LAVA HOT SPRINGS, Idaho (KIFI) – With 2024 now underway, many people wanted to spend the new year relaxing in the World Famous Hot Pools in Lava Hot Springs.
“Usually the day after Christmas, we have all the students out of school,” said complex employee Marguerite Davids. “So we’re very, very busy. Probably the two busiest weeks of the year is the two weeks after Christmas.”
With lines out the door this time of year, the facility requires major upkeep to make it a refreshing experience for so many people.
“We have two and a half million gallons of water that flow through here in a 24 hour period,” Davids said. “We also have a fantastic maintenance career that comes in after we’re closed and they are behind the scenes keeping everything clean.”
Davids says they see more locals on Monday through Thursday and more people from out of town on the weekends and holidays.
Hotels like the Home Hotel are feeling that family effect as well during the holidays.
“There was actually quite a few more families for the New Year’s holiday, which we tend to see more single people, couples, things like that,” said General Manager Jenn Jensen. “It’s really increased the occupancy over the last couple of weeks.”
The Home Hotel offers a chance to experience the hot springs in a different way.
“We have our own hot springs well, so the water is actually piped directly into the the guests rooms and they have huge two person tubs that they’re able to soak in in the privacy of their own room,” Jensen said.
Jensen says more often than not, the people visiting Lava are not even from Idaho.
“The majority of our guests are from a Utah zip code,” Jensen said. “We actually have a lot of people from Utah.”
