Thousand Springs State Park, State park and National Natural Landmark in Gooding County, Idaho.
Thousand Springs State Park is made up of five units in Gooding County, Idaho: Billingsley Creek, Earl M. Hardy Box Canyon Springs Nature Preserve, Malad Gorge, Niagara Springs and Ritter Island. The units were merged into one park in 2005. At Box Canyon, springs pour from the head of a 350-acre canyon with 250-foot walls, and Niagara Springs borders the Snake River below basalt cliffs 350 feet high.
The park was established in 2005 and includes the historic Kelton Trail, which functioned as a trade route between Boise, Idaho, and Kelton, Utah from 1864 to 1883. This old route remains visible today, marking an important pioneer-era connection.
Ritter Island lies along the Snake River between two large springs, and the unit takes its name from the Ritter family, who ranched the island before the state acquired it. Visitors today walk the island's paths among the springs and read the ranch buildings that remain.
The park has five units: Billingsley Creek, Earl M. Hardy Box Canyon Springs Nature Preserve, Malad Gorge, Niagara Springs and Ritter Island. Malad Gorge is a day-use unit off Interstate 84 with hiking and picnicking; a section of the Oregon Trail is visible there. Niagara Springs borders the Snake River below basalt cliffs 350 feet high.
The spring at the head of Box Canyon is the eleventh-largest in North America, releasing about 180,000 US gallons (680,000 L) per minute. Its water then drops over a 20-foot waterfall inside a canyon with 250-foot walls. The site was bought by the Nature Conservancy in 1999 and handed to the state in 2016.
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