If you know me (Anna), you know I love an epic adventure. There’s something about making your planning lists, going grocery shopping to prep your food, and double checking to make sure all your gear is in place and ready to go that makes an adventure feel complete to me. Call me crazy, but a trip without thorough prep work just doesn’t feel right.

We’ve spent two seasons in snowy climates now, however, we still felt that our winter outdoor experiences were a little lacking. When we heard about an Idaho hot spring that was only accessible via snowmobile, or tracked vehicle in the winter months, we knew it was an adventure we had to take! We partnered with Cheap Thrills Rentals in McCall Idaho, who equipped us with two snowmobiles, one a two seater, and one a single seater which would carry us and our gear on the 45 minute trek to Burgdorf Hot Springs. We reserved a cabin at the springs for two nights (which is their minimum stay in winter). The cabins provide a comfortable bed, a wood burning stove with plenty of firewood, and and few pieces of furniture- everything else is up to you. Thankfully our snowmobiles came equipped with spacious sleds for transporting all the gear we wanted to bring with us to make our cabin feel like home.

Our packing list included enough food for our three days at the springs, cooking supplies, bedding and pillows, towels and bathing suits, extra clothing, headlamps since the cabins do not have electricity, a string of battery powered lights for nighttime in the cabin, water bottles for capturing the springs drinking water, and a couple of battery chargers for our phones and camera gear. It’s worth noting that we learned the hard way that anything glass would not survive the trip, and our French press and jar of salsa ended up in shards at the bottom of our bags. I suggest packaging any breakables into less fragile containers, and pre-cracking your eggs into a leak proof container if you plan on bringing them along.

On the day of our trip we headed into Cheap Thrill’s McCall headquarters where Rachel helped to outfit us with the gear we would need for the ride, and provided us with maps and directions to where we would meet the crew who would bring the snowmobiles to the trailhead. She also gave us tips about great viewpoints, and spots to stop at along the route for food and fuel. The trailhead was a quick 20 minute drive away from the office, and we all piled into the car with our warm gear, ready to start our adventure!

At the parking area the crew gave us a quick lesson on snowmobile operation, we found the machines to be very user friendly and easy to pick up. If you can drive a car you can operate a snowmobile, the snowmobile is actually easier I would say. We leaded our gear into our two sleds, covered it all in the provided tarps, and hit the trails! The path to Burgdorf runs along a wide groomed trail. The same path actually serves as a scenic car touring road in the summer months, but in the winter is completely closed to cars so that winter sport enthusiasts can enjoy it. The snowmobiles handled the soft packed snow with ease and we flew through the miles of snow covered hills marveling at the beauty around us. The provided winter gear from Cheap Thrills paired with the snowmobiles windshield and their heated hand warmers made the trip very comfortable even in the 20 degree weather.

After about forty five minutes on the trail, we saw the sign to our left for Burgdorf. The side road, was a little more bumpy than the main path had been, but the sleds still took the small snowbanks easily. We do think these bumps were where our glass items met their demise. We were so wrapped up in looking at all the beauty around us, that we didn’t notice one of our snowmobiles get a little lighter. It wasn’t until we parked in front of the Burgdorf check in that we realized…we were down a sled! We quickly assumed that it must have come loose on one of the snow bumps, and sent Athena down the road to search for it while we checked in. She returned not even ten minutes later, sled in hand, and reported that she found it a short way down the road, resting by itself on the trail. It gave us a good laugh, and we were happy it had come off so close to our destination.

We headed to our cabin to find the wood stove already lit, and a cozy fire to warm our hands in front of. We hung our bibs up to dry a little from the snow, and after arranging our gear around the cabin, headed straight to the inviting hot springs that we had seen behind the check in cabin. They looked so inviting with the clouds of steam rising from the warm water. The hot springs have a convenient changing area, warmed by another wood fire stove, that allows you to strip down into your bathing suit, and hurry the short distance across the snow banked path, before stepping into the springs heated water. There are three pools, and a neat little overflow tub for you to choose from. The main pools stays a steady 100 degrees, while the other smaller pools directly over the source are around 110. The limited road access and required reservations meant that the springs were very peaceful, with ten visitors at the most during our time there.

When you stay at the Burgdorf cabins, the hot springs are open to you 24/7, so we spent a few hours relaxing, headed back to the cabins to cook dinner over the wood stove, and then headed back to the springs again after dark. After a nice soak, we headed to bed relaxed, warm, and ready for another snowmobile adventure the next day! Rachel at Cheap Thrills had pointed out two small towns past Burgdorf that she said offered great grub, and a unique location, so we planned to visit those in the morning. We took turns waking up to stoke our wood stove, but otherwise slept blissfully.

The next morning we made a quick breakfast on our camp stove, tried our good friend John’s trick of (clean) sock coffee since we no longer had a French press (worked great BTW), and then headed back to the springs to soak before hitting the road. Our first stop was at the Secesh Stage Stop where we had a delicious lunch and got to talk with some locals who were there hanging out. They told us some great stories about their snowmobile experiences, and before we left we joined in on the tradition of tacking a signed dollar bill to the money covered walls. Our next destination was Warren where the owner of the Stage Stop had told us the Baum Shelter had a resident wolf pup welcoming committee that would be excited to great us.

On our way to the Baum Shelter we passed over Steamboat Summit, the trail to the summit and down offered spectacular views of the mountain vistas we’d seen through the trees on our trip. The sun came out as we reached the top, and we paused a few minutes to take in the beautiful view that opened up below us. The days ride, was still gentle but offered a fun variation in terrain, and we found ourselves a little sad to stop riding when we reached our destination at the Baum Shelter. As we parked the snowmobiles, we heard barks behind us, and the greeting committee came around the corner tail wagging. Ranger was the wolf pup we’d heard about, he was massive, and so friendly! He inspected us and our gear, and then followed us inside the Baum Shelter where we ordered food to go for dinner. We petted his soft dense coat while we waited for our order, and again enjoyed talking to the locals, three of the towns five person population were there for dinner and told us some interesting facts about the area.

We headed back over the hills as the sun faded in the sky, and arrived back at Burgdorf where we ate dinner, and then headed back to the hot springs again. They’re the perfect way to warm up after a ride, and hard to pass up on when it’s 20 degrees outside. We soaked for a few hours and then headed to bed, ready to make the ride back to civilization. the next morning.

After we packed our gear, we had enough time to decide between one final soak, or a little more riding time. It was a tough decision, but we decided to spend some extra time on the snowmobiles, and waved goodbye to Burgdorf. The ride home was pleasant, and snow started to fall as we pulled onto the trail. The forty five minutes passed all too quickly, and we soon found ourselves pulling into the parking lot where the Cheap Thrills crew were waiting to load up the snowmobiles. We returned our gear to the McCall office, and just like that our epic adventure was over.

As we headed to coffee at our favorite McCall spot, Mountain Java, we looked at each other to confirm that we’d all experienced the same thing over the last few days. It all felt a little surreal, life had slowed down and simplified. None of us had wifi access during the trip, and the absence of our phones constant dings and chirps had been so peaceful. Our trip was so unique, and the perfect respite from everyday life. It brought us back to the basics, gave us time together, a one of a kind experience, and memories well never forget! If you ever get the chance to take an overnight snowmobile trip, Do it! It’s such a unique adventure, and something were happy to add to our list of winter experiences. Thank you to Burgdrof Hot Springs, and Cheap Thrills, we had an amazing trip and can’t wait for next time!

* Our snowmobile rentals were provided as part of a collaboration with Cheap Thrills, we are thankful to them for their sponsorship, and appreciated the opportunity to create some great content for their company.