Have you ever wondered what Idaho has to offer besides a lot of potatoes? Lava hot springs! My family has been going since I was a child and I am now taking my own children!
If you have ever been to a small town and promptly fell in love, you can go ahead and add Lava Hot Springs to the list! An hour south of Pocatello, only a few blocks long, it will be a vacation you will want to do again, I guarantee it! It doesn’t take much guess work to realize why its well know, glorious hot springs are what keep this town in business.
Hot Springs can be found all around us, but in specific areas they seem to be much more prevalent. What makes Lava hot springs popular is that unlike many other natural hot springs, they are odorless! Lava Hot Springs was a Native American camp long before settlers discovered the hot springs and took it for themselves!
So what is there to do in this little town you ask? Plenty!
- Lava Hot Springs runs a LARGE outdoor/indoor aquatic center. With a large
outdoor pool, diving boards and slides. Its plenty to keep your kids busy all day long. They also have a special indoor area for their baby/ toddler play area that was just fantastic!
Photo by Kimberly/Moms Guide to Cheap Travel
- Lvaa Hot Springs also runs their own Hot springs pools, these pools are sourced straight from the hot springs and are piped from one pool to another making the water cooler and cooler as it makes its way through. This gives people the option of how hot they would like their water. I am always impressed/worried when I see someone in hottest pool. I prefer the coolest pool, like a refreshing bath…with a bunch of strangers. Side note, make sure you shower before and after! There are also local hot pools around town, but I prefer the Lava Hot Springs run pools.
- Portneuf River runs through the town and has become a prime location for many tubers. You can bring your own or rent them by the hour. There are lots of rental places, some offer just tube rentals while others also offer a service to pick you up at the bottom and bring you back up to the sections of river they tube. I highly recommend this, hauling a tube up main street repeatedly is exhausting!
- Camping at Lava is fantastic! It has become a very well known and loved camping area. Close enough to the river, aquatic center, and hot pools camping is extremely convenient. There is even a small grocery store if you forget something or don’t want to pack food at all
- Classical Hotels sure to remind you of the old days. Although there are parts of town that have started to modernize, the majority of the hotels in town are the same as they were in the early 1900’s. Most of them even have their own private hot spring tubs in the basement for guests.
- In Idaho the list could go on and on of adorable country activities, Bakers Ranch Wagon Ride, Lava Zip line Adventures, and South Bannock County Museum to name a few. If you want to do a bit more exploring there is a ghost town 30 minutes away, Chesterfield Historic Town site, they offer free tours!
Photo by Kimberly/Moms Guide to Cheap Travel
If you are headed to Idaho any time this year or have always wanted to check out hot springs I HIGHLY suggest Lava! With as often as I go, you may just see me there.
Guest blogger Kimberly from Moms Guide to Cheap Travel is a wife and mother of two adorable little ones. She enjoys traveling and sharing her tips and tricks that she has learned through taking her kids with her (usually the hard way!) on vacation. She loves saving money and cringes when she hears of someone booking a hotel without a promo code…ALWAYS use promo codes!
