Who hasn\u2019t dreamt about soaking in a natural hot spring, in the middle of the wilderness, at the edge of a rushing glacial river? If you have (and why wouldn\u2019t you) Halfway Hot Springs should be right at the top of your \u201cmust do\u201d list.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hidden away in the middle of the Kootenays, this tiny (mostly) wild hot springs is the perfect spot if you\u2019re looking for something off the beaten track. This incredible place is developed enough to be comfortable, i.e. the water in the pools isn\u2019t scalding, but rugged enough that you\u2019re still in the middle of the wilderness. It\u2019s an easy day trip from both Nakusp and Revelstoke, and doesn\u2019t require a long off-road drive or hike to reach it. Halfway River hot springs really checks all the boxes!<\/p>\n
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The drive to the hot springs definitely takes some effort. Combine that with the hike down 150+ stairs and you\u2019ll feel like you\u2019ve earned it. Like all good things though, having to work a bit harder for it makes the experience all the more rewarding in the end.<\/p>\n
Your first step into the pool confirms it was worth every step\u2026and will be worth every wet step back up once you\u2019re done! The heat of the water wraps around you as you sink into the pools with your toes buried in the sandy bottom. Tall trees tower overhead and the Halfway river rushes by not too far in the distance.<\/p>\n
This is exactly what a natural hot spring should be.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Halfway Hotsprings is about halfway (go figure!) between Nakusp and the ferry to Revelstoke. The easiest way to get there is to visit from Nakusp. If you\u2019re coming from Revelstoke you have to cross the Galena Bay Ferry, which is still doable, but can make for a long day trip. Revelstoke is a pretty cool town filled with things to do, but if you\u2019re planning a hot spring tour in the Kootenay\u2019s, Nakusp is a better place to base yourself anyways!<\/p>\n Starting in Nakusp, drive North on Hwy 23 towards Revelstoke. In about 20min (26km) you\u2019ll see the sign for Halfway Hot Springs 400m ahead on the right. There\u2019s no signage at the actual turn off, so this is your only indicator. If you cross the bridge over Halfway River you\u2019ve gone too far!<\/p>\n The road up to Halfway River hotsprings is 11km of unpaved forestry road, although for a gravel road it\u2019s in reasonable condition. You\u2019ll feel better driving it in a 4\u00d74 however it\u2019s not absolutely necessary. Whichever vehicle you drive keep in mind that this is, at times, an active logging road, so be cautious of oncoming vehicles as you drive. Stay to the right, and only swerve around holes & rocks if you can see what\u2019s coming towards you.\u00a0<\/p>\n When you come to a fork in the road, just after km 1, stay on the main road (the larger of the 2). If you generally tend to stay to the left along the river you should be okay. The only exception to this just past km 6. The road forks and you\u2019ll want to stay to the right and head up the larger of the two roads.<\/p>\n Once you reach the 11km mark you\u2019ll see the entrance to the hotsprings on the left. The parking lot is quite large (I guess they\u2019re expecting it to get busy!), and I suggest parking close to the stairs. It\u2019s a bit of a trek down to the hot springs, so you won\u2019t want to walk any further than you have to once you get back to the top!<\/p>\n If you\u2019re in this part of BC, I also highly recommend you visit Nelson<\/a>. It\u2019s worth a little detour for the hippie vibe, and some seriously great food!<\/p>\n The hike to the pools is all downhill, mostly along a wooden staircase that\u2019s in reasonable condition. We hiked down with our girls without any issue, but it\u2019s not something you should tackle if you have mobility issues. You\u2019ll know you\u2019re getting close because you\u2019ll be able to hear the river and smell the hint of sulfur floating in the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once you get to the bottom there\u2019s a small change house where you can pop on your bathingsuit and store your bag. The lovely cedar shack is adorned with a sign saying, \u201cThere is no place, like this place, near this place, so this must be the place.\u201d This alone lets you know you\u2019ve arrived!<\/p>\n Although these hot springs are wild, there is a small rec site camping area just above the springs, so you likely won\u2019t be alone if you\u2019re visiting between June and September. We got incredibly lucky during our visit and had them all to ourselves, but that\u2019s definitely not the norm. Even with the company, they\u2019re still a pretty magical place.<\/p>\n There are three rock pools that have been lovingly built amongst the trees alongside the river. They tend to vary in temperature with the one against the bank being the coolest, the top one closest to the shack being the hottest (usually), and the one closest to the river being in the middle. The last one was our favourite and was where we spent most of our time (although the girls liked to jump back and forth between it and the cooler one).\u00a0<\/p>\n The coolest pool tucked up under the trees:<\/strong><\/p>\n The middle pool, definitely our favourite!