Hot springs have long been a major draw to Pagosa Springs, a small southwestern town in the shadow of the San Juan Mountains. Hundreds of years ago, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe uncovered the bubbling waters of the Mother Spring — now recognized as the world’s deepest geothermal hot spring — and its medicinal powers.
Today, that harbinger of heat feeds the 25 hot springs pools that comprise The Springs Resort, which also encompasses a hotel, spa and wellness studio.
But there will soon be a lot more to enjoy on the property: Owner David Dronet plans to add 27 geothermal pools, a hydro-thermal spa with saunas and mud bathing rooms and a farm-to-table restaurant, as well as nearly double the number of hotel rooms. Guests will also have access to sleep programming and “active recovery activities” like guided hikes and forest bathing for days off from skiing and rafting. “The desire is for this to be a walkable health and wellness village in the heart of a Colorado mountain town with hot springs in the center,” he explained.
Related: Cold plunging is a hot trend in Colorado. Here’s where to try it.
The updates, delayed by the pandemic, won’t debut until 2025, but when they do, the property will be in good company. Geothermal destinations across the state are simultaneously investing in significant upgrades to their pools and infrastructure as they vie for more business.
In July, Iron Mountain Hot Springs in Glenwood Springs debuted 10 adults-only “WorldSprings” pools that replicate the mineral contents of famous global hot springs (think: the Blue Lagoon); more enhancements, including a barrel sauna and cabanas are planned for 2024.
Nearby, Glenwood Hot Springs Resort is in the midst of its East End Expansion Project, which is adding five pools on top of previous west end improvements, including an aquatic park, that opened in 2019.
Old Town Hot Springs in Steamboat Springs is in the middle of a $10 million capital campaign to renovate its lap pool and add a hot soaking pool, community pool and kids’ splash area, all of which should be completed by next summer. Last year, Desert Reef near Florence added nine new pools as well as Airstreams and tiny homes so people can stay overnight, while in Buena Vista, a new resort called Charlotte Hot Springs Resort has just opened.
Aging infrastructure combined with growing interest in hot springs tourism has prompted much of this growth. Bryan Yearout bought Durango Hot Springs Resort & Spa (previously Trimble Hot Springs) with two partners in 2019. Prior to that, the venue served mainly local residents, with around 12,000 visiting each year. Now, after $14 million in capital improvements — including the addition of two cold plunges, 30 soaking pools and five private tubs — the property is on track for more than 205,000 visitors in 2023.
Self-care’s enduring hold on the populace, particularly post-pandemic, is also driving owners’ decisions. The rising popularity of contrast therapy — the practice of alternating between hot and cold water — for example has resulted in cold plunges being added or in the works at Iron Mountain, Glenwood, Durango, the Springs and Old Town.
The Global Wellness Institute’s 2023 Global Wellness Economy Monitor found that the thermal/mineral springs sector contributed $46 billion to the global wellness economy in 2022 and is expected to grow 14.3% between 2022 and 2027. The U.S. has the sixth-strongest hot springs market: It expanded by 24.1% between 2020 and 2022.
Colorado recognized hot springs’ potential as a tourism driver years ago. In 2017, the state launched the Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop, the “ultimate” hot springs road trip through western Colorado featuring five destinations and 19 facilities. The driving loop has since stretched to 800 miles, covering 23 properties across eight destinations.
“It’s been very powerful to attract people who are coming specifically to visit hot springs,” Ken Stone, Durango’s marketing director, said of the effort. “That’s a big change that I don’t think you saw 10 years ago. People plan their trips around hot springs. We’re seeing a lot more destination visitors.”
One-quarter of the resort’s business come from beyond the regional area, including international visitors.
“In Europe, Japan, China, the Nordic countries, saunas, hot springs, contrast therapies are so much more prevalent and just part of society,” said the Springs’ Dronet. “For us, they’re novelties and have been a leisure activity historically. I think more people are becoming aware of hot springs, contrast therapy and these other offerings as part of a well-rounded, natural, healthy lifestyle.”
Steve Beckley, owner of Iron Mountain, agrees and sees Colorado’s current developments as a response to the straightforward matter of supply and demand. His property has seen a 30% to 40% increase in attendance since the venue opened in 2015. “The U.S. is really underserved in the hot springs segment of the wellness community,” he said.
In December, Iron Mountain Hot Springs was designated as a National Natural Landmark in conjunction with Glenwood Caverns.
The U.S. only has about 200 commercial hot springs (down from closer to 2,000 “hot- and cold-spring resorts” in 1930), though there are more than 1,000 springs spread across the country. In comparison, Japan is home to more than 30,000 naturally occurring hot springs.
Owners of some local venues are expanding their presence in other states, too: Beckley is opening another WorldSprings property in Texas next year and renovating a hot springs property near Zion National Park in Utah to open in 2025. Dronet, the Springs’ owner, is restoring a property in Southern California to reopen next year. Luxury hotelier Six Senses announced in January that its first foray into the United States will be to redevelop a historic hot springs site in Napa County.
Hot springs tourism isn’t new, of course. Ancient Greeks were aware of the health benefits of “sulphurous springs.” In the U.S., indigenous communities have utilized the healing waters for thousands of years. Onsens, or hot spring baths, have existed in Japan since at least the sixth century. What is novel is wrapping them in with broader wellness concepts — cold plunges, smoothies at an on-site restaurant, water-based fitness classes, saunas.
It’s all part of a movement some in the industry have termed “social wellness.” “There has been an increasing focus on wellness and self-care, and hot springs fit into the growing trend of wellness tourism,” said Kimberly Marcum, Glenwood’s resort sales manager. “Visitors seek experiences that contribute to their overall well-being, and Colorado’s hot springs’ align with this trend while offering adventurous outdoor opportunities.”
Hot springs venues across the state are jumping on board: Durango Hot Springs has live music on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, while the Springs Resort offers aqua yoga and aqua sound bathing and introduced an annual Hot Springs Fest in 2020 (the event is held annually in November). Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort recently started offering Ai Chi Therapy in the water.
The hope is that all of these improvements will also be an economic boon for the locales where many of these therapeutic pools are found. “It’s going to help a lot of these small towns like Durango and Glenwood Springs and Pagosa Springs,” said Durango’s Yearout. “This is what we have. It is a natural resource and it’s only [available] where it comes out of the ground.”
Daliah Singer is a freelance journalist and the former editor of 5280 magazine in Denver.
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