Astoria Hot Springs Park

Astoria Hot Springs Park is a developed, paid soak on the Snake River south of Jackson, Wyoming, at 25 Johnny Counts Road, Jackson, WY 83001. Astoria Park Conservancy stewards the site. The operator says the park is 20 minutes south of Jackson, past Hoback Junction on Highway 89, across the historic red bridge. The phone is (307) 201-5925 and the email is hotsprings@astoriapark.org. Four mineral pools are chlorine-free flow-through water from the hot springs, constantly refreshed. The Leisure Pool runs 100–102°F and has an ADA water chair. The Meadow Pool runs 102–104°F and also has an ADA water chair. The Waterfall Pool and the River Pool, in a quiet zone, run 102–104°F. The number on this page is 104°F, the high end of that mineral-pool range, not a single thermometer reading. NOAA's Thermal Springs List records Astoria Mineral Hot Springs at 99°F at this site, which is cooler than the pools the operator posts. Two other pools are not spring water. The children's pool runs 80–90°F and is filled with chlorinated potable water. The cold plunge runs 48–51°F and is also chlorinated potable water. The operator's FAQ says the soaking pools are free of chlorine because of the flow-through design, and that the children's pool and cold plunge are the exceptions. A ticket includes all of them. Do not read the mineral pools and the chlorinated pools as the same water. The park is closed every Wednesday for cleaning. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the hours are 9:00 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., in five sessions: 9:00–10:45, 11:00–12:45, 1:00–2:45, 3:00–4:45, and 5:00–6:45. Capacity is 70 people per session. Reservations are strongly recommended. Walk-ins are allowed only if a session has room, and weekend, afternoon, and evening sessions usually sell out. A standard adult ticket is $26.25 and a resident adult ticket is $18.75. A child age 2–12 is $19, or $13.50 for residents. An infant under 2 is free. Resident rates require proof at check-in and apply to Teton County, Wyoming and Idaho, Sublette County, Wyoming, and Lincoln County, Wyoming. Tribal members with a tribal ID can reserve a complimentary visit by phone or by email to hotsprings@astoriapark.org. Bathing suits are required. Dogs are not allowed, including in cars in the parking area, under a county wildlife ordinance; the operator says a dog must stay in the car until the vehicle is back across the red bridge on the highway side. Accessible changing rooms and showers are on site. A snack shack sells food and drinks. Outside food is allowed at least ten feet from the pools, and outside alcohol and glass are not. The operator says the mineral water contains magnesium, sulfur, calcium, potassium, sodium, chloride, and bicarbonates. The history page says the land is the aboriginal land of the Shoshone-Bannock, Eastern Shoshone, and Cheyenne peoples, and that the place was known as Counts Hot Spring or Johnny Counts Flats when prospector Johnny Counts lived there. Robert Porter bought the land in 1960 and the pools were completed in 1961. The Gill family sold in 1998. The Trust for Public Land ran a campaign to protect the property. The conservancy was founded in 2018, and as of January 2020 it became the steward of the 100-acre property.

Sources: astoriahotspringspark.org (1), astoriahotspringspark.org (2), doi.pangaea.de

Access to Astoria Hot Springs Park (Jackson, Wyoming) is via West Johnny Counts Road, which stays within a quarter mile. A community pool, as described on the operator's own site. The temperature carried on this record is 104°F. Entry falls in the $$ price band and amenities on file include food on-site and showers. Plan on clothing required, on the operator's own site.