Thermopolis, Wyo. — Wyoming’s state parks, historic sites and recreation areas recorded an estimated 5,048,419 visitors in 2025, a 5% increase from 2024 and the highest statewide visitation since the outdoor recreation surge of 2020 and 2021, according to 2025 visitation figures released by Wyoming State Parks.
Hot Springs State Park led the system with more than 1.2 million visitors, while Curt Gowdy State Park recorded nearly 600,000. That means Hot Springs alone accounted for roughly one out of every four visits recorded across the entire Wyoming State Parks system in 2025.
Those numbers are particularly notable because they came during a period of considerable uncertainty for some of the attractions that have helped define the Thermopolis park for generations.
The Star Plunge was closed for nearly all of 2025 amid a lengthy dispute between its longtime operator and the state. Meanwhile, Wyoming Hot Springs LLC, already the owner and operator of TePee Pool and Spa, had been selected by Wyoming State Parks to eventually take over the Star Plunge and Hot Springs Hotel concessions as part of a broader effort to modernize the park.
With the Star Plunge litigation now resolved and the Hot Springs Hotel preparing for a change in operators, the park could be entering one of the most consequential periods of redevelopment in its history.
Star Plunge’s Future Remains Uncertain
Perhaps the largest unanswered question is what happens to the Star Plunge.
The longtime water park closed in January 2025 after its management agreement expired and litigation prevented a new operator from taking possession.
After more than a year and a half of closure, Wyoming State Parks and longtime operator Roland Luehne reached a settlement in 2026. Under the agreement, the state paid $1.8 million for the appraised value of the concessionaire’s capital investment and ongoing business interest, ending the litigation and returning control of the facility to the state, according to WyoFile’s reporting on the settlement.
But gaining control of the property revealed another problem.
An inspection found gas leaks, sagging beams and significant problems with the pools, according to September reporting by WyoFile. State officials told lawmakers they now must determine whether continuing to invest in the aging facility makes sense or whether it should be replaced.
Further reporting by Cowboy State Daily found that demolition could cost approximately $1 million.
“We’re at the point now where we need to decide whether we want to continue to put money into this facility that is in really poor shape, or do we want to just build something new, something first class for the people of Wyoming and the people of Thermopolis,” Wyoming State Parks Deputy Director Nick Neylon told lawmakers, according to WyoFile.
The state has therefore not yet determined whether the familiar Star Plunge will be rehabilitated or whether a substantially new water park will rise on the site.
Under the arrangement with Wyoming Hot Springs LLC, the state would be responsible for demolition costs, while the new concessionaire would be responsible for renovation or construction costs, Cowboy State Daily reported.
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A New Future for the Hot Springs Hotel and Safari Club
Change is also coming to another longtime park fixture, the Hot Springs Hotel and its Safari Club restaurant.
Wyoming State Parks announced in August that it had reached an agreement with Big Springs Spa Inc., the current hotel operator. Under that agreement, Wyoming will pay the company $1,175,921.05 for the appraised value of its capital investment and ongoing business interest, according to the state announcement reported by Northern Wyoming News.
The existing hotel management agreement expires Oct. 31, 2026, clearing the way for Wyoming Hot Springs LLC to assume the concession.
The change could eventually bring substantial redevelopment.
When Wyoming State Parks selected Wyoming Hot Springs LLC through its concession process in 2024, the state said the Star Plunge and Hot Springs Hotel would eventually undergo remodeling or reconstruction. The proposal included enough meeting space to accommodate conventions that might otherwise travel to other parts of Wyoming, according to the original State Parks announcement.
More detailed reporting by WyoFile on the winning proposal said it contemplated rebuilding or renovating the hotel with additional lodging, upgraded dining and large riverfront sitting areas.
What that means for the hotel’s distinctive Safari Club remains uncertain. Publicly available plans establish that changes to the hotel and dining facilities are contemplated, but they do not establish whether the Safari Club in its familiar form will be preserved, renovated or replaced.
That makes the Safari Club another piece of Hot Springs State Park whose long-term future remains to be determined.
TePee Pools Has Bigger Changes Proposed
Unlike the Star Plunge and Hot Springs Hotel, the transition at TePee Pool and Spa has already occurred.
