We are East Idaho: Lava Hot Springs

LAVA HOT SPRINGS — Take a drive along I-15 and pull off the McCammon exit south of Pocatello. Head east on Highway 30 for about 12 miles and you’ll run into a quaint little town with less than 500 people.




While most “outsiders” pronounce it Lav-uh (like Java) Hot Springs, locals tend to call home Lah-vuh. It’s a city nestled between two mountains with no fast food restaurants or stoplights, but one with plenty of things to do.




Once part of the original Fort Hall Indian Reservation, Lava Hot Springs was included in a treaty agreement between the Indians and United States Government in the late 1800s. Indians gathered here to bathe, rest and worship at the hot springs as the area was considered neutral ground shared by all tribes.




In 1902, an act transferred Lava Hot Springs to the State of Idaho for public use. Over the past century, the area has been discovered as a hidden gem in eastern Idaho.





“Swimming, floating the river and soaking in the hot springs – that’s what Lava is all about,” says Chet Davids, the Lava Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce President. He reports that around 429,000 people visited Lava in 2018 – around 10,000 more than 2017.




“There are definitely more people that travel through here with Interstate 15 and Highway 30. It gives people a direct hit over to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. We get a lot of traffic (and) a lot of tour buses come through.”




The draw, of course, is the hot springs consisting of five pools full of natural mineral water ranging in temperature from 102 to 112 degrees Fahrenheit. The Lava Hot Springs Foundation, an agency within the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, manages the springs and nearby swimming complex.




“We’re fortunate enough that we don’t have to heat it or cool it at all,” says manager Devanee Morrison. “They figure the flow rate is around 2.5 million gallons per day so that helps us with the cleanliness because it flows so quickly.”




The springs are open every day of the year except on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some locals soak twice each day and on weekends, the pools are packed – no matter the weather.




On a recent day, air temperatures were in the single digits around 10 a.m. and a handful of visitors were keeping warm in each of the pools.




“We’re driving back to school from California to Montana right now so this was the last stop on our road trip,” Zoë Hall tells EastIdahoNews.com. She’s visiting the springs with her friend, Peter Mitchell.




“The natural ambiance of sitting in the hot water provided from our earth – it’s really cool,” Mitchell says. “It feels very nice and relaxing.”




A unique aspect about Lava Hot Springs is there is no sulfur smell, unlike other geothermal water springs around the world.

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