Visitor counts at Hot Springs State Park are up year over year for January, February and March according to state officials, while lodging revenuesshow a noticeable downturn in overnight stays, according to the Office of Tourism.
The outlook for tourism in Hot Springs County continues to show mixed signals, leaving some worried about how things will turn out for 2025 with the continued closure of the Star Plunge, which features indoor and outdoor mineral pools and hot tubs, at Hot Springs State Park. The attraction is embroiled in a legal dispute between Wyoming State Parks and the facility’s owner, Roland Leuhne, who has accused the state in a lawsuit of trying to cheat him.
But residents of Hot Springs County who depend on summer tourism for survival are moving past a situation they can’t control and focusing instead on something they can: beefing up their existing tourism season and thinking out of the box about all the other attractions the county can offer.
This year’s unofficial kickoff for the Thermopolis summer tourism season came with a well-timed revival of a Memorial Day weekend street dance, a longtime tradition sponsored by One Eyed Buffalo Brewing Company. The annual party was back with enthusiasm for 2025, attracting 600-some people to Thermopolis to dance the night away.
Owner Jen Fisher told Cowboy State Daily her thinking didn’t really hinge on the Star Plunge situation. Instead, it was more about her own schedule freeing up, after opening two new businesses in town, giving One Eyed Buffalo Brewing three locations in Thermopolis.
That made her think that it was probably time to bring her popular street dance back.
About the same time Fisher was thinking that, musician Tris Munsick, who leads one of Wyoming’s top country acts, The Innocents, happened to stop in at the One-Eyed Buffalo Brewing Company’s saloon in downtown Thermopolis.
Munsick offered to come play “any time you want.”
That made it perfect, Fisher said. The street dance was on.
Something New With Discovery Days
Fisher’s efforts won’t stop with the street dance. She also plans to help with another effort in town aimed at building Thermopolis and Hot Springs County tourism. That’s an expansion of the annual Wyoming Discovery Days, which this year will feature country musician Chase Rice. Part of the thinking there is to bring in a star, according to Hot Springs County Travel and Tourism board member Audra Dominguez.
“(That’s ) on a weekend when there’s nothing else going on,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “Our hope is to fill all of the hotels and all of the campgrounds and vacation rentals and restaurants.”
Dominguez said she’s been encouraged so far with how things are going on that, as well as all the other event ideas she’s seeing pop up in town. It feels to her like everyone is thinking about what they can do to help keep the town lively for summer.
“We had the three-on-three basketball tournament here,” she said. “And a lot of folks in town for Memorial Day and with graduation going on, that brings a lot more focus to town. So, it’s been picking up and that’s encouraging. Everyone is coming together and trying to do their part.”
Dominguez sees that as an important effort for the town’s future, regardless of the current status of any one attraction in Hot Springs State Park.
“I don’t think any town should ever just sit around and do nothing and feel like it’s the job of any one business to bring everybody in for them,” she said. “So, I think that aspect of it is good, because it’s forcing people to maybe get out of their comfort zone and do things they maybe wouldn’t do that will bring people to town.”
Flashing Fish A Bright Spot
Fisher said One Eyed Buffalo Brewing hasn’t seen much, if any, downturn as far as overall sales go. What she has been seeing though, is a huge surge in fishing.
“Thermopolis has a great reputation for blue ribbon trout fishing,” she said. “It’s just a great river to fish and it’s very popular.”
Word has been getting out about that over the past five or six years, with concerted marketing efforts to tell the story about world-class fishing in Hot Springs County. Along with that, Fisher said, it’s been important to her to point out that there’s more than one attraction at Hot Springs State Park.
“I think a lot of people thought everything in the park was closed,” she said. “I mean, there’s a lot of misinformation going out about the park, and so people were thinking the whole thing is closed.”
Other attractions at the park include the Bath House, which is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays, and Hellie’s TePee Pools, which is extending its hours starting June 6. It will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
The park also has a bison herd, new hikes such as the new T-Hill Trail and old hikes like Monument Hill and Round Top. There’s also the Legend Rock Petroglyph site, 20 miles northwest of Hot Springs State Park, which offers a window on times long past, with hundreds of petroglyphs.
New York Times Spotlight
Dominguez agreed that fishing is proving to be a bright spot for Hot Springs County’s tourism this year. Another bright spot was a recent mention of Hot Springs State Park by the New York Times, in an article listing alternatives to the ever-popular Yellowstone National Park.
The article suggested that staffing cuts at national parks might have people seeking alternatives to the nation’s most popular parks. Park Superintendent Cam Sholly, however, has said staffing at Yellowstone is higher this year than it has been at any point in the last five years.
Still the Times article was a big shoutout for Hot Springs State Park, with callouts for Thermopolis’ Wyoming Dinosaur Center and Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway.
“Fishing is really big, so that’s keeping it busy,” Dominguez said. “But it’s still a hit that the Star Plunge is closed. And I don’t think it matters if you’re on Team Roland or Team State Park, or whatever.”
Fortunately, she added, the hits to lodging revenues in January, February and March weren’t as big as they could have been. What’s important now,though, is to focus on what can be done to make the 2025 tourism season as good as it possibly can be.
“We’ve had extra derbies and extra vendor shows,” she said. “And all the fly fishermen and fishing tours that are coming in, too, have picked up considerably this year.”
The Travel and Tourism Board is working hard to promote all of Hot Springs County’s assets, Dominguez added, whether fishing, biking, newly opened trails, or one of the many activities being planned for a vibrant summer.
“A lot of people are realizing now that there’s more to Thermopolis than just the state park,” she said. “And the state park is wonderful, we fully support the state park, and we’re blessed by it, and we need it. But we also have to step up as a community and a town, to do our own things, and help promote the town besides that.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
