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Travel Colorado - Salida and Buena Vista Hot Springs Resulting from the volcanic forces in the region that ended 30 million years ago, hot springs erupt at various locations along the Collegiate Range. A number of those geothermal pools supply the area with hot springs for recreational and agricultural use. Geothermal History - Hot Springs Pools Geothermal Activity in the Upper Arkansas Valley The presence of geothermal water is another result of the Arkansas Valley's ancient geologic past. The valley runs between two long faults. The water follows some of these faults putting it in contact with a heat source deep within the earth. The heat flow within the earth's crust in the Arkansas valley is nearly triple that of normal heat in the earth's crust. This extraordinarily high temperature when combined with the valley faults can deliver the water to great depths, heat the water and return it to the surface. Certainly Ute and other Indians enjoyed the hot springs of the Upper Arkansas Valley. The first European to discover the springs on Poncha Pass was Spaniard Juan Bautista de Anza. He recorded an estimate of "nearly 100" springs. Other early sojourners noted that there were about 40 springs. Presently we record about 26 or 27 springs on Poncha Pass. Six of those springs feed the Salida Hot Springs Pool through a seven mile system of pipes. The Poncha Springs have been delighting residents of the valley since the early 1860's. The City of Salida acquired the springs in the early 1930's. In 1936 work began to build the hot water delivery system to Salida and the receptacle pool. The project cost was about $160,000 most of which came from a Reconstruction Finance Corp Loan. With the new pool in operation Salida promoted a swim-ski vacation package. Participants could ride the D&RG Railroad to Marshall Pass for skiing and were transported to the pool where they could refresh themselves with a swim or "sweat bath." The pool was remodeled and repaired in 1975 after it was destroyed by a gas explosion. It reopened in 1977. In 2001, an extraordinarily wet spring snow storm dumped up to four feet of snow and crushed portions of the roof of the pool building. Again it was remodeled and reopened in August of 2002. The Heywood springs along Chalk Creek now known as Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort were used by settlers as early as the 1860's. They were developed several decades ago and today has three large pools which are open to the public. The water in these pools comes from the ground at about 133 degrees and is kept around 95 degrees in the winter and a little bit cooler in the summer. Other hot springs in the area include the Hortense Hot Springs not far from the Mt. Princeton pools. This pool is purportedly the hottest geothermal spring in the state and leaves the ground at 185 degrees. The Cottonwood Hot Springs Resort (Once called the Jump Steady Resort) to the west of Buena Vista on County Road 306 provides pools and hot tubs for its guests. These springs hosted a hotel and bathhouse in the 1870's Salida and Buena Vista Colorado Hot Springs Cottonwood Hot Springs Inn & Spa Joyful Journey Hot Springs Salida Hot Springs Pool Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort Valley View Hot Springs |
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