All-natural relaxation

School has been back in session for two whole weeks now, and students have already earned themselves a break.

For anyone willing to make a bit of drive, Lava Hot Springs offers a seemingly magical place where steam fills the air, the water is naturally warm and bikinis can been seen, even in the winter.

Lava Hot Springs consists of four pools of varying size with some cover coming from a couple small wooden awnings.

The pools are located in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, a town named for the pools. It’s about an hour and a half drive from Logan.

The hot pools have long been a destination for people looking to relax away their stress and pain, both physical and mental.

“It’s a tremendous place to meditate and clear out the mind-trash that we get from daily life,” said Mark Lowe, the executive director of the Lava Hot Springs foundation.

According to Lowe, one thing that makes Lava different from other hot pools is how natural the water is.

“We don’t do anything to manipulate the water,” Lowe said. He explained no chemicals are added and nothing is done to change the temperature of the water.

“It comes in at about 112 degrees to 105 in some places,” he said. According to Lowe, most commercial hot tubs don’t get above 104 degrees.

The floors of the pools are covered with small stones, like a fish tank. Lowe said the small bits of gravel on the bottom provide both a natural filtering system and a comfortable surface for guests to walk on.

Lowe explained why the water at the hot pools is all-natural and yet lacks the rotten egg, sulfur smell of natural springs in the Yellowstone area.

“Here the water doesn’t actually come in contact with the magma,” he said. “Rather, it is still separated by a layer of earth.”

Not only is the water natural, but the way the water comes into the pools would make Mother Nature pleased.

“A lot of places, they take the water and pump it somewhere else,” Lowe said. In contrast, the pools in Lava Hot Springs are filled directly by the spring.

“Anywhere in the pools you can see bubbles, that’s fresh water coming right in,” Lowe said.

The water fills in at a rate where the pools have entirely fresh water every 2 hours. Lowe said the laws for public pools only require 8 hours.

According to the pools’ Web site, over 3 million gallons of water flow through the 4 pools every day.

Lowe said many people believe this natural way the water enters the pools and its unaltered state gives Lava Hot Springs a “special spirit to the place.”

“You could break this water down, find out the minerals in it, add that into other water someplace else, get it to the same temperature and it still wouldn’t be the same,” Lowe said.

The water isn’t the only drawing feature to the pools. Program Director Deonne Law said her favorite things about the pools are “location, location, people, location and people.”

The pools have 10 full-time employees and as many as 60 part-time.

The most recent additions to the facilities are the new dressing rooms, which opened up about three months ago. The floors of the locker rooms are heated using the spring water, which Lowe said makes the whole experience much nicer.

“The old dressing rooms were old and dingy,” he said. “Anyone who hasn’t been here in a while should come back.”

Historically, Lowe said, the pools have been used by Native Americans for centuries. In 1902, the land was set apart by the state of Idaho for public use. The facilities have been evolving into their current state ever since.

Lowe said the pools were used as public baths by the residence of the area. “They used to have male bathing time and then male ‘peeping’ time with them hiding up in the rocks,” Lowe said.

Today visitors generally don’t worry about peeping, as bathing suits are required.

Besides the pools, Lowe said there are many things to do in Lava for people looking to make a day of their trip, especially for outdoor enthusiasts. The area features cross-country skinning and fishing on the Portneuf River, and the town is only 20 minutes from Pebble Creek Ski Area.

“It’s always nice, spend the day skiing and then soak in the evening,” Lowe said.

Lowe also recommended several restaurants in town, ranging from pizza and burgers to Thai food.

As for the age-old question of how to pronounce the name of pools and the town, Lava resident Lowe sets it straight. “It’s a short ‘a’,” he said. “When in doubt, you go with the vernacular.”

For a full list of rates and other amenities the pools offer, visit www.lavahotsprings.com.

-­steveshinney@cc.usu.edu