The Grand Pool at Glenwood Hot Springs Resort is the largest hot springs pool in the world. Glenwood Springs also offers other highlights for a stay: hot springs experiences, underground caves, trails for a range of activities and, in October, a Ghost Walk. To help plan your trip, it’s worth first deciding which of these themes you want to shape your stay.
Hot springs: different pools and experiences
The Therapy Pool at Glenwood Hot Springs Resort has a water temperature of 104 degrees, which can change during operation. Sopris Splash Zone is a family-friendly water park; its features may change. Along with the Grand Pool, these offer different highlights within the resort: a particularly large hot springs pool, the Therapy Pool and a dedicated water park.
Iron Mountain Hot Springs has a different focus. The facility has 16 original geothermal hot springs. The Family Zone includes a large Family Mineral Pool and a Jetted Mineral Spa. The comparison: Glenwood Hot Springs Resort emphasizes its several pool offerings, while Iron Mountain highlights the number of springs and the Family Zone.
Caves and theme park
The Vapor Caves at Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves consist of three interconnected underground rock chambers. Glenwood Caverns has a great variety of cave formations, making it one of the most richly decorated caves in Colorado. Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is America’s only mountaintop theme park. The offerings thus go beyond hot springs to include caves and a dedicated theme park.
Trails and river: different route features
The Glenwood Canyon Recreation Path has an access point from Glenwood Springs and is 16.3 miles long each way. It can be used for various forms of cycling, walking, hiking and inline skating. The Rio Grande Trail, by contrast, is a paved Rails-to-Trails path along the Roaring Fork River that runs from Glenwood Springs to Aspen. It can be used for hiking, road cycling, mountain biking, walking, jogging and inline skating.
The two trails can be compared by different features: the Glenwood Canyon Recreation Path has a stated one-way length, while the Rio Grande Trail is notable for its route along the river and Aspen as its destination. You can consider whether your plans are better served by a specified route length or a specific endpoint.
The lower section of the Roaring Fork River offers another option: it can be navigated as far as Two Rivers Park. There is a boat ramp there at the confluence of the Roaring Fork River and the Colorado River. Since access and conditions vary seasonally, it’s best to check conditions before making specific plans.
Ghost Walk in October
The Glenwood Springs Historical Society and the Frontier Museum host a Ghost Walk through Linwood Cemetery every October. Check the specific dates before your trip if this event is relevant to your stay.
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