Heise Hot Springs

Heise Hot Springs: A Family Resort on the South Fork of the Snake River

Heise Hot Springs is a long running family resort on the north bank of the South Fork of the Snake River in Jefferson County, a few miles east of Ririe and about a half hour from Idaho Falls. A German immigrant named Richard Clamor Heise homesteaded the ground in 1889 and built pools, a hotel, a store, and a post office around a hot spring that issues from the river bank.

The resort is still operating on that same ground: a natural mineral hot pool kept at about 104 °F, a fresh water warm pool at about 96 °F, a summer pool with a 350 foot slide, a 9 hole golf course, a pizza parlor, a seasonal zipline, and a large seasonal campground.

The hot pool runs all year. In summer the resort is a full vacation stop, with the slide, the golf course, and the campground open; in fall and winter the pools keep their own schedule, Monday to Friday 2 to 10 pm and Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 10 pm. The resort was evacuated on July 31, 2026 when the lightning caused Big Rock Fire burned the canyon around it, and it reopened that same season. Its own home page, read November 11, 2026, reports the resort back to regular business hours, with the zipline closed for the rest of the season because of the fire.

Source temperature for the spring itself is 120 °F (49 °C) on the federal NOAA thermal springs list, which also carries this spring at 43.644, -111.687 on the site’s USGS GPS coordinates page. The Idaho Department of Water Resources dataset records the spring as Recreation, Developed, and stores a hotter reading, 138.2 °F, dated June 1977. The water you soak in is not the source: the hot pool is held at about 104 °F and the warm pool at about 96 °F, per the operator’s own hot springs page.

Soak Stats

Place Information

Location, Map & Directions

Heise Hot Springs sits on the north bank of the South Fork of the Snake River at the foot of the rhyolite wall below the Kelly Canyon country, in the small community of Heise east of Ririe. From Idaho Falls, take US 26 north to Ririe, then follow E Heise Road east toward the river; the resort entrance is on the north side of the road at the river. The drive is about 25 miles from Idaho Falls by the local accounts, roughly a half hour.

The USGS GPS coordinates page carries the spring at 43.644, -111.687, on the HEISE 7.5 quadrangle, and the resort’s published address is 5116 E Heise Rd, Ririe, ID 83443. The spring, the community, and the resort all sit in Jefferson County; Ririe’s postal area spans Jefferson and Bonneville counties, which is why some directory listings blur the county line. The nearest live listings are Brockman Creek Hot Spring and Ashton Warm Spring, each about 30 miles northeast toward Driggs.

The Soaking Experience

Two pools are the heart of the place. The hot pool is a natural mineral spring pool kept at about 104 °F; the operator publishes a mineral analysis naming sodium chloride as the largest share, with sodium sulphate, calcium carbonate, magnesium chloride, potassium sulphate, sodium carbonate, and silica. The warm pool is fresh water at about 96 °F and shallow, built for kids and families. Both run all year on the fall and winter schedule.

In summer a third pool opens, with a 350 foot slide, a diving board, and the poolside snack bar; the slide is a $5 upgrade after pool admission. Season passes are sold for the full season. Towels, suits, and life jackets rent for $1 to $2. The pools are a resort amenity, not a wild soak: expect a family crowd, children, music, and the hum of a summer resort, and plan on swimsuits.

Fees, Hours & Reservations

Everyone entering the pool areas buys a pool pass. The all day pass covers all pools and costs $13 for adults 12 and over, $10 for children 11 and under, and $8 for adults 65 and over; spectators pay $13 with a $6.50 refund available. The slide is a $5 upgrade after admission. Season passes run $400 for an adult, $300 for a child, $365 for a senior, and $255 for a half season. Prices are subject to 6% sales tax and a 3.99% card fee.

Hours are published by the operator and change with the season: in summer (Memorial Day through Labor Day) the pools are open daily 10 am to 10 pm; from September through May they open Monday to Friday 2 to 10 pm and Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 10 pm. Hours may change on holidays. The summer pool and slide, the golf course, and the RV office close for the season each fall; the hot pool and warm pool do not. Check the resort’s hot springs page before a visit, and note that the zipline stayed closed for the rest of the 2026 season after the Big Rock Fire.

Facilities, Lodging & Nearby

The resort is built for a stay, not just a soak. The campground is a large seasonal RV park with full hookup, electric, and dry sites plus tent camping, open roughly April through October; rates were not published on the operator’s site at the research date, so check them at booking. Cabins are listed among the resort’s offerings. The pizza parlor is open daily (Monday to Thursday 11:30 am to 9 pm, Friday and Saturday to 10 pm, Sunday to 8 pm) and the store and snack bar serve the pool deck.

The 9 hole golf course runs in season, with tee times every 10 minutes from 9 am. The zipline runs ten lines over about a mile and a half when it is in service; it stayed closed for the rest of the 2026 season because of the fire. The South Fork of the Snake River is the resort’s neighbor: the Heise to Ririe stretch is trout country, and the canyon accesses are BLM ground. The Cress Creek Nature Trail nearby was still closed at the research date for fire damage, per the BLM.

History

Heise Hot Springs is one of the oldest operating resorts on the South Fork of the Snake River. The resort’s own printed history says a German immigrant named Richard Clamor Heise came to the area in 1889, found the hot spring water an aid to healing wounds and relieving rheumatism, homesteaded the property, and built swimming pools, a hotel, a store, and a post office. The springs were a destination within a decade: Elof Nelson built a ferry about three miles upstream around 1898, and it served access to Heise Hot Springs and ran as a stagecoach route to Rexburg.

By 1915 the federal guidebook of the western United States described a log hotel for about 150 guests and a bathhouse with two concrete pools, with springs issuing from the river bank at 126 to 140 °F, water that smelled of sulphur and was strongly mineralized, and bathing said to relieve rheumatism. Heise died in 1921; his daughter Bertha Gavin managed the resort and had a much needed bridge built in May 1938. In 1941 Bob and Elsie Quinn bought Heise, remodeled the hot pool, and built the big pool; Bob died in 1960.

The resort has been a family operation in two families across more than a century, and the name is pronounced “hi-see,” the final e silent. On July 31, 2026 the lightning caused Big Rock Fire burned the canyon around the resort, the resort was evacuated that day, and the South Fork canyon closed to boaters and campers for a week; the resort reopened the same season at regular business hours, with the zipline closed for the rest of the season because of the fire.

Safety & Health

This is a developed commercial resort with lifeguarded pools in season, published hours, and a controlled water temperature; the ordinary rules still apply. Hydrate, mind the hot pool’s heat on a summer afternoon, and supervise children in and around the pools. The warm pool is the shallow, cooler option for kids.

The river beside the resort is a free flowing Snake River reach: treat it with respect, and do not confuse the resort’s managed pools with river swimming. If you hike or fish the canyon accesses after the 2026 fire, check the BLM closures first; burned ground above the river can slide after rain, and part of Heise Road closed briefly after post fire mudslides in August 2026.

Best Time to Visit

Summer is the full resort season: the slide, the golf course, the campground, and the pool deck all running, with the pools open daily 10 am to 10 pm. Fall and winter are the quiet soak: the hot pool at about 104 °F under its winter schedule, the summer crowds gone, and the snow country of the Kelly Canyon side in view. The resort does not close for November or any winter month; its published schedule runs September through May. Spring brings the campground back, usually April. If the zipline matters to your visit, check whether it has reopened for the 2027 season before you go.

Nearby Hot Springs

• Brockman Creek Hot Spring (Driggs area, about 30 miles northeast)
• Ashton Warm Spring (about 30 miles northeast)