Warm Springs Guard Station

Historic Warm Springs Guard Station is open year-round and has recently been restored to reflect its original finishes and paint. It is accessible by car from mid-April through mid-December but can only be reached by snowshoes or cross-country skis for the remainder of the year. This charming cabin offers a rustic retreat with a few amenities, and guests should be prepared to bring most of the supplies and gear they need for a comfortable stay. The cabin sleeps six people and comes with one double bed and three single beds with mattresses. A small couch and a wood stove are located in the front room. The kitchen is equipped with a dry sink, a table with chairs, and a propane fridge and stove, and some pots and pans and a coffee pot are provided. A campfire ring and an outhouse with vault toilet are located outside the cabin. Firewood is provided in the adjacent barn, but it may need to be split. A hand pump for water is available for summer use. No water is available at the cabin in the winter, but snow can be melted. No electricity is provided. Guests must bring garbage bags to pack out trash, and items like bedding, lanterns or flashlights, matches, first aid supplies, extra toilet paper and an axe are not available. Some hiking trails are nearby. One trail leads to Bonneville Hot Springs, which is accessible by snowshoes and skis in the winter, where visitors can soak in the waters while enjoying the beautiful surroundings. The South Fork Payette River offers opportunities for trout fishing and swimming, and the area around the cabin is a cross-country skiing and snowshoeing playground in winter. Towering Ponderosa pines forest this pretty site located in a narrow mountain valley along the South Fork Payette River. The cabin sits at an elevation of 4,700 feet amid steep mountain peaks. This is a wintering area for deer and elk, summer visitors may see black bears, and a variety of bird species make the forest their home year-round. Highway 21, just below the guard station, is known as the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, a 131-mile route that starts in Boise and meanders through Boise, Salmon-Challis and Sawtooth National Forests, with several points of interest along the way.