SOME LIKE IT HOT
Take a plunge into hot springs
By BONNIE MCCUNE
AND GILLIAN MCCUNE
Colorado abounds in hot springs that number in
the hundreds and are located in the southwest
quadrant of the state. Whether you’re seeking
health, beauty or relaxation benefits, there’s no
need to travel to Iceland, Germany, or Japan (where monkeys
enjoy them) for the tranquil experience.
Native Americans discovered the naturally occurring phenomena
a millennium ago. Explorers and settlers in the 1800s
immediately took advantage of the locations as they stumbled
across them. Fans of Jane Austen and other English novelists
know that the waters of hot springs have a long history of
health benefits — some fantasy, others reality.
Balneology (the scientific study of naturally occurring mineral
waters) and hot springs therapy are more fully incorporated
into medical care in Europe and Japan. Minerals in the
water are touted for their benefits. In this country, the popularity
of hot springs rests on their stress-relieving and beauty
treatment propensities.
IDAHO SPRINGS
Indian Hot Springs is the closest to Denver, west on I-70
about half an hour’s drive in neighboring Idaho Springs. The
first specific mention of these hot springs comes from the
diary of George A. Jackson, the man who made the first discovery
of placer gold in the Rockies.
Miners of the surrounding area along Clear Creek took
advantage of the naturally hot waters of the springs for
bathing. The registers of the hotel contain names of the
famous and infamous: Frank and Jesse James, Sarah
Bernhardt, Walt Whitman, H.A.W. Tabor, the Vanderbilts,
John Denver, Clint Eastwood and Bo Diddley, among them.
This facility begins with a swimming pool fed with mineral
water at 115°, open to adults and children. It continues with
mud baths, outdoor Jacuzzi baths on a redwood deck and private
indoor baths with single tubs. Geothermal cave baths,
driven into the solid rock mountainside in the early 20th century,
provide a unique addition. One cave is for men and
another for women, each with several huge sunken walk-in
tubs filled with naturally hot mineral water at temperatures
from 104° to 112°. Children 16 and under are not allowed in
the caves, as bathing is in the nude.
For information call (303) 989-6666 or visit indianhotsprings.com.
GLENWOOD SPRINGS
Colorado’s best-known hot springs is also the world’s
largest. Glenwood Hot Springs (about two and a half hours
from Denver) has a large pool more than two blocks long, containing
in excess of 1,000,000 gallons of water kept at about
90°. Like the other locations in this list, it’s open year-round,
so whether you dream of a steaming soak in the middle of a
snowstorm or prefer the bright light of summer, Glenwood
aims to please.
You’ll see lots of kids in this family-friendly resort, and the
wonderful if scary enclosed slide tempts adults as well as
children. Also available are lap swimming lanes, shallow play
areas, a kiddie pool, a diving area with springboards, steps
with rails for easy entry and a separate therapy pool kept at a
relaxing 104°. The pool and lodge blend the past and present
in the facility. Spring waters located at the eastern end of the
property continuously rise from deep in the earth at approximately
122° F.
Considered a sacred healing spot by the Ute Indians for
hundreds of years, the springs (originally called “Yampah” or“big medicine”) were discovered in 1860 by explorers.
Twenty years later, investors bought the Yampah Hot Springs
and set out to build the largest hot springs pool in the world.
In l890, a red sandstone bathhouse fitted with tubs, Roman
vapor baths, special accommodations for pool bathing and a
neighboring lodge took shape.
Visitors came by train from around the world. They included
European royalty, U.S. senators, presidents and movie
stars. During World War II the resort served as a U.S. Naval
Convalescent Hospital, the only time in its history when the
pool was closed to the public. At least three rounds of renovations occurred in the following decades, with another to be
unveiled in late 2008, resulting in a wellness spa, massage
therapy rooms and hydrotherapy room.
For information, call 1-800-537-SWIM or visit www.hotspringspool.com.
BUENA VISTA
The area of Buena Vista, just over two hours away from
Denver, has two main hot springs facilities. Mount Princeton
has higher-end appeal. Cottonwood, a few miles away, is
more rustic and natural.
Cottonwood Hot Springs calls itself an Old West-style
country inn. Bordered by Cottonwood Creek and surrounded
by the San Isabel National Forest, the geothermal, gravity-fed mineral spa retains the original historical structures
of the lodge. Located five and a half miles west of Buena
Vista, it is an adult-oriented facility that touts the healing
aspects of the springs.
