Heise Hot Springs, Idaho: Pools, Hours and What to Expect

Where Heise Hot Springs Sits

Heise Hot Springs is in Ririe, Idaho, a small town on the Snake River plain east of Idaho Falls. The site's position puts it within reach of the South Fork Snake River corridor and the farm country around Ririe, and it works as a half-day stop rather than a backcountry destination.

For a Yellowstone or Grand Teton road trip, Heise makes a sensible eastern-side break: you leave the parks, drop into the Snake River plain and soak before pressing on toward Idaho Falls. Build it into a driving day rather than treating it as a separate trip, and the detour costs you an hour or two, not a full day.

The Pools

The layout is simple: a hot pool held at 104 degrees, a larger outdoor swimming pool for cooler water, a diving board for the deep end and a 350-foot water slide for the kids. That split is the reason Heise works for mixed groups, since the soak crowd and the swim crowd can use the same visit without negotiating over one pool.

Choose the hot pool if you want heat and a short soak, and the swimming pool if you want to move, splash or spend an hour with children. Because the hot pool runs hot, keep soaks short, and keep an eye on kids near the slide and the pool decks, which stay wet and slick through a busy afternoon.

The 350-foot slide runs in the summer pool and empties into a separate splash pool, so the slide and the hot pools operate on different schedules. The hours section below lists when each side of the resort is open, and a weekday visit is mainly a hot-pool visit.

Fees and Hours

Heise runs year-round. The Heise Resort hours page lists the hot springs open Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The summer pool and slide keep a much shorter schedule, with Friday evenings from 5 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 8 p.m. listed, and Sunday through Thursday closed.

Day-use visitors pay an admission fee, and overnight guests at the resort pay a discounted admission rate instead of getting free pool access. The resort sets the amounts, and they vary with which pools are running, so budget for the whole group rather than a single soak.

Because the slide is open only a few hours a week, a family that wants it should plan the trip around a Saturday afternoon or a Friday evening. A weekday morning arrives before the hot pools open, so build those days around the 2 p.m. opening and a late lunch.

What to Bring and Posted Rules

Pack a swimsuit, a towel and a dry layer for the ride home; the hot pool is the point, and the decks and changing areas stay damp. Water shoes help on wet concrete around the pools and the slide stairs.

Clothing is required in every pool, and swimsuits are the expected attire. Heise is run as a family resort, so treat it as a public swimming facility with posted rules rather than a clothing-optional spring, and follow the signs at the entrance and on the pool decks.

Food on Site

A full-service pizza restaurant sits at Heise, and a snack bar serves burgers and milkshakes, which turns a soak into a half-day outing. That matters for families, because you can swim, dry off and eat without loading everyone back into the car for the drive into Idaho Falls or Ririe.

The pizza parlor opens at 11:30 a.m. every day, closes at 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 8 p.m. on Sunday. Plan the meal around the pool session: swim first, then eat, so nobody is back in the water on a full stomach.

Camping and Lodging

Heise is more than a day-use pool: the resort has cabin rentals and a tent and RV campground on the property, with an RV office and store that keeps its own hours. Staying on site means a discounted admission rate rather than free pool access, and guests who want more choice in motels and restaurants can base themselves in Idaho Falls instead.

For a longer trip, public-land campgrounds along the South Fork Snake River corridor and in the surrounding national forest fill up early on summer weekends. You can pair a Heise soak with a night in the trees and make a two-day loop instead of a single afternoon.

Crowds and Timing

Summer weekends bring slide traffic and family groups, so the pools and the pizza counter fill up in the middle of the day. Arrive near opening if you want the hot pool before the rush, and expect the shallow end to be busiest when school is out.

Winter is the quieter season at Heise, when the summer pool and slide are closed and the hot pools carry the visit. A cold-weather soak in a steaming pool is the reward for the shorter days, and you will share the water with far fewer people than in July.

Nearby Soaks and Stops for an Eastern Idaho Loop

Heise is one stop on a wider map of hot springs in Idaho, and it works best as part of a loop rather than a destination on its own. Use the soak as a warm break between drives, then keep moving toward the next pool or the next town.

South of Heise, Lava Hot Springs anchors a walkable resort town with developed pools of its own and makes an easy second stop on a southern Idaho run. It is a different kind of soak, so the two together show both sides of Idaho's developed hot springs, and travelers continuing west can compare the same kind of resort stop using our Nevada hot springs guide.

