Location: Lava Hot Springs, Idaho
Activity: Soaking my aching muscles in mineral hot springs and doing nothing else.
Every year I ask my husband what he wants for his birthday, but this year I decided to make the decision for him. I told him we were going to take an overnight trip to someplace we’d never been. My requirements were it couldn’t be more than 3 hours away, low key, and fairly cheap. After asking around, Lava Hot Springs in Idaho sounded like the perfect place. Plus, this trip wouldn’t involve any strenuous outdoor activities.
The morning of our trip we awoke to snow coming down in the Salt Lake Valley. The drive up to our destination took 3 hours because the roads were icy and snow covered. During my inquiries about the area, most people told me the drive would take a little over 2 hours. After feeling a bit cranky from the extended drive north, we pulled into Lava Hot Springs. It was a winter wonderland. The entire town felt like a romantic movie setting. Snow was falling, Main Street looked empty, and the town was ours.
We stayed the night at the Alpaca Inn. The whole place had been remodeled in July 2008 and still looked like new. The room was cozy, clean, quiet, and affordable. What won me over were the pictures of alpacas by the doors and the alpaca theme woven throughout the room.
A mere two blocks away from our room were Lava’s mineral hot springs. After buying an all day pass to come and go from the pool, we donned our swimsuits and made our way to the water. The first thing I noticed is that these pools have no sulfur so they don’t stink. The water in the four different pools varied from 102 – 112 degrees Fahrenheit and some had gravel bottoms. During the day we pretty much had the place to ourselves. In fact at one point we were the only people in a pool at a time. When we headed back after dinner, the pools were crowded with teenage students from the surrounding area. Even so, with the snow falling, and the steam coming off the water, we were shrouded in our very own cloud privacy.
Throughout town, I kept asking people that live there where should we eat dinner. Everyone kept recommending the Riverwalk Thai Restaurant, which is at the end of town next to U.S. 30, in a building that looks like it use to be an old gas station. The service was nice and the food was okay, which made me wonder what the other restaurant in town must be like. In the morning we ate at Johnny’s, your typical greasy spoon. My french toast was great, the coffee, not so much. But we had great entertainment while we ate breakfast. We watched the town “snowplow” (a dump truck and a front loader) clear the streets.
During the summer, Lava Hot Springs is popular for floating and fishing on the Portneuf River, mountain biking and hiking. The winter also has plenty of things to do; snowshoeing, ice fishing, and skiing at Pebble Creek Ski area which is close by. But to be completely honest I didn’t feel like doing a single thing other than relaxing with my husband.
Lesson: When you feel dizzy at Lava’s mineral hot springs, it’s not from the sulfur smell, it’s the heat. So get out of the pool for a bit and cool down.