Originally a hotel and sanitarium built by a minister and his
wife in 1878, before there was local rail transportation, it
stressed health benefits. Visitors frequently stay overnight in
a cabin, dorm or camping site to fully utilize spa services, five
stone soaking pools, a cold plunge, a private Jacuzzi tub and
sauna, with temperatures ranging from 94° to 110° F. For
information, contact (719) 395-6434 or go to www.cottonwood-hot-springs.com/index.htm.
Mount Princeton Hot Springs, close to Nathrop, also has
lodgings, but its facility is larger and more modern, with a
lodge and cabins. A natural oasis surrounded by towering
peaks, geothermal springs in Chalk Creek are the heart of the
resort. They supply clear, odorless water at 135° in creek-side
pools. Man-made pools are maintained between 85° and
105°, with a 100° soaking pool. The lap pool hovers at 90°. Or
share family time via a 300-foot-long water slide emptying
into a cooler 75° pool.
In 1860, a way station, hotel and freight depot were
built near the site of the present hotel to serve freighters
bound for the mines. A three-story hotel was built in 1879
by a group of mining men, and the facility changed hands
and underwent physical alterations for more than a century.
The current owners purchased the facility in 2004 and
undertook a massive renovation and expansion of this historic
property.
For information, contact (888) 395-7799 or go to
www.mtprinceton.com.
HOT SULPHUR SPRINGS RESORT
With a completely renovated facility, Hot Sulphur Springs
Resort and Spa contains 21 pools and private baths, which
include a solarium pool, the therapy Elk Pool and a summer
swimming pool. The facility’s atmosphere is definitely
upscale, with more than a hint of the spiritual thrown in. The
springs are located at an elevation of 7,600 feet, near Rocky
Mountain National Park, in the mountain town of Hot Sulphur Springs, one hour and 45 minutes northwest of Denver.
The water at these springs comes from 35,000 feet below
the surface of the earth, from the heat of volcanic rock
released through countless fissures. Seven natural springs
above the largest fissure have been flowing constantly for
hundreds of years, surfacing at about 104° to 126°F. Over
200,000 gallons of naturally mineral-rich water flow through
pools and baths every day, at controlled temperatures of 95°
to 112°F.
In 1840, William Byers became the first white man to discover
the hot water and recognize the economic potential of
the baths and the surrounding area. The resort has been continuously
operational for 140 years and in the 1920s to 1950s
was one of the most popular hot springs resorts in the Rocky
Mountain States.
For information, contact (970) 725-3306 or (800) 510-6235
or visit www.hotsulphursprings.com.
SALIDA
The town of Salida, 25 miles from Buena Vista, boasts a
large community pool in its year-round sports facility.
Colorado’s largest indoor pool, with natural mineral water,
originally was a 1937 WPA project.
This is definitely a family-oriented public pool with many
scheduled activities, such as lap swim, lessons and aquacize,
scheduled. Another advantage if you’re on a family trip — Salida
has lots of other activities and recreational opportunities.
The sparkling clear and odorless water collects underground
and is piped five miles from the source in nearby
mountains, to flow continuously into the various Salida hot
springs pools, refreshing and warming them naturally. A 25-meter, six-lane pool dominates a large portion of the building.
At approximately 86°, this pool is delightful for swimming, diving
and recreational play. Across a divider wall, a smaller 4-foot-deep pool holds water at approximately 95°, excellent for
warm aqua-therapy, exercise and soaking.
The Salida Hot Springs pool is located in central Colorado
on Highway 50, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, next to
the town’s Chamber of Commerce.
For information, contact (719) 539-6738; www.salidapool.com.
FINAL TIPS
Two books are good guides to Colorado’s hot springs:
Colorado's Hot Springs, by Deborah Fraiser, Pruett Publishing
Company, 2003, and Touring Colorado’s Hot Springs, by Carl
Wambach, Falcon Press Publishing, 1999.
Concerned about committing a social blunder? Most
hot springs are up-front about clothing or lack thereof and
post signs in this regard. If you don’t see a notice, ask a
staff member.
Alcohol is universally prohibited in hot springs for both
health and safety reasons.
DOMESTIC INQUIRIES
Roland Alonzi
MMG Mardiks
ralonzi@mmgmardiks.com
(212) 219-7560, ext. 6765
IDAHO SPRINGS CHAMBER
Idaho Springs, Colo. 80452
(303) 567-4382
