The long-awaited reopening of the Kah-Nee-Ta resort is now set for next summer.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, which owns and operates the central Oregon hot spring resort, announced Monday the new plan to reopen to reopen Kah-Nee-Ta, which has been closed since 2018.
“Barring any additional setbacks, we anticipate a grand opening event for our community and the public in early summer 2024,” Jim Souers, CEO of the Warm Springs Economic Development Corp., said in a news release.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs had previously hoped to reopen Kah-Nee-Ta in 2023, following a major remodel that includes new soaking pools, hotel rooms and dining options. In July, the tribe officially delayed those plans after fierce spring storms derailed construction.
Souers said the tribe and its partner in the project, Mt. Hood Skibowl, have been able to make “important progress” after working to overcome the setbacks, though he didn’t elaborate.
Specific dates and reopening plans have yet to be announced.
Renderings show the renovated and expanded soaking pools at the Kah-Nee-Ta Hot Springs Village Resort, run by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.Kah-Nee-Ta Hot Springs Village Resort
Teepee camping was one way to stay at the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, seen in this 2013 file photo.Bruce Ely/The Oregonian
Renderings of the project released in July show a series of new, large soaking pools at the center of the resort, some designed for play and others designed for relaxing. Renderings also show a group of private riverside soaking pools, as well as teepees and covered lounges.
The tribe announced a total of seven pools, as well as 15 VIP poolside cabanas. The larger pools include a children’s spray pool, a sports pool, a lazy river and soaking pools. There will also be three wellness soaking pools, ranging from 92 to 103 degrees.
Lodging will include 20 teepees, 30 hotel rooms, and an RV park with showers, laundry facilities and a game room. Food will be offered at an outside food court as well as a new sports bar and restaurant currently under construction.
The renovation project has also meant an overhaul of Kah-Nee-Ta’s sewer, stormwater and irrigation systems, as well as the heating and air conditioning systems, the tribe said.
The $6.08 million funding for the project came from the American Rescue Plan Act, the tribe previously announced. That includes $1.5 million earmarked specifically to repair the wastewater system that serves Kah-Nee-Ta and the local community. Reopening the Kah-Nee-Ta Village is expected to provide 50 full-time and more than 80 part-time jobs during the busy season, the tribe said.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs originally built the resort in stages during the 1960s and ‘70s, after a special act of Congress allowed the tribe to buy back natural hot springs on the reservation using money negotiated for the loss of Celilo Falls. By the 2010s, the resort featured 139 rooms, an 18-hole golf course, soaking pools, an RV park and ample meeting space — much of which is not included in the reopening.
In July 2018, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs announced it would shut down Kah-Nee-Ta at the end of the summer, saying the resort was operating “below a self-sustaining level” and calling the decision necessary to protect the tribe from financial risk.
— Jamie Hale
503-294-4077; jhale@oregonian.com; @HaleJamesB
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