooms, and a concession stand and gift shop, which makes it practical to soak between camping nights or on the way out of the reserve. The dressing rooms mean you can change into dry clothes before a long drive instead of riding home damp. Bring cash as a backup and a towel of your own, since a small resort moves slowly at peak times.

The outdoor shower is the detail that separates Durfee from a bare-bones roadside pool: you can rinse off geothermal minerals before getting back in a sleeping bag or a car seat. Plan your visit for the end of a City of Rocks day rather than the start, so the soak doubles as cleanup.

The history behind the pools

Henry Miller and Rosa Durfee founded the resort in the early 1900s, and the hot springs ran as a local attraction for about 50 years before the property fell into disrepair. It sat idle for more than four decades until descendants of the founders reopened it, which is why the place feels restored rather than rebuilt. That family thread explains the small scale and the hands-on operation you find today.

Staying overnight at Durfee and in Almo

The Cottage at Durfee Hot Springs gives you a rental option on the property itself, which shortens the walk back to bed after an evening soak. Book it early if you want that convenience, since a single cottage goes fast in the reserve's busy season.

Beyond the cottage, Almo and the roads around City of Rocks carry the bulk of the area's camping, from reserve campgrounds to private RV and tent sites. Campers who want a hot soak at the end of a climbing day base themselves in Almo rather than driving back to Twin Falls at night. Reserve reserve campsites ahead in summer, when City of Rocks fills on weekends.

Crowds and timing

A three-pool resort fills quickly on summer weekends, when City of Rocks campers and Twin Falls day-trippers arrive at the same hours. Aim for a weekday evening or an early slot, and expect the hot tub to be the first pool to crowd. Spring and fall bring thinner crowds and cooler air that makes the hot water more inviting.

If your trip is built around climbing or hiking in the reserve, soak after the day's activity rather than before, and keep a change of clothes in the car so a spontaneous stop does not leave you damp for the drive.

Nearby soaks: Hagerman valley resorts

The Hagerman valley, north of Almo along the Snake River, holds a cluster of developed resorts that make a natural second stop on a southern Idaho loop. Miracle Hot Springs has four outdoor pools plus private soaking pools and geothermally heated camping domes, and Banbury just down the road shares owners with Miracle and offers a large artesian swimming pool, mineral and Jacuzzi tubs, and cabin and bunk house rentals.

Choosing between them comes down to base camp: Almo puts you at the reserve's edge for climbing and hiking, while Hagerman puts you in a valley of resorts with more pools and rentals per property. A loop that soaks in Almo one night and Hagerman the next covers both without backtracking. If you are weighing a wider western road trip, this same base-camp logic shapes the hot springs in Montana, where resort towns sit far apart. The Hagerman resorts also give you rain-proof options, since 1,000 Springs has an indoor hot springs pool.

The other developed resort in the region is Bear River Hot Springs, Idaho, which sits in the Riverdale Valley and makes a different kind of base than a City of Rocks camp.

Other southern Idaho springs for a longer trip

Warswick Hot Springs sits fewer than 16 miles from Fairfield and is reached by a seasonal forest road that typically opens from mid-May to October depending on snow, with some pools reaching up to 180 degrees. That heat means you look for the cooler inflow rather than stepping straight into a source pool. Skillern Hot Springs, in the Smoky Mountains of Sawtooth National Forest, takes roughly a two-hour hike, with primitive campsites nearby and a waterfall-fed pool.

These two springs are hike-in or rough-road soaks, so treat them as separate outings rather than a Durfee add-on. Pack out everything you bring, stay on established paths around the pools, and keep group sizes small at springs this fragile. The Camas Chamber of Commerce fields questions about both.

What to bring for a developed soak

Pack a towel, a change of clothes, and water for the drive back, since geothermal soaking dehydrates you faster than a cool swim. The dressing rooms and outdoor shower at Durfee make a post-soak change easy, so leave a dry layer in the car. Water shoes help on wet concrete around the pools. If you carry a daypack on the road trip, keep a small bag with these items ready so a spontaneous stop costs you nothing.

Plan Your Almo Soak

Durfee works best as one stop in a City of Rocks weekend: soak in the evening, camp nearby, and climb or hike the next morning. Confirm hours and entry cost with the resort before you drive out, and book the cottage early if you want to stay on the property. Pair it with a Hagerman valley day for a loop that mixes developed resorts with the reserve's granite. For every soak in the state, start with our guide to Idaho hot springs.