I don’t know why I’m giving away my secret hot spot spa. I probably never would have discovered it if my parents hadn’t moved to this small mountain ski town in the snow-capped Colorado San Juan mountains many years ago.
The best part is, the spa I’m about to disclose doesn’t even get all of the hype - it’s the famous hot springs across the street that lies along the river, The Springs Resort & Spa. Check out their website, as no photo can compare to the vivid aerial videos showcasing the resort.
The Springs Resort & Spa
The Springs has 24 soaking mineral pools that range from 83 - 114 degrees. If you get too hot, you can recline on its lounge chairs parked around umbrella tables and facing the San Juan River or take a dip in the river.
The Springs’ website states:
The medicinal effects of the water were studied by U.S. Army physicians in the 1860s and their reports concluded: ‘The waters of Pagosa are without doubt the most wonderful and beneficial in medicinal effects that have ever been discovered."
Wars were fought over this geothermal land, now noted the “world’s deepest measured geothermal hot spring,” and after viewing some photos of the minerals in the hot springs’ water that are on display in The Springs’ lobby, you’ll know why:
I am always comfortably laid out after a return home from The Springs Resort & Spa, kind of the way you feel after you get a massage, but the benefits go beyond relaxation and easing body pain. Its sulfur, silica, and all of its other minerals are purifying and detoxifying for the skin as well. If you suffer from acne, psoriasis, eczema, or dry skin, or have other skin concerns, the healing waters, as they’re called, eliminate toxins, boost circulation, and rejuvenate the skin; that’s why you may get a kind of an immediate post-hot springs glow.
You’ll find that when hopping from pool to pool in The Springs, you meet people all over the world, especially in the winter when the Wolf Creek Ski Resort is open. A lot of Texans of course, but in the past decade, the secret was let out and now all kinds of people roll through the town, mostly in the summer and winter’s ski season.
The Overlook Hot Springs
That’s why I quietly slip across the street, to The Overlook Hot Springs, a Victorian hotel meets European bathhouse motif inside a downtown storefront. I love The Overlook in the winter best because of its indoor pools. A rooftop balcony provides warm rectangular tubs overlooking the town, and behind them, a sauna and more secluded sheltered round tub, or you can hop into its tubs downstairs in its courtyard for adults, and even a private indoor tub (which I’ve tried, with a goblet of wine, after one of their massages), but it’s the first few tubs just past the lobby’s curtains that I love the best. One of these tubs is my son’s favorite because it’s usually kept cooler (low 80s) than the other tubs.
All the tubs are similar to the hot springs across the street in regards to the minerals and temperature, just often less crowded, especially if you hit a random Tuesday at 3 p.m. Last time my family and I popped in mid-week mid-day, we were the only ones there for a good hour and a half before a few people strolled in. Plus, it’s less than half the price of The Springs. (The Springs' admission keeps rising despite no upgrades in the resort or its services.)
If you’ve never been to Pagosa Springs, whether driving through in the summer or spring, or skiing at Wolf Creek in the winter, you’ve gotta try both The Springs and The Overlook. But The Overlook will always be my favorite. It always feels more secluded, and less touristy than The Springs across the street, and if it were just me visiting, I could lounge in its tubs all day.
Where it's at:
THE OVERLOOK HOT SPRINGS
432 Pagosa Street, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
PHONE: 970-264-4040