Box Canyon Springs Nature Preserve

🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Idaho — The 11th largest spring in the United States — Box Canyon pours 180,000 gallons per minute from a sheer basalt cliff face! The crystal-clear water emerges from the Snake River Plain aquifer and creates a 20-foot waterfall into a narrow box canyon. Home to the endangered Shoshone sculpin fish!

Visitor Information

About Box Canyon

Box Canyon Springs Nature Preserve in Gooding County protects one of the largest natural springs in the United States — 180,000 gallons per minute gush from a sheer basalt canyon wall along the Snake River. The spring water, filtered through thousands of feet of Snake River Plain basalt, emerges at a constant 58°F year-round. The canyon’s 50-foot vertical walls create a microclimate supporting hanging gardens of ferns and mosses in Idaho’s otherwise arid landscape.

Things to Do

Viewing the massive spring emerging from basalt cliffs, hiking the canyon rim trail, wildlife watching, photography, and experiencing one of America’s largest springs in a dramatic desert canyon setting.

Plan Your Visit

A short trail (0.25 miles) leads to an overlook above the spring — the water erupts from the basalt cliff face with remarkable force. The Thousand Springs Scenic Byway connects Box Canyon, Niagara Springs, and Ritter Island. Hagerman (10 minutes) has the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument — the world’s richest Pliocene horse fossil site. The springs are stunning in all seasons. Free admission; open dawn to dusk year-round.

Insider Tips

Snake River aquifer: Box Canyon Springs gushes from the wall of the Snake River Canyon — spring water that fell as precipitation on mountains hundreds of years ago. Pro tip: The Snake River Plain aquifer stores 100 million+ acre-feet of water — equal to Lake Erie. Water enters as mountain snowmelt and emerges decades later as springs. Thousand Springs: This area has the highest concentration of large springs in the US.

Best Time to Visit

Year-round: Springs flow constantly. Summer: Canyon access. Spring: High flow. Fall: Canyon foliage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are there so many springs here?

The Snake River Plain aquifer — one of the largest in North America — discharges along the north wall of the Snake River Canyon. Water from the Lost River Range enters porous volcanic basalt and travels underground for decades before emerging as massive springs. The Thousand Springs area has the highest concentration of large-volume springs in the US — some discharge 100+ cubic feet per second. The springs support trout farms that produce 75% of US commercial trout.