Glenwood
Hot Springs
Our History
Thousands of years in the making, the Ute Indians were the first known visitors to the mineral-rich hot springs that flow along the banks of the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon. They called them “Yampah” meaning “big medicine.” In search of these waters with great healing power, Captain Richard Sopris and his party of geographic explorers found the sacred healing spot in 1860. Twenty years later, Walter Horace, James Devereux, and a group of British investors purchased the Yampah Hot Springs along with l0 acres of surrounding land. They set out to harness the 3.5 million gallons of naturally hot mineral water that rises from the source of the spring each day. In 1888 the world’s largest hot springs pool was born in the newly established town of Glenwood Springs. It became world-renowned as a healing wonder set in a mountain paradise. Around the turn of the century, the Golden Age of Mineral Spas, it was affectionately known as “Spa of the Rockies”, when spa was defined as hot spring bathing.
The original red sandstone bathhouse and lodge was built for $100,000 in l890. Designed by Austrian architect Theodore von Rosenberg, the walls of both the pool and the bathhouse were of solid masonry with peach-blow sandstone quarried nearby. The bathhouse featured tubs, Roman vapor baths, special accommodations for pool bathing, a ladies parlor, physician’s office, gymnasium, and smoking and reading rooms. Each of the building’s 44 bathing rooms included a dressing room and lounge. As word of this new resort spread, aristocrats, political leaders, movie stars, and spiritual believers ventured to Glenwood Springs from around the world.
During World War II from 1943 to 1946 the resort, then consisting of the Hotel Colorado and Hot Springs Bathhouse, were used exclusively as a U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital - the only time in history when it was closed to the public. After the war it was converted into Glenwood Clinic, a private hospital until 1950, and is today known as Glenwood Hot Springs.
A new master plan was implemented in l970, including an updated water filtration system, children’s wading pool, water slide, and miniature golf. And in l986, a new l07-room Hot Springs Lodge was built just north of the pool. Today the original sandstone lodge is home to the new Spa of the Rockies - a tribute to the resort’s magical appeal at the turn of the century. It is truly a unique Rocky Mountain spa for health and wellness.
Glenwood Hot Springs represents the perfect blend of past and present. Clean and modern shower facilities and a state-of-the-art ozone pool purification system maximize the enjoyment of our guests as they relax in revitalizing hot spring waters that continuously rise up from deep within the earth.
