![]() Then, 100 years after it first opened, the spa closed and the remaining structures were torn down to make way for a water park project that did not come to fruition. In 1992, the bathhouse was remodeled and refurbished as the Fort Defiance Bathhouse by Roy Marker and Mike Retelsdorf. The following year, he changed the name to the Glenwood Health Spa. A bathhouse divided into six units for private bathing in natural hot water, five cottages with complete housekeeping facilities, a family residence and several acres of wide, well-shaded land were included in the deal. Graves purchased the resort from the Gambas. Graves announced in 1963 that a chiropractic center would operate in conjunction with the Gamba Mineral Springs in West Glenwood. The Gamba Mineral Springs operated for about 30 years.ĭr. He sold the resort in 1943 to the Gamba family from Kansas, who was visiting the area for its therapeutic hot springs mineral waters. In 1938, the Allens sold the place to Louis Nicholson, a machinist from Leadville who’d been coming to Glenwood Springs for several years to bathe in the mineral waters to improve his health.Īs the economy improved, Nicholson added five cabins to house guests on the grounds. It reportedly thrived, even during the Great Depression. Ware sold the spa to George “Wash” Allen and his wife Gertie in 1908, and they ran the Wash Allen Bathhouse until 1938. Guests staying in the upper floors of the brick mansion could stroll along the river bank, go fishing, enjoy views of Mount Sopris and Red Mountain and take a mineral bath, all with a glass of ice-cold buttermilk, for 25 cents. I had no idea there were hot springs in this area, but according to the company, the history of property dates back to 1896 when Sheriff Bob Ware purchased the land and opened the West Glenwood Health Spa. Standing from the bathhouse, which holds lockers, showers and a small shopping area - the hot springs below looks like a collection of hot tub-and larger-sized pools, dotted along the landscape, big enough for a dozen or more people in almost every one. ![]() Opened just last month, Iron Mountain Hot Springs is a collection of 16 individual mineral hot springs pools at varying degrees from 98 to 108, as well as a larger, warm freshwater family pool with a jetted spa. So when I heard about a new set of hot springs that just opened on the banks of the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs, I beelined my way downvalley. I’m a believer in hot springs’ therapeutic ways. I’ve lowered myself into craters by ladder where mineral rich waters bubbled from the earth’s core, feeling the iron and lithium relax my nerves. I’ve stopped on roadsides, scrambling down hillsides in the dark toward the smell of sulfur along the riverbank. A two-hour evening soak is available for $15 for adults and $9 for kids. Price: An all-day soak costs $25 for adults, $15 for kids 3 to 12, and free for kids 2 and younger (no re-entry).
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