Lava Hot Springs shutting down for major renovation
Ariel Jensen
LAVA HOT SPRINGS, Idaho (KIFI) — A popular Idaho tourist attraction is shutting down for a time to renovate and upgrade the facility.
The hot pools at Lava Hot Springs are getting a facelift. Managers say they’re making it better for visitors. The hottest hot pool is the one under construction.
“So that pool was done in the early 1980s, and there is no foundation structure under to support the earth moving all the time. So that pool was buckling and failing. The steps were moving steps, broke off, and it was just falling into itself,” said Tyson Koester, Executive Director of the Lava Hot Springs Foundation.
Managers tell us the hot pool area is tightly confined for the majority of the construction. As a result, they had to use special tools and equipment to keep this project going.
“We run two and a half million gallons a day of water through this facility. So there are no valves, there’s no on and off,” said Koester. “So, it’s how do we control the water? What do we do with the water to get the facility back open, and also do water where we need to put the supporting foundation, and for the new pool?”
Despite the challenges of working with moving water, they plan to open the four other pools by November 7th, but the hottest pool is not expected to be open for another seven months.
“That’s a big project. It’s, you know, state of the art. It’s not an easy task. We’ve got a great team on it, and hopefully we can provide a product that will last for a long time and there’ll be some great improvements for ADA access,” said Koester.
They plan to have a grand re-opening once the first phase of renovations is complete in November.