Kah-Nee-Ta reopens its doors

After almost six years of closure, Kah-Nee-Ta Resort in Warm Springs reopened to the public for the first time Thursday, July 18.

The newly renovated resort combines aspects of the past, as well as a fully renovated pool deck and new soaking pools. For many in the community, it’s a return to a place they feel at home.

“We always felt it would come back,” said Starla Green, the public relations officer for Kah-Nee-Ta. “So many of us have come back to work here and it really feels like coming back home. You walk over that bridge and its home.”

The Pools

The new pools still utilize the geothermically heated mineral water that bubbles up near the resort. It boasts 32 minerals, and Green says the water really is healing. “I sit and soak my feet after every day and I just feel the pain going away. It’s an amazing thing to have.”

The resort begins on the east side of the Warm Springs River, where guests park and enter. They cross a bridge over the idyllic river, green even in the summer dry season.

The renovated Kah-Nee-Ta utilizes the pool house that was already there, with updates to the locker rooms and showers, as well as new digital lockers. The resort is totally cashless.

From there guests enter the pool deck, with a shallow splash pool for kids and a lazy river with a sports net pool in the middle. Next are the soaking pools that increase in heat as you progress. The largest has a ramp that lets guests walk into it, and Kah-Nee-Ta plans to have water wheelchairs for guests that may need them. The largest pool begins at 100 degrees, the second at 102 and the hottest at 104.

It costs $29/person for a day use pass on weekdays, and $39/person per person on weekends if you purchase online. On site it increases slightly. “We encourage people to book online the day before, so they can ensure we have space,” said Green.

The pool deck is filled with lawn chairs with retractable shades that can be rented by guests, those cost $29 and up depending on the day. Along the edges are rentable cabanas with ceiling fans, power and a mini fridge. They range from two person cabanas at $59 a day, up to $399 a day for the 16-person private soaking cabana. Alcohol cannot be consumed on the pool deck, but a poolside bar provides beverages for those in cabanas.

Above the pool area sit 18 private soaking tubs that face the Warm Springs River. The private areas fit up to six people and have large soaking tubs where guests can control the temperature. They begin at $199 a day.

The pool area also features a restaurant serving both traditional bar and grill food, as well as Native foods like fry bread. Outside food and drink is not allowed in the resort.

Overnight Stays

The backdrop of the large pools are the 20 new teepees hand-painted by Nomadic Tipis, of Sisters. The designs were planned alongside local Warm Springs artist Natalie Kirk.

The teepees sit on concrete pads, and guests bring their own bedding and items with them. A picnic table sits in the middle of the space, and barbeques sit nearby outside.

Behind the teepees is a 70-site RV area, with a fitness center, laundry and full hook-ups.

On the edge of the canyon the resort sits in is the hotel, the renovated 30-room hotel starts at $239 a night.

Each overnight stay comes with one free day-use pass and provides a small discount on other passes purchased.

The old lodge, built in the 1970s, is not part of the renovation.

Cultural Sharing

For Green, Kah-Nee-Ta represents a way to share the culture of the three tribes of Warm Springs. “It’s a place we can share our dancing, our salmon bakes, our cultural activities our foods, it’s important to us,” said Green. Her daughter Kahmussa is the current Miss Warm Springs and is serving as a cultural ambassador at Kah-Nee-Ta.

Green’s connection to the springs goes much beyond the resort, which was originally built in the 1960s. The resort is named after a woman that managed the land it sits on, her name was Xnitla, which means root digger. The Warm Springs people have relied for generations on roots dug by women for sustenance. “I am actually a descendant of her,” said Green. “This place really does feel like home.”

Many that worked at Kah-Nee-Ta before it closed returned. Green grew up with her parents working at the resort and lived at the resort as a child. “We had lots of staff come back because it is a family and a connectedness. The same people that ran the laundry before are back, many returned. We always knew it would come back,” said Green.

The first to stay at the new Kah-Nee-Ta was Governor Tina Kotek during the Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days held in late June. The first of what Green says will be many salmon bakes was to welcome her. They use tribally fished salmon and locally picked huckleberries for the ceremony and try to use local vendors as much as possible. Green said, “We have a deep connection to this land, and we want to share it.”