What better way to begin a New Year than by getting yourself in hot water?
I came up with this dumb pun when news arrived of the annual New Year’s Eve party in the Glenwood Springs Hot Springs Pool.
But that got me thinking. Why not show 2006 the door by taking a mineral bath? Wonderful hot springs in scenic mountain spots will remind you why you love Colorado. Wash away the toxins of the old year and start 2007 clean, relaxed and purified.
Glenwood, as far as I can tell, may be the only hot springs in Colorado that actually throws a party in the pool, complete with noisemakers. There’s no alcohol, and I’m not sure about funny hats, although I bet if you rounded up one of your grandma’s old bathing caps – you know, the ones with the rubber flowers glued on the side – the nice people in Glenwood Springs would welcome you to their pool with open arms on New Year’s Eve.
For $12.25 ($8.25 if you show up after 9 p.m.), you get to greet 2007 in the 104-degree water of the world’s largest manmade hot springs pool. Or be a big spender and pay an extra quarter for a bubble chair.
Just east of the Hot Springs Pool, the Yampah Spa and Vapor Caves offers every body treatment you could dream of. You can spend a small fortune getting buffed, waxed and massaged, or sit in the natural, 112-degree vapor caves for $12. Both sound good.
Many of the state’s hot springs have been appreciated by humans since the Utes first wandered through the mountains. There has been a hotel since 1860 on the site of Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort in Nathrop, between Salida and Buena Vista on U.S. 24. Only $6 buys you a soak with a beautiful view of the Chalk Cliffs and the Collegiate Range.
Soaking in Salida
If you’d rather be indoors, the city of Salida operates the shiny new Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center on U.S. 50. It will be open noon to 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, full of odorless, clear, natural hot water piped 5 miles from springs on Poncha Mountain. There is a 95- to 100-degree soaking pool and an 84- to 86-degree swimming pool.
On New Year’s Eve, Strawberry Park Hot Springs will keep regular hours, closing at 10:30 p.m. Seven miles outside Steamboat Springs, Strawberry Park is a collection of masonry pools connected by waterfalls. At night you miss the view, but as the stars shine through the steam off the water, you won’t mind. Kids aren’t allowed after dark, when swimsuits are optional. Take a shuttle from Steamboat so you don’t blow that nice relaxed feeling on the sometimes-treacherous mountain road.
Half an hour from Winter Park, Hot Sulphur Springs Resort and Spa is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. all year. Four of the resort’s 21 pools and private baths welcome kids. Arrayed up a hill at the edge of Byers Canyon, some are indoors, some outdoors, some natural, some not, and they range in temperature from a cozy 95 degrees to a toasty 112. Try them all until you find the one you like best.
Caves satisfy craving
At Indian Springs Resort, 30 minutes west of Denver in Idaho Springs, those who appreciate a little mountain funk may find a perfect spot to detox, and then retox, on New Year’s Eve.
The geothermal caves were excavated beginning in 1903, and the original lodge was built in 1905. All will be serene and quiet in the caves, hot tubs and massage rooms downstairs, while the Stunt Beatles tear it up in the Big Kahuna Room upstairs. The party includes a dinner buffet, and the indoor pool, surrounded by banana and palm trees, stays open until 10 p.m.
“Last year was a lot of fun,” reports Indian Springs’ Meg Raczynska. “Super fun, super laid back, great band. It’s not going to be a quiet night.”
Lisa Everitt is a freelance writer who lives in Arvada. Contact her at lisaeveritt@comcast.net.
The details
Hot Springs Lodge and Pool, 401 N. River Road, Glenwood Springs, 800-537-7946, 970-945-6571, hotspringspool.com. Regular winters hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; open New Year’s Eve until 1 a.m. Cost: $12.25 teens and adults, $8.25 kids, free age 2 and under.
Yampah Spa and Vapor Caves, 709 E. Sixth St., Glenwood Springs, 970-945-0667, yampahspa.com. Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission to the caves is $12.
Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort, Chaffee County Road 162, Nathrop, 888-395-7799, 719-395-2447, mtprinceton.com. Pool access: $6 adults, $3 seniors and kids. Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Restaurant open Friday through Sunday in the winter.
Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center, 410 W. Rainbow Blvd., Salida, 719-539-6738, salidapool.com. Open noon-8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. $6 adults, $4 kids 6 to 17, $2 kids 5 and under.
Strawberry Park Hot Springs, 44200 Routt County Road 36, Steamboat Springs, 970-879-0342, strawberryhotsprings.com. For $32, which includes pool admission, Sweet Pea Tours will drive you there and back from downtown Steamboat; shuttles leave every hour and a half from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. No alcohol, no glass, no kids after dark.
Hot Sulphur Springs Resort and Spa, 5609 Grand County Road 20, Hot Sulphur Springs, 970-725-3306, 800-510-3306, hotsulphursprings.com. Open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Adults $16.50, kids 6-12 $11.50, 5 and under free.
Indian Springs Resort, 302 Soda Creek Road, Idaho Springs, 303-989-666, indianspringsresort.com. Geothermal caves, indoor and outdoor private baths and Club Mud open 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; cost is $18 to $23.50. Indoor swimming pool open 9 a.m.-10 p.m. for $14 Monday-Thursday, $16 Friday-Sunday. Call for lodging and party info.
