Colorado Hot Springs Road Trip: A 2–3 Day Relaxing Mountain Loop

If you’re visiting Colorado and looking for something beyond the usual tourist stops, there’s a quieter, more restorative way to experience the mountains—one built around relaxation, scenic beauty, and self-care.

This Colorado hot springs road trip is one of our family’s favorite local loops. It begins in Glenwood Springs, travels to Buena Vista, then to Manitou Springs near Colorado Springs, loops back through the Mount Princeton and Chalk Creek area, and returns to Glenwood Springs. Over the course of 2–3 days, you’ll experience a scenic mountain drive through the Rockies while enjoying some of Colorado’s most loved hot spring destinations.

The Route at a Glance

This relaxing mountain loop includes four favorite Colorado hot spring areas:

• Stop 1: Glenwood Springs
• Stop 2: Buena Vista
• Stop 3: Manitou Springs
• Stop 4: Mount Princeton / Chalk Creek area
• Return: Glenwood Springs

It’s the kind of trip that lets you slow down and enjoy Colorado in a different way—not just by seeing the mountains, but by soaking in them.

Stop 1: Glenwood Springs

Start in Glenwood Springs, one of Colorado’s most iconic hot spring towns. This is the perfect beginning point for the trip because it immediately sets the tone: mineral water, mountain scenery, and a chance to unwind from everyday life.

Glenwood gives you that classic Colorado soaking experience—warm, restorative, and easy to enjoy whether you’re staying one night or building a longer getaway around it.

There are several great hot springs to try. Our favorite is Iron Mountain, where they have 19+ pools to try.

 

If you’d like to recreate that experience at home, our Glenwood-inspired mineral soak is designed to capture the feel of this iconic destination in your own bathtub.

Shop the Glenwood Springs Blend:
Glenwood Springs Mineral Soak

Stop 2: Buena Vista

From Glenwood Springs, head to Buena Vista, where the atmosphere becomes more rustic, natural, and grounded. This area is loved for its smaller, more intimate soaking environments and its incredible mountain setting.

The Cottonwood Creek area in particular offers a more natural, stone-lined feel, while the broader Buena Vista region is surrounded by dramatic Colorado landscapes that make the whole experience feel peaceful and unhurried.

This stop feels less like a resort destination and more like a true mountain retreat.

This hot springs has some really hot soaking pools! But you can cool off in the river behind the main pools.

The Cottonwood Creek Hot Springs are right there in Buena Vista and represent the geothermal waters of the region. We studied the published reports on the waters of the region and created a recipe that is very similar to the geothermal composition of this area.

Bring the Buena Vista area waters home! Shop the Buena Vista Blend: Buena Vista Mineral Soak

Stop 3: Manitou Springs

Next, continue east to Manitou Springs, just outside Colorado Springs. Manitou is different from the other stops on the loop because it’s known not only for soaking, but for its naturally carbonated mineral springs and rich local history. We recommend making an appointment at Sunwater Spa ahead of time so that you can make sure to enjoy the hot tubs with natural mineral water. Enjoy the saunas and cold plunges there while you are at it!

 

Walking through town of Manitou and visiting the springs gives you a glimpse into Colorado’s geothermal uniqueness. Each spring has its own character, and the town itself carries a charm that makes it worth lingering in. Bring empty water bottles to fill at the various springs around town. The water here is naturally carbonated and full of great trace minerals like manganese and lithium.

And for all the kids at heart, make sure to stop by the Penny Arcade for a few old-fashioned pinball and video games, and stop by Patsy's candies to get a treat.

It’s a fun and memorable stop that adds something different to the road trip—less resort-like, more historic and exploratory.

We live close to Manitou and regularly fill up glass bottles with water from the various springs, and store them in our garage fridge (just a locals tip).

Shop the Manitou Springs Blend: Manitou Springs Mineral Soak

Stop 4: Mount Princeton & Chalk Creek

From Manitou Springs, you will head back west toward the Mount Princeton and Chalk Creek area. This portion of the drive is especially scenic, and for many people, it becomes one of the highlights of the entire trip.

Here you’ll find that beautiful Colorado combination of creekside water, mountain views, and geothermal soaking. The setting feels both relaxing and dramatic at the same time—exactly the kind of place that makes you want to stay longer than you planned. We recommend stopping at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort (https://mtprinceton.com/) and soaking in the pools down at the river.

If it is open and not too snowy, take a drive up the mountain and visit a real ghost town, St. Elmo. As of this publication, the General Store was still open during the summer. You can buy some feed to go out and feed the squirrels.

If it is Spring, you might ask someone to make sure the road is plowed up at the top, It can be really deep and hard to travel.

Mount Princeton is a beautiful area and the hot springs are an ideal final stop before returning to Glenwood Springs to complete the loop.

The geothermal waters of Chalk Creek feed Mount Princeton. If you want to bring these waters home, shop the Chalk Creek Blend: Chalk Creek Mineral Soak.

Then head back to Glenwood Springs to complete the loop.

 

Why We Created High Country Bath

My name is Wendy Selvig, and I’m the owner of High Country Bath.

This is my hubby Erik.

Our family has lived in Colorado for 25+ years, and enjoying the hot springs here is something we truly do not take for granted. We know many people live in places where natural hot springs simply aren’t available, and because we’ve loved them so much, we decided to create mineral bath soaks that let people enjoy a Colorado-inspired soaking experience at home.

At High Country Bath, we’ve studied the geothermal waters and the mineral elements within those waters, and we’ve worked to recreate them as closely as possible in our bath soaks.

At the same time, we’ve learned that natural hot springs and dry mineral bath salts do not behave in exactly the same way.

In a natural hot spring, minerals are infused into the water deep in the earth under heat, pressure, and gases. They emerge in a fully dissolved and naturally integrated form. When we recreate those same mineral profiles using dry mineral salts, some adjustments have to be made for skin comfort.

For example, bicarbonate may feel wonderful in naturally occurring spring water, but if we try to match those levels exactly in a dry bath salt blend, the alkalinity can become too high and uncomfortable on the skin.

Because of that, we usually aim for about 80% of the natural mineral composition, and then we adjust the blend for:

• Balanced alkalinity
• Skin comfort
• A smoother, more spa-like bath soak experience

Our goal is not just to imitate the chemistry on paper, but to create a bath that actually feels luxurious, relaxing, and enjoyable to use.

Bring the Colorado Hot Springs Experience Home

If this road trip inspires you, we hope you’ll explore our shop and discover the mineral bath soaks we’ve created based on Colorado’s iconic hot spring regions.

Whether you’ve already soaked in these waters or you’re simply dreaming of your next mountain escape, our soaks are designed to help bring that experience home.

Shop the collection here: Hot Springs Bath Soaks

Learn more about High Country Bath: About Us

Colorado’s hot springs are one of the great blessings of this state, and this loop is one of our favorite ways to enjoy them. We hope it gives you a beautiful reason to slow down, take care of yourself, and experience the mountains in a more restorative way.

 

NONE of the resorts mentioned in this blog compensated us for the mention. These are truly recommendations based on local favorites.