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Hot Springs Soak Away Stress
By Monique Cole
Colorado's natural hot
springs bubble up from the earth
in a mixture of minerals and hot water at temperatures as high
as 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Before white men came, the Utes used
them for sacred healing rites. In the early 1900s they welcomed
European royalty, U.S. presidents, movie stars, and flappers.
After World War II they served as therapy pools for recovering
veterans.
Now, Colorado's hot springs attract
a cross-section of Americans. "The appeal varies from person
to person," says Deborah Frazier, author of "Colorado's
Hot Springs" (Pruett, 1996). Traveling families take a break
from the road to frolic. Senior citizens and skiers soak away
their particular aches and pains. New age believers seek healing
of body and soul. Honeymooners embrace in the steaming water.
And business people relax in the natural stress-relieving warmth.
There are about 40 natural hot springs
in Colorado open to the public that range from wilderness settings
to swimming pools two blocks long. "There are new hot springs
in Colorado getting developed every year," Frazier says.
"I was astounded at how inexpensive they are, compared to
golfing or skiing." While some commercial developers try
to preserve a natural ambiance, others add water slides and lap
lanes. Some cater to families while others are "clothing
optional" establishments with private soaking pools.
They all have one thing in common: warm
to hot water that unravels sore muscles and soothes stressed
minds. Below is a small, but varied sampling of the hot springs
closest to Boulder.
Indian Springs Resort
A tropical paradise awaits guests,
winter or summer, at the Indian Springs Resort swimming pool.
A translucent dome traps in heat and moisture allowing banana
plants, palm trees, and tropical flowers to flourish. The swimming
pool is continually fed with natural mineral water at 115 degrees,
maintaining an average temperature of 90 to 95 degrees. The pool
is popular with families, and children 5 and under are free.
"It will get you away from the hustle and bustle of everyday
life," says Jim Maxwell, general manager. "It's a nice
relaxing place to be, especially during the week."
The pool can be fairly crowded on weekends,
but solace or romance seekers can rent private outdoor Jacuzzi
tubs or indoor soaking tubs by the hour. Geothermal caves carved
into the rocky mountainside in the early 1900s have huge sunken
pools filled with spring water at temperatures from 104 to 112
degrees. Children 12 and under are not allowed in the two caves,
one for men and one for women, where bathing is in the nude.
Indian Springs Resort is the closest
hot springs to Boulder, located just off I-70 at 302 Soda Creek
Road in Idaho Springs. Call (303) 989-6666 for reservations and
information, or visit their web site at www.indianspringsresort.com.
Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge &
Pool
Steam mingles with the boiling
egg smell of sulfur at the largest outdoor hot springs pool in
the country. The Glenwood Hot Springs Pool spans about two blocks
-- plenty of room for athletes swimming laps, children ejecting
from a water slide, and families playing "Marco Polo."
More sedate soakers can merely float in the extra buoyancy of
the mineral-rich 90-degree water.
"We're a family oriented business,
but we have our share of senior citizens and young couples on
a honeymoon," says General Manager Kjell Mitchell. "Some
people find some therapeutic value from (the water)," he
adds, explaining that local orthopedists and chiropractors send
their patients to the hot springs.
In addition to the large pool, there
is a soaking pool, kept at 104 degrees, and a "kiddy pool"
cooled to about 95 degrees. Rounding out the offerings are an
athletic club, massage center, restaurant and bar, and a sportswear
shop that boasts the largest selection of swimwear in the state.
Swimmers can stay at the 107-room Lodge, or they may opt for
the historic Colorado Hotel across the street.
Just down the road are the separately
owned Yampah Spa and Vapor Caves. These natural saunas are formed
by 125-degree spring water flowing through underground caverns.
The Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge and
Pool is located at 401 North River Street, just north of I-70
at Exit 116. For more information, call (800) 537-SWIM or visit
their web site at www.hotspringspool.com.
Cottonwood Hot Springs
A more natural and soothing
atmosphere is found at Cottonwood Hot Springs in the shadow of
the 14,000-foot Collegiate Peaks near Buena Vista. "We think
of ourselves as an adult facility," says owner Cathy Manning,
"a place for people who just want to get away and relax,
mellow out, and be cool." However, she adds that well behaved
minors are welcome, accompanied by their parents.
Three stone-lined pools, complete with
"lounging indentations," are filled with hot spring
water in graduated temperatures ranging from 98 to 108 degrees.
Below the pools Cottonwood Creek babbles by, providing relaxing
sounds and sights for soakers. A Japanese garden grows nearby
and Manning is working this summer on transforming her little
portion of the high mountain canyon into a landscaped paradise.
The spring water itself is crystal clear,
one of the purist geo-thermal sources in the country with very
few dissolved solids. "People ask me all the time if it's
healing," Manning recounts, "and I say, 'Anytime someone
slows down and relaxes for an hour it's healing.'"
Surrounding the pools are a lodge with
12 guest rooms, four rustic cabins with outdoor hot tubs, a dormitory,
teepee camp sites, and three private outdoor hot tubs. Children,
lap swimmers, and people looking for a swimming pool-style hot
springs can visit Mount Princeton Hot Springs on County Road
162, 11 miles from Buena Vista.
The Cottonwood Hot Springs Inn and
Spa are located 5 miles west of Buena Vista at 18999 County Road
306. Call (719) 395-6434 or visit their web site at www.westerntravel.com/hot.
Conundrum Hot Springs
One July 4th about six years
ago, I sat soaking in the womb-like waters of Conundrum Hot Springs
near Aspen, gazing at an alpine bowl filled with wildflowers
and staring at my clothing collecting snow beside the pool. Without
any camping gear, my three friends and I faced our own conundrum:
Don our soggy layers for the 9-mile hike back to our car or spend
the night turning to poached prunes. Thirst, hunger and common
sense won out, but leaving the hot springs was one of the most
difficult things I've ever done.
Situated in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass
Wilderness Area along Conundrum Creek, the springs consist of
two pools, 3 to 4 feet deep, with temperatures varying from 99
to 103 degrees. They are located just at timberline, surrounded
by the 14,000-foot Conundrum and Castle peaks. Clothing is optional
and even some of the local rangers are known to soak in the buff.
A few miles up the valley Triangle Pass provides access to the
Crested Butte area.
Despite the hearty 18-mile round-trip
hike, Conundrum Hot Springs has seen its share of drunken revelers
and high-impact campers. Visitors have denuded the pine trees
for firewood, trampled the fragile alpine vegetation, and left
behind much more than just their footprints. Midsummer weekends
are often so crowded that the camp sites and small soaking pools
fill up before noon.
Next summer the National Forest Service
will begin requiring permits to camp in the area. In the meantime,
rangers encourage campers to use established camp sites, at least
100 yards away from the springs and creek, and to exercise low
impact camping techniques.
To get there from Aspen, drive 5
miles up Castle Creek Road toward Ashcroft, turn right onto Forest
Road 128 and continue about a mile to the trailhead parking lot.
Call the Aspen District Ranger Office at (970) 925-3445 for more
information.
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