Earth to Sarah
Kayaking to Blue Heart Springs
How do you visit the hidden away tropical looking paradise, Blue Heart Springs?
Can you hike to Blue Heart Springs? No, You have to kayak to see this beautiful place. Blue Heart Springs is located about 2 hours from Boise, 45 minutes from Twin Falls, and 3.5 hours from Salt Lake City. The spring is only accessible by kayaking, but it is worth the paddling effort to see this magical location.
You have to wear or have a life jacket on your kayak with you in Idaho. Here is a link to mine if you’re looking for a flexible and not too bulky of one: https://amzn.to/3ZV3I18
This is also a link to the Stand Up Paddle Board I recently bought from Amazon: SUP Inflatable Board
Where to park to kayak Blue Heart Springs?
There are a few locations you can park at to visit Blue Heart Springs. These locations include Banbury Adventures, Blue Heart Kayaking, 1000 Springs Resort, and Ritter Island. Blue Heart Kayaking and Banbury Adventures have kayak rentals and river access where you can park your car, pick up your kayak, and get right in the water to paddle. Blue Heart Kayaking is 0.5 mile (1 mile round trip )paddle north, and Banbury Hot Springs is a 1.5 mile (3 miles round trip) paddle north. 1000 Springs Resort and Ritter Island are about a 3.5 mile paddle south (7 miles round trip.)
2024 summer Banbury may not allow you to park at their facilities, only if you are using their rentals. Blue Heart Kayaking does charge $5 to park in their parking lot to use your own watercraft. 1000 Springs has free parking.
*Be prepared for a strong current, and sometimes very strong winds when planning where to begin your paddle. I have struggled on paddles back before especially with my paddle board! Be prepared!!
Also, a quick break to share the camera I shoot with if you’re in the market for a nice mirrorless, full frame camera: Sony A7R iii
In need of good outdoor clothing? Check out Merino! http://shrsl.com/2jcpv-2p4f-17unv
How to find blue heart springs
When you’ve selected your destination you’ll paddle along the river and look for a river bend facing west. In the corner of this bend, looking up, you’ll see loads of black lava rocks crumbling towards the river. The base of these rocks is where you’ll kayak in to see the blue water, Blue Heart Springs.
The water at Blue Heart Springs is cold! It is fed by an aquifer and if you look closely, on the sandy floor you’ll see the bubbles. Personally I’ve mostly paddled from Banbury Hot Springs and Blue Heart Kayaking, these two will keep you on the river for at least 3-5 hours so make sure to wear sunscreen!
This is my favorite tinted moisturizer that also protects me from the sun: https://amzn.to/3QZDQgq
It is really important to leave no trace here and be respectful of others. Do not leave trash. This gem is truly special. It gets so busy in the summer. I highly recommend visit on a week day, or super early in the morning if you want to beat the crowds.
Stay Hydrated! Drink Liquid IV! (get $5 off with my link:) https://glnk.io/qv1w/earthtosarahphotos
I’m also sharing this amazing swimwear brand who uses recycled material to make their stunning and comfy bikinis! Check out the exact one I have here: https://calirae.link/earthtosarahphoto and use sarahrohrbach10 to get a discount!
Earth to Sarah 
Hi Sarah! Kelly here with the AAA Travel Magazine for the Oregon/Idaho region. In this upcoming issue I would love to use one of your photos of Blue Heart Springs. Im happy to give you credit! Can you let me know if that would be ok?
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Hey Kelly! I just charge a small fee for use of my photography. If you’re interested please send me an email at sarahlrohrbach@gmail.com – thank you for your interest!
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Ritter Island and 1000 springs resort are 3.5 miles from blue heart. Another website had this rated at 2 miles so I stayed at 1000 springs resort because they have campsites with boat docks, so what I thought was going to be a 4 mile round trip was actually 7. If you have a sit on top style kayak you probably don’t want to paddle 3.5 miles upriver to blue heart. Please update your info.
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Hi Ed, I hope you had a good adventure nonetheless, it definitely is a time consuming paddle. I’ve updated my info to provide more time for those who are staying at 1000 Springs/ Ritter Island.
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