<\/strong><\/p>\n The hottest pool, right beside the cedar shack:<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re feeling adventurous, throw on your flip flops and head to the small pool right along the banks of the river. If you\u2019re visiting in the spring or early summer there may not be much of a pool left, but once the river calms down it\u2019s rebuilt to keep out a bit of the river. From here you can dip into the frigid glacial river before warming back up in the small pool. <\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t bring myself to go any deeper than my knees, but the rest of my family was brave enough to dunk all the way in (I\u2019m not sure if \u201cbrave\u201d is the best word for it\u2026but it\u2019s nicer than the other word I\u2019m thinking of!).<\/p>\n *expert tip \u2013<\/strong> Be very careful as the river moves quite quickly and could easily carry you away if you\u2019re not careful. Also, watch out for the water coming into the pool as it\u2019s extremely hot until it mixes with the river water.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to spend a few hours moving back and forth between the different pools. The scenery is incredibly peaceful, and the impending walk back up all the stairs, make it hard to leave. When it is time to go, make sure to pack out everything you brought in. The site stays pristine and natural only if everyone respects it.<\/p>\n *expert tip \u2013<\/strong> There\u2019s a pit toilet near the bottom of the stairs, away from the hot springs but close enough if you need it! I highly recommend you use this rather than the bush. There\u2019s lots of poison ivy so you don\u2019t want to wander off the trails! And please, PLEASE, don\u2019t pee in the pools. There\u2019s no chlorine (obviously) so you\u2019ll contaminate them for everyone else.<\/em><\/p>\n The site here used to be completely wild, but in 2016 BC Parks took it over as a Recreation Site Usually when this happens it\u2019s a bad thing, but in the case of Halfway hotspring it\u2019s actually been quite positive. There\u2019s less of the partying\/garbage\/glass mess that could frequent the pool sides in the past. The caretaker, Bob Moody, lives here in the summer and ensures the site is well respected and enjoyable for everyone. He has a passion for this place and loves to share his passion with others.<\/p>\n The fact that it\u2019s a rec site means there\u2019s maintained camp sites. There are a few car camping sites (12) that are pretty close together, as well as some great tent pads which are a bit more spaced out. The tent pads offer a lot more privacy, but you\u2019ll have to haul all your gear down the hill. I do think it\u2019s worth it!<\/p>\n The cost to camp is $15\/night for each site, and you\u2019ll have to pay with cash. You can\u2019t reserve in advance, and in the summer it does tend to fill up so make sure you arrive by mid-afternoon.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t want to spend the night camping at Halfway River Hot Springs, Nakusp is the best place to stay. We stayed at Shon\u2019s Bike-Ski-Stay<\/a> and I highly recommend it. It\u2019s a hostel with dorm rooms and private rooms, as well as a nicely equipped kitchen, BBQ on the deck and living area. If you like a bit more privacy, The Lodge at Arrow Lakes<\/a> is another great option.\u00a0<\/p>\n The hot springs are open year-round, and a visit in the winter would be absolutely magical. However, the road is not drivable, so your best option is to hike in the 11km or snowmobile. Whichever way you do it, I\u2019m sure the journey will be worth it! And you\u2019ll be much more likely to have the whole place to yourself.<\/p>\n Once the snow starts to melt in March & April there seems to be a surge of people wanting to visit the hot springs. Everyone seems to forget that the elevation is quite a bit higher than Nakusp and the road can be difficult. Conditions vary year-by-year depending on the amount of snow and the spring weather. Luckily, there\u2019s usually great, up to date information on the BC Hot Springs Facebook group.<\/p>\n We visited during the first week of April and it was quite the ordeal. Our truck has great all-terrain winter tires and my husband is a very experienced off-road driver. We managed to make it all the way up to the springs in our F150, but came across an F250 that didn\u2019t make it. We (and by \u201cwe\u201d I mean Randy, I took the girls and walked to the springs for a soak) ended up helping to dig out a Mazda 6 (what were they thinking?!) and two Subarus just to get them out of the way so we could get up the road. <\/p>\n All three vehicles had spent the night stuck on the road, very cold and with almost no food (although they had an abundance of booze!). If you\u2019re planning on visiting in the spring, don\u2019t be like these (not very smart) people, make sure you go prepared. <\/p>\n What to bring if you\u2019re visiting Halfway Hot Springs in the Spring:<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you want to visit Halfway Hot Springs? Make sure you PIN ME for later!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n (This post may contain affiliate links, for which we earn a small commission at no additional expense to you. You can read our affiliate policy here<\/a>.)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\nHalfway Hot Springs Directions<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>What To Expect When You Visit Halfway Hot Springs BC<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/figure>\nCamping at Hot Springs<\/h2>\n
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What To Bring With You<\/h2>\n
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Visiting In The Winter<\/h2>\n
Visiting In The Spring<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRelated<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n