While I was looking for things to do between Salt Lake City and Yellowstone National Park, I found a small town called Lava Hot Springs along one of our possible routes between the two places. I had been longing to soak in a natural hot springs and figured a town with such a name must have some hot springs nearby. After a bit of research, I found out that not only did they have hot springs, but they also had a small water park and a stretch of river perfect for tubing.

I was really excited for this stop, and I wasn’t in the least bit disappointed. Upon arrival, our number one priority was finding a good place to eat. We tuned down the main drag shortly after 10am and hadn’t had much to eat since the previous night. I found a cafe (Chuckwagon Cafe) with a line out the door. We wondered over to the public hot springs after eating our fill for a good soak. The pools were better than I had expected. There were four pools with temperatures ranging from 102˚ to 112˚, each lined with stone and gravel. They were very clean and didn’t have the sulfur smell you usually find at a hot springs. We got all day passes so we could soak before and after hopping in the river for some tubing.