Early Days: For hundreds of years, the Ute people fought over and protected a sacred spot at the confluence of the Rio Grande de Buena Esperanza (Colorado) and Bunkara (Roaring Fork) rivers. Next to an island in the middle of the river and at the western end of a magnificent canyon, hot thermal water rich in minerals flowed. The flowing hot water also created a natural sauna in a series of caves. They came to this place to rest, hunt, fish and utilize the healing powers of the hot springs.
1860: Captain Richard Sopris and a party of geologic explorers noticed Yampah hot spring and named the place Grand Springs.
1880 - 1885: Permanent settlements in the area started to pop up in 1880. In 1881, James Landis homesteaded 160 acres that included most of the hot springs area.
Landis sold the acreage to Captain Isaac Cooper, a Civil War veteran who came to the area in 1882 and dreamt of turning the hot springs into a health spa. He formed a company called the Defiance Town and Land Co. of Colorado, acquired 400 acres of land, and began to survey a town site that he named Defiance. In 1885, the name was changed to Glenwood Springs, after his hometown of Glenwood, Iowa.
1886 - 1888: The fascinating history of Glenwood Hot Springs Resort begins in 1886 when Walter Devereux, an engineer and silver baron, and his two brothers bought Yampah Spring and 10 acres of land from Cooper. The spring was located on an island situated in the Colorado River. The plan to build the world’s largest hot springs pool began by diverting the natural flow of the Colorado River to the south side of the mid-river island. Construction of the stone diversion wall began in 1886 and building of the aqueduct and pool commenced in early 1888.
The walls of both the pool and the bathhouse were built of Peachblow sandstone from a quarry along the Frying Pan River near Basalt. The Richardson Romanesque-style bathhouse featured 42 sunken Roman vapor baths made of imported porcelain tubs (30 for men and 12 for women), women’s and men’s parlors, a physician’s office, a gymnasium, and smoking and reading rooms. The top floor was an exclusive casino for men. The facility, considered the largest and most lavish in Colorado at the time, was built at a cost of $100,000.
The swimming pool was excavated from the original riverbed along the north edge of the island and paved with fire brick. Measuring in at 615 feet by 75 feet, the pool set a world’s record. A small wooden bathhouse was constructed at the west end of the pool for use by the general public and demolished many years ago.
1888 - 1919: The pool, financed and built by Walter Devereux, opens to the public on July 4, 1888. Glenwood Hot Springs becomes a world-renowned resort and a playground for wealthy Victorians. During this time, the facilities include 42 sunken Roman baths, a men’s casino and a physician’s office. Also in the early days, an inhalatorium was built on the east side of the springs. Wicker chairs were provided inside the screened-in wooden building for tourists and patrons who wanted to breathe in the warm vapor. Later called Cocktail Spring, health-seekers drank the water for its healthful benefits.
As part of the plan to transform Glenwood Springs into a world-renowned healing center in the mountains, Glenwood Hot Springs Company led by Walter Devereux hatched the idea to build a grand hotel in the early 1890s. Funded by local, East Coast and British investors, construction of Hotel Colorado began in 1891 with the property’s Italianate architecture modeled after the Villa de Medici in Italy and designed by New York architects Boring, Tilton & Mellon. Opening across from the pool in 1893, no expense was spared with features like a 185-foot-tall water fountain in the courtyard, Victorian garden, bird sanctuary, indoor waterfall, and tennis courts.
The D&RG and Colorado Midland Railroad both began railroad service to Glenwood Springs in 1887, both striving to be the first. The local economy also was fueled by coal mining, commerce, outdoor recreation, farming and ranching.
As word of the new hot springs pool, grand hotel and growing community spread, wealthy Victorians, aristocrats, political leaders, movie stars and spiritual believers ventured to Glenwood Springs from around the world.
1920 – 1953: Just as the rest of the country experiences the economic hardship of the Great Depression, tough times fall on the hot springs resort. Frank Kistler buys the property in 1938 and operates it until 1943. From 1943 to 1946, During World War II, the hot springs pool and Hotel Colorado were used exclusively as a U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital to provide a place for sailors to recuperate. Hotel Colorado had a 500-bed patient capacity and assisted 6,525 veterans on their journey back to health. After the war and until the early 1950s, the hotel was converted into a private hospital, Glenwood Clinic. Since then, there have been a variety of owners of Hotel Colorado, the most recent being the Melville family who purchased the property in 2018.
1954 – 1970: Frank Kistler purchased the pool in 1938 and sold it to a group of local businessmen in 1954; their families continue to operate Glenwood Hot Springs Resort today. These new owners begin massive renovations to the property including enlarging the Grand Pool and creating the smaller and warmer Therapy Pool.
1980 – 2000: Glenwood Hot Springs Athletic Club opens in the 1980s, and Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge welcomes its first guests in 1986. The ozone filtration system is installed to reduce the pool’s reliance on chlorine sanitization. In 1994, the resort installs a heat exchanger device that harnesses the geothermal energy of the Yampah spring for use in snowmelt systems and the heating of domestic water supplies. In 2000, the resort adds two water slides and a miniature golf course at the west end of the pool.
2008: Spa of the Rockies opens in the historic sandstone bathhouse building. Perhaps most significantly, the umbrella name for the entire resort, Hot Springs Lodge & Pool, is changed to the more all-encompassing Glenwood Hot Springs. Spa of the Rockies closed in 2020 in tandem with the COVID pandemic.
2011: All 107 guest rooms at Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge undergo extensive aesthetic and technological renovations.
2013: Glenwood Hot Springs celebrates 125 years in the business of helping people feel better and have fun.
2017: The property updates its name to Glenwood Hot Springs Resort.
2019: Sopris Splash Zone replaces two large water slides and the miniature golf course at the west end of the pool. This family-friendly aquatic center features three distinct areas: Shoshone Chutes whitewater river tube ride; a splash pad that turns into the lighted Grand Fountain at night; and pool with three small slides, Hanging Lake waterfall, shallow play areas and more.
2022: A newly designed Therapy Pool and renovated changing rooms were unveiled.
2024: Yampah Mineral Baths will debut in late May and is an entirely new swimming area with five spacious pools, a shade pergola, and an outdoor lounging area with a gas-fired hearth. The five pools of varying temperatures are part of an innovative design geared toward adults that includes picturesque waterfalls, infinity edges, and a natural stone grotto. Just like the resort’s historic Grand Pool and Therapy Pool, the natural geothermal water flows in from Yampah Spring.
Note: Some of the above facts are from the Historically Landmarked & Significant Places booklet published in 2015 by the Glenwood Springs Historic Preservation Commission.