The facility traces its history to 1967, when the Mecca family built the TePee Pool to replace the earlier Washakie Plunge. The Moriarity family began operating it in 1990 and added the familiar “Hellie’s” name in honor of family matriarch Helen Moriarity.
According to TePee Pool and Spa’s history, Wyoming Hot Springs LLC purchased the facility in November 2023.
The company currently says it intends to refurbish the existing facility while emphasizing the wellness and educational aspects of the mineral springs, while also retaining the property’s history and connection to the community.
But the longer-term proposal is considerably more ambitious.
When Wyoming State Parks selected Wyoming Hot Springs LLC as its partner for the broader redevelopment of park concessions in April 2024, the agency said visitors would initially see upgrades at TePee Pools, with a proposed future full reconstruction transforming the property into a spa and wellness center.
According to the State Parks announcement reported by County 10, the concept would create a more adult-oriented, quiet and relaxing experience centered on the mineral waters.
WyoFile’s reporting on the winning redevelopment proposal similarly described a full reconstruction of TePee into a spa and wellness center while placing more family-oriented water recreation at the Star Plunge.
The distinction is important: the full TePee reconstruction remains a proposed future project rather than a completed transformation.
Some changes, however, are already visible.
In January 2026, the enormous blue outdoor waterslide that had stood at the facility for more than three decades was dismantled. Representatives said it was removed to make way for a new water feature that had not yet been publicly announced, according to Cowboy State Daily.
By September, Big Horn District Manager Brooks Jordan said he had approved some minor improvements at TePee, while more substantial changes had been awaiting resolution of the Star Plunge situation, Cowboy State Daily reported.
If the broader redevelopment vision ultimately moves forward as proposed, the two neighboring aquatic facilities could serve noticeably different markets: TePee as a quieter spa and wellness destination and the Star Plunge site as the park’s more family-oriented water attraction.
The Free State Bath House Is Getting Improvements, Too
Changes aren’t limited to the commercially operated portions of the park.
Wyoming State Parks began improvements to the outdoor soaking pool at the State Bath House in August 2026. The project includes a new ADA-compliant pool lift, concrete improvements, new handrails and a sidewalk heating system intended to reduce winter snow and ice accumulation, according to the State Parks announcement reported by Northern Wyoming News.
The indoor pool remained open during the work.
Importantly, the State Bath House continues to provide free public access to the mineral water, preserving a feature that distinguishes Hot Springs State Park from many commercial hot springs destinations.
Beyond soaking, visitors can explore more than six miles of trails and walkways, picnic areas, the mineral terraces and the park’s bison herd.
1.2 Million Visitors Even With the Star Plunge Closed
Perhaps the most remarkable part of the 2025 visitation numbers is the context in which they occurred.
Hot Springs State Park attracted more than 1.2 million visitors in a year when the Star Plunge was closed for nearly the entire year.
Despite that closure, Hot Springs remained the most-visited property in Wyoming’s state park system, according to Wyoming State Parks’ 2025 visitation figures.
That demonstrates that drawing power exists aside from the Star Plunge, its mineral springs, free State Bath House, TePee Pools, riverfront, trails, terraces, bison and proximity to downtown Thermopolis, even without one of its signature attractions operating.
It also puts the scale of the redevelopment decisions now facing the state into perspective.
Within the next several years, visitors could potentially encounter a substantially reconstructed Star Plunge site, a renovated or rebuilt hotel and dining complex, and eventually a dramatically different TePee Pool and Spa.
Some of those concepts remain proposals rather than finalized construction projects, and the discovery of major problems at the Star Plunge demonstrates how quickly plans can change.
What is no longer in question is the park’s ability to attract visitors.
With more than 1.2 million visits in 2025 — nearly a quarter of the statewide park system’s total — Hot Springs State Park is already Wyoming’s most heavily visited state park.
Now, after decades in which many of its commercial facilities changed relatively little, the question is what Wyoming’s most popular state park will look like for its next generation of visitors. The question remains how the surrounding communities and businesses will respond to the changes and if major renovations will increase traffic to the park.
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