Review: Geyser Park, Lava Hot Springs, and Niter Ice Cave

Review: Geyser Park, Lava Hot Springs, and Niter Ice Cave

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⤑Geyser Park, Lava KOA East, and Lava Hot Springs

Yue and I had September 27-29th off, so we wanted to do something together.

We decided that it would be fun to camp at the Lava Hot Springs East KOA and bathe in Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. Beatriz might be able to come along, too!

On the 27th, we found out that Beatriz couldn’t come along, which was ok. I’d reserved a tent space and spent about $120 for that, and the little cabins wouldn’t have fit us, but did cost more. Anyway, we ended up with just the tent space, though without Beatriz we could have used a cabin and been happier. More on that later.

Yue and I met up at Soda Springs and went to see Geyser Park. It’s interesting because it’s a geyser that humans made exist. It comes from natural gases under the ground and happens once and hour. We timed it right and got there just as it was going off!

We then made our way to Lava Hot Springs and checked in. There was only one other tent camper, and the weather was scheduled to turn to flooding-level rains, which sucked, but the cabins were taken by that point.

We set up camp and I had to pay an extra bunch of money as we had two vehicles. I’m definitely not a fan of KOA, especially when places like North Bingham County Campground are better and for 1/12th the money. Anyway, some notes on the campground: it’s by the river, which is nice, and the tent camping spots only have a little bit of space, but come with fire pits. There is a shower room, of course, and it’s kept up well; we managed to get a place under a tree, which helped with the torrential rains that were to come.

We went to the local Ace Hardware so that I could get an overprice set of FEMALE flip flops, for like a size 17 female foot, which they had, since they didn’t have any for men in my size. Still, I’m the idiot who knew that I had a pair in my Jeep when I didn’t.

We went swimming some, then went to eat at the 78 on Main, which wasn’t great. After that, we relaxed in our tent and chatted until it was dark, and then went out in the to the tent and got our things for swimming, and then went out in the rain to go swimming some more.

There are numerous pools, and they have gravel bottoms in some of them, which are nice. There are also pavilions over some of the pools, which made the pelting rain tolerable. The grounds are very pretty, and the cost is about 3 coffees at Starbucks, so I really liked this set of pools and would return.

The town of Lava Hot Springs itself also has a big swimming pool on the other side of town with slides, outdoor pools, and more, but unlike the one on the east side of town, it closes for the off-season.

We went back fairly late and spent way too much time sitting up, chatting about economics and our lives, and then watching some shows, including the Big Short.

Yue is the best friend or woman you’ll ever be able to have. Well, mostly I’ll be able to have, since she’s my girlfriend now!




⤑Niter Cave and Portneuf Grille and Lounge

The next day we went in the incredible rain (I could barely see the road) to Niter Cave. My review: a dank, graffitied hole in the ground caused by cool geology, but very gross. It was very muddy and we didn’t stay long. I wanted to just leave and go swimming, but Yue suggested that we go back to the camp and watch something until it was a little later in the day, so that we didn’t prune out. Worked for me!

We really enjoyed the heck out of the pools and left at 8:30 to go have dinner at the phenomenal Portneuf Grille and Lounge. It’s a bit hard to find, and is in an old, multi-story building, and you enter on a split-level area and have to go downstairs. The food was KILLER. My goodness. The live music was also truly great, and the staff were very kind. I let Yue have some of my prime rib.

It rained all night, but we made the best of it, and for the most part didn’t get wet, nor did we get cold.




➤Last Day and Summary Reviews

On the 29th we had to go our separate ways, but we stopped by the Grille again and got light pastries and some coffee. We split up at noon. I am offering only brief reviews of each. Also, Yue and I both have a…(see last picture.)


Rating: 3 out of 5.

Geyser Park: Free and neat.


Rating: 2 out of 5.

Lava KOA East: A terrible value for an ok spot.


Rating: 4 out of 5.

Lava Hot Springs: A great value for a relaxing, clean time! The pools were clean and orderlies made sure that people weren’t being too raucous.


Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

Niter Cave: A dirty hole in the ground and a waste of gas.


Rating: 5 out of 5.

Portneuf Grille: Incredible food for any town, not just a small town!


Yue: The girl with all the gifts. Best, most intelligent woman you’ll ever meet. Whoever marries her has received something more valuable than all the physical wealth on the planet! (Note: she is now my novia, so that’ll be me!)

Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 31:10
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

10 STARS

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Wishing her well for her amazing future, and super glad that people like her exist on this planet!


God bless!



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