The Trust for Public Land has released new plans for the Astoria Hot Springs Park. The Jackson Hole nonprofit involved over 2,500 locals in the design process.
The original hot springs park was built in the early 1960s but was closed in 1999. The facilities have since been removed, and the area is no longer used for recreation.
Associate Director of Philanthropy for the Trust, Paige Byron, said the park has cultural importance to residents of Jackson Hole.
“Astoria Hot Springs was central to the cultural and recreational fabric of the community for generations. Every single high school reunion was held at the hot springs. Every kid that grew up in Jackson learned how to swim at Astoria. It was the essence of the summer.”
The park was nearly sold for development, but public outcry helped The Trust for Public Land to raise $4.2 million to rebuild the park. They hope to reach their goal of $6 million by the end of 2018.
“There was also a number of environmental groups that were pretty vocally against the planned development for Astoria which included over 200,000 square feet of development,” said Byron.
The Trust for Public Land plans to restore public access to the park. The entrance fee for the facilities will be low in order to serve visitors of all income levels. Plans include leisure pools, smaller soaking pools and more.
Construction on the new Astoria Hot Springs Park is planned to begin in 2019. New renderings of the planned construction are available at tpl.org.