A Getaway That Works Both Ways
I’ve been to Glenwood Hot Springs twice—once for a girls’ getaway with two of my cousins and another time with my husband. Turns out, it works pretty well for both. There’s something pretty great about soaking in hot springs surrounded by the Colorado mountains, no matter who you’re traveling with.
People have been coming to these waters for a very long time. The Ute people used the area’s natural hot springs long before Glenwood Springs became the destination it is today. Glenwood Hot Springs opened in 1888, and what started with those natural mineral waters has grown into Glenwood Hot Springs Resort.
For me, though, it’s really all about the pools.
The Grand Pool
You really can’t miss the Grand Pool.
At 405 feet long, it’s the world’s largest hot springs pool. Besides being huge, it’s actually a great pool for swimming.
The water stays around 90°F, which I thought was just right—warm enough that you know you’re in a hot springs pool, but not so warm that you don’t want to swim around.
There are hotter pools when you’re ready to just sit and soak, but the Grand Pool is where I’d go when I actually wanted to swim.
Evening Is My Favorite Time
As much as I enjoy the pools during the day, my favorite time to be there is in the evening. Once the sun starts going down and the mountain air cools off, those hot pools feel really good. There’s also another little advantage.
Fewer kids.
Nothing against kids—I raised three of my own. If I’m in Glenwood Springs for a relaxing getaway, though, sitting in a hot mineral pool surrounded by mountains while the evening air gets cooler is exactly what I’m looking for. A little quieter doesn’t hurt.
My Hot Springs Routine
I also discovered that I really like hopping between the different pools instead of staying in one place.
The Yampah Mineral Baths are five geothermal pools fed by the Yampah Source Spring, with each pool kept at a different temperature. I’d start at the Cascade Pool, the warmest at around 100–104°F, and get myself nice and warm. It’s also a pretty great place to just sit, soak, and do absolutely nothing for a while. I knew what was coming next.
Inhale.
The Inhale Pool is a cold-water therapy pool kept around 52–60°F. That’s cold. Once I was good and warm from the Cascade Pool, I’d convince myself to get into Inhale.
Next, I’d move to the Exhale Pool, which is kept around 75–80°F. After Inhale, 75 degrees suddenly doesn’t sound cold at all. That I can handle.
From there, I’d hop around the other pools, which were much more my speed—all above 95°F. Eventually, I’d work my way back around and do the whole thing again.
There’s something about going from warm to WHY AM I DOING THIS? to okay, this isn’t so bad and finally back to warm that feels surprisingly good once it’s over.
Girls' Weekend or Couples' Getaway?
I've now done Glenwood Springs both ways, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do either one again.
With my cousins, it made a great girls’ getaway—a chance to relax, catch up, and spend time together somewhere that felt like an actual escape. My trip with my husband had a completely different feel.
That’s one of the things I like about Glenwood Springs. You don’t really have to decide what kind of destination it is. It can be both.
Iron Mountain Hot Springs — A Completely Different Feel
Iron Mountain Hot Springs has a long history of its own, but I’ve only been there once, on my trip to Glenwood Springs with my husband. It felt completely different from Glenwood Hot Springs.
Instead of one enormous pool being the center of everything, Iron Mountain has lots of smaller soaking pools scattered around the property. The pools have different temperatures, so you can move around until you find one that feels just right—or keep hopping between them, which I seem to like to do.
One of my favorite things about Iron Mountain was the 21+ area. Yes, I have three kids. I love my kids. No one who has ever spent time around my kids would suggest they’re good for relaxation.
If I’m going somewhere specifically to soak in a hot spring, relax, and do absolutely nothing for a few hours, I’m perfectly happy with an adults-only option. That’s exactly where we stayed.
The 21+ area has several pools, so we could move from one to another without ever leaving the adults-only section. Between the smaller pools, different temperatures, and quieter atmosphere, the whole experience felt a little more intimate and relaxing.
Then there were the drinks.
We could order drinks right from our phones, pay through the phone, and have them delivered to us at the pool. Basically, once we found a pool we liked, there was very little reason to leave.
Warm mineral water. No kids. A drink delivered right to the pool.
They clearly understood the assignment.
We visited during the day and loved it, but I kept thinking about how nice it would be in the evening. Cooler mountain air, warm water, a drink in hand, and those smaller pools? Next time, I’m going in the evening.
Get Your Passes Ahead of Time
Both Glenwood Hot Springs and Iron Mountain Hot Springs require passes. You can buy them when you get there, but I wouldn’t want to take the chance, especially during the busy season. Really, I’d buy them ahead of time no matter when I was going. If I already knew what day I wanted to visit, I’d rather have my pass and know I was getting in.
Glenwood Hot Springs or Iron Mountain?
After visiting both, I don’t think I’d say one is better than the other. They’re just different.
If I wanted room to actually swim, I’d choose Glenwood Hot Springs. The Grand Pool is huge, the water isn’t too hot for swimming, and I really enjoyed moving between the warm mineral pools and the cold-contrast pools.
If my main goal was to relax, especially on a couples’ getaway, I’d probably lean toward Iron Mountain Hot Springs. The smaller pools felt more intimate, and having a 21+ area made a big difference in the overall atmosphere.
Would I go back to either one? Absolutely.
Been There. Soaked awhile. Relaxed a lot. Loved That.