About this place
Deep canyons cut into a vast high desert plateau, carved by the Owyhee, Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers, in a remote corner of southwestern Idaho.
Nearly 30 miles of the Jarbidge is designated wild.
Volcanic caves, canyons and spire-like hoodoos stand hundreds of feet above the whitewater. The solitude is complete.
In early spring, desert flowers come out bright against the dark volcanic rock.
The sagebrush plateaus of the Owyhee Uplands hold over 200 species of wildlife. Eagles and hawks soar along the skylines and nest on the cliff faces.
The ancestors of the Shoshone-Paiute and Shoshone-Bannock people used these canyonlands for thousands of years. They came for shelter, for weapons, for fish and game, and for water.
There are placid pools and turbulent whitewater. There are vertical cliffs and steep grassy slopes.
The Jarbidge joins the West Fork Bruneau River to form the Bruneau River, about 24 miles north of the Nevada border. That is just upstream of Indian Hot Springs.
In spring the Jarbidge gives experienced boaters real whitewater, with stretches of class 5 and 6.
The boating season is short, usually around May, while there is enough water. Boaters need a permit, and they fill it in themselves at the put-in or the take-out.
About 25 miles down, Jarbidge Falls usually has to be lined or carried round. Indian Hot Springs, where the rivers meet, is a good place to soak afterward.
The canyon walls are steep and the rock formations statuesque, and there are golden eagles overhead and chukars everywhere.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Type
- Open area. Camp anywhere within it
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
Head for Murphy Hot Springs, on the Clover-Three Creek Road or on the Jarbidge Road. The Jarbidge Road is also called the Three Creek Highway. It is asphalt, and it starts from U.S. 93 at Rogerson. Rogerson to Murphy Hot Springs is 49 miles, and it is another 2.3 miles from there to the wilderness boundary. You will want the Bureau of Land Management Sheep Creek map at 1:100,000.
Coordinates 42.04944444, -115.3908333
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.
- Matterhorn Directions
- Coon Creek Peak Directions
- Jarbidge Peak Directions
- Bruneau-Jarbidge caldera Directions
- Bruneau-Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness Area Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Mountain City, NV Directions
- Owyhee, NV Directions
Owyhee is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Why the drive to town is usually twice what the map says — what we found measuring every campsite in this guide.
When it’s time to move on
On most public land you can camp for 14 days before you have to move on. Check this site’s own limit before you plan a long stay. When you move on, the Bureau of Land Management usually wants you at least 25 to 30 miles away. So the free campsites closest to you are the ones you cannot use.
Four in this guide sit inside that 25 miles. The nearest one you could move to is Cedar Creek Reservoir, Idaho — 27 miles in a straight line, but a 35 mile drive.
This guide covers five states and does not list every free campsite, so there may be something closer that we do not hold. Check this site’s own rule before you rely on it.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.