Almanac - Rockies - Hot Springs
COLORADO HOT SPRINGS
Colorado’s dozens of hot springs run the gamut, from resort-style pools with glamorous lodging to undeveloped springs–some requiring long hikes, others tucked off roadsides. Heated by the earth’s crust, these springs were created by the same fractures and pressures that gave rise to the Rockies.
STRAWBERRY PARK HOT SPRINGS Steamboat
Five spring-fed pools are nestled in the forest at 7,500 feet at the end of a dirt road with plenty of trails for pre-soak exploration. Campsites below the pools sit along a creek.
THE SPRINGS RESORT & SPA Pagosa Springs
Right between Pagosa’s downtown and the San Juan River are 24 mineral pools fed by the Great Pagosah Spring–one of the deepest in the world.
IRON MOUNTAIN HOT SPRINGS Glenwood Springs
Sixteen geothermal pools, a freshwater pool and a fire pit situated on the banks of the Colorado River, capped by views of Mount Sopris on the horizon.
DUNTON HOT SPRINGS Dunton
A restored 1880s ghost town cum luxury resort in the middle of an alpine valley along the West Dolores River boasts a few intimate pools, a saloon and a handful of cabins.
Penny Hot Springs
MOUNT PRINCETON HOT SPRINGS RESORT Nathrop
Twenty shallow springs line Chalk Creek, and larger pools are tucked into grassy lawns. There’s a bathhouse and 400-foot-long water slide.
ORVIS HOT SPRINGS Ridgway
Ten tranquil, clothing-optional, lithium-rich pools (some indoor, some outdoor) surrounded by trees and offering glimpses of 14,150-foot Mount Sneels.
PENNY HOT SPRINGS Redstone
Along the Crystal River just south of Carbondale, this primitive pool beneath towering granite cliffs is accessible from an unmarked parking lot along Route 133.
Most hot springs are open year-round and are best enjoyed with a sunrise or sunset when the outside temps are cooler. PRO TIP: Bring a terry cloth robe and be the envy of other soakers.
Catherine Campbell