The World’s Largest Hot Spring Pool in Glenwood Springs Colorado can only be described as the setting for the next Griswold Family Vacation Movie. An overweight family of four from Montana is busy making waves jumping off the diving boards. A pale lesbian couple quietly makes-out in the corner. Two redneck parents let loose their five kids who kick water in the face of an the old retired couple trying to stay dry with only their feet soaking in the water. An teen scene girl text on her phone, listening to music, and refusing to get in the water, making sure everyone knows, especially her parents that she was taken here against her will. Old women do water aerobics on the deep end, pushing weights under water and debating rumors as to why “Louise” had missed last weeks session. It is a local hangout and a side destination for foreigners trying to experiences the America Rockies. So why the hell was I there?
Aside, that it is only real attraction as the connection city to Aspen which lays 45 minutes to the south, my car broke down here and I’m held up in a motel for three days, so yes, I spent all my time at the hot spring.
The spring water reaches surface at over 120 degree, but is transferred and mixed with fresh water to a soothing 90. The warmth makes getting in the water an escape from the cool mountain air, but getting out is a burden that weights heavy when decide you’ve had enough. This daunting prospect is probably what kept me in the pool for almost four hours.
The warmth of the pool will prune your skin in record time, though it is a small price to pay. The size of the pool is staggering, making a slow drift from one side to the side can easy take an hour if you’re as relaxed as I was. The pool is 405 feet long and 100 feet wide and contains 1,071,000 gallons of water.
The therapy pool, which is separate from the main pool, is kept at a near blistering 104 degrees. Less diluted, the therapy pool contains 15 different minerals, which are said to revitalize your body. You’ll need to keep these beneficial aspects in mind or you’ll go running back to the main pool to “cool down” after only a couple of minutes.
The site has a water slide and a few other extras, though they all cost money and hardly seem worth it, this place is about relaxing.
At night the place does little dying down, in fact it might be even more crowded. Being one of the only activates after the sun goes down, aside from drinking at a local hole in the wall, the pool becomes a late night retreat for over the hill couples. Grant it, a few stragglers from the day still stay behind, but still, hoards of 40 something couples flood the pool after a Friday night dinner with their double date friends.
I can only imagine how much this place would change, and the great potential it has, if they opened an late night pool side bar. Half priced cocktails, ladies night, and a Wild Turkey on the rocks just might have me stay in this town a bit longer. Sadly, my imagination could only run wild for so long before a kid slashed me in face and torn me away from my late night, free drink, topless bar fantasy.
Despite the pale, pruned, and unsightly scene, the World Largest Hot Spring Pool is worth a visit, (if your already driving down I-70 through the Colorado Rockies). If you can manage to hold your breathe, lay back and stare up at the stars, escaping at that is crude and loud around you, the hot spring is a place so pleasant and relaxing it only could have come straight from the earth.