In central Idaho, Miracle Hot Springs near Buhl and Banbury Hot Springs give you developed pools fed by geothermal water in the Snake River Plain, and both fit a loop that swings through Twin Falls. Farther north, Burgdorf Hot Springs in Payette National Forest is the rustic, remote counterpoint to Heise's built-up setting.

Safety Around the Hot Pool and Slide

The hot pool comes with a posted temperature, and heat affects people differently, so keep soaks short, drink water and step out if you feel lightheaded. Keep your head above the water in the hot pool, and supervise children closely at both the hot pool and the slide.

The decks, the slide stairs and the changing-room floors stay wet, so walk rather than run and wear shoes with grip. Children should stay within arm's reach near the splash pool at the bottom of the slide.

Water Temperatures and Minerals

Heise runs four pools off one geothermal spring, and each is held at a different temperature. The spring emerges at about 126 degrees, the main soaking pool sits at 104 degrees, the shallow family pool near 92 degrees and the summer swimming pool close to 84 degrees. The summer pool is open from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day.

That ladder is how the resort serves very different groups: adults who want real heat, toddlers who need shallow lukewarm water and swimmers who want a cool lap. The water is a sodium chloride type with roughly 5,700 mg/L of dissolved solids, lightly treated to keep it clear, so expect a mineral-rich but not sulfur-heavy soak.

With a mixed group, start young children in the 92-degree family pool and take adults to the 104-degree pool in short rounds. The gap between 104 and 84 degrees is large, so cool off gradually between the two rather than jumping straight from one to the other.

Golf, Zip Line and the Snake River

A golf course and a zip line operate on the grounds as separate, seasonal businesses whose fees are not part of pool admission. Golf tee times run every 10 minutes from 9 a.m. until an hour before sunset and are booked through the pro shop at 208-538-7312, extension 3. The zip line closes for winter.

The Snake River runs beside the resort and is known for native cutthroat trout fishing and for kayaking, which gives campers something to do between soaks. Swim lessons and lifeguard and water safety instructor classes are also offered at the resort.

Wildfire and Road Closures

Heise sits in a river canyon with dry grass and sagebrush slopes, and fire has affected the resort more than once. In November 2024 a pump house fire led to a short closure, and East Idaho News reported that the pools were set to reopen the next day while the slide stayed shut because of damage to the pump room.

In late summer 2026 the Big Rock Fire burned east of Ririe. Firefighters burned out a containment line along a southern road to protect the resort, roads to Heise and Kelly Canyon were closed, and evacuation orders covered homes and campgrounds north of Heise. The resort has since reopened to regular business hours, although its zip line was closed for the rest of that season.

For a trip from July through September, watch county road and evacuation notices on the day you travel. Red Flag days and smoke can close access roads quickly, so keep Lava Hot Springs or an Idaho Falls stop in mind as a second plan.

Getting There

Heise is reachable in any vehicle, with no trail or river crossing involved. From Idaho Falls the resort is about 23 miles northeast: follow US-26 east for roughly 19 miles, turn onto local county roads, cross a bridge and finish on East Heise Road. The address for a GPS is 5116 E Heise Rd, Ririe, ID 83443.

Because the last stretch uses narrow county roads, enter the street address rather than the resort name, and download your map before leaving the highway in case cell service is patchy in the canyon. The resort sits near 5,000 feet, so winter visits can mean snow or ice on the approach even when Idaho Falls looks clear.

History of the Springs

Native peoples used the springs for hunting, fishing and bathing long before settlers arrived. In 1890 a German immigrant named Richard Camor Heise visited to treat severe rheumatism, settled nearby and built a store, a hotel and public pools fed by the springs. Improved roads over the following decades turned the site into a regional recreation stop, which is how it grew into the pools, campground and slide visitors find today.

Plan Your Visit

Heise Hot Springs is the eastern Idaho soak that works for a couple, a family or a road-trip pit stop: a 104-degree hot pool for the soak, a big swimming pool and slide for the kids, and pizza on site so nobody has to leave for lunch. Build it into a Snake River plain driving day and let it be the easy stop between bigger destinations.

Check current hours and pool schedules with Heise Resort before you go, then line up a night at the campground, in Idaho Falls or along the South Fork Snake River and you have a complete loop.