LAVA HOT SPRINGS — The hot pools at Lava Hot Springs are temporarily closed this month as the facility’s hottest pool undergoes a major renovation to address structural failures that have developed since it was built in the 1980s.

Tyson Koester, executive director of the Lava Hot Springs Foundation, said demolition on the hottest pool began Oct. 13, marking the start of a seven-month reconstruction project.

“That hot pool was failing,” Koester said. “It was built in the ‘80s. It was time to rehabilitate.”

The pool had developed serious structural problems, including areas where it was sinking and stairs that were separating and collapsing, Koester said. Rather than attempt repairs, the foundation decided a complete rebuild was necessary.

“The old hot pool had stairs that were collapsing, and it wasn’t very accessible,” Koester said.

The entire facility is currently closed, but the other four pools are expected to reopen by early next month — tentatively Nov. 7, though Koester said he hopes to open earlier depending on how the work progresses. Once those pools are operational, construction will begin in earnest on the new hot pool.

The redesigned pool will feature significant improvements focused on accessibility and longevity. The new pool will meet all Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, replacing steep, deteriorating stairs with accessible ramps.

“We’re building a new pool,” Koester said. “This one will have new ramps. It will meet all ADA requirements.”

Additional features include a sun deck, improved water access points, and a more supportive foundation designed to prevent the structural issues that plagued the previous pool. The enhanced foundation and modern construction techniques should help the new pool serve visitors for generations.

“Water access should be better. It won’t have the steep stairs,” Koester said.

Community members have been asking to see what the completed pool will look like. While renderings aren’t available yet, Koester said the project team is working on creating images that will be shared soon on social media.

“We’re getting the project team working on an image,” Koester said. “Hopefully that will be coming. Watch for it on social media.”

Progress updates on the renovation are available on Facebook at facebook.com/LavaHotSpringsPools and on the foundation’s website at lavahotsprings.com/hotpools.

The renovation continues the facility’s tradition of providing access to waters that have drawn visitors for over a century — and for generations before that when it served as sacred healing grounds known as Poha-Ba, or “medicine waters,” to the Shoshone, Bannock, Paiute, Ute, and other regional tribes, former Shoshone-Bannock Tribes spokesperson Randy’l Teton said in a comment on a Lava Hot Springs World Famous Hot Springs Facebook page post.

Today, the foundation maintains a partnership with the Fort Hall tribes, providing free access to tribal members to continue spiritual practices, Teton said. Visitors interested in learning more about the area’s Indigenous history can visit the South Bannock Historical Museum Center in downtown Lava Hot Springs or online at marshvalleymuseum.org/our-story.html.