The West’s Best Hot Springs Resorts
No matter the season, natural hot springs are the perfect respite to soak away stress. Some of the West’s most historic soaking spots have been majorly updated with state-of-the-art spas, farm-to-table restaurants, and stylish accommodations. Here are the mineral-rich waters worth a detour on your next road trip.
Castle Hot Springs, Arizona
Just over an hour’s drive north of Phoenix, this 1,100-acre, adults-only resort is tucked within a canyon known for its restorative hot springs. Most of the 32 rooms feature outdoor soaking tubs and three secluded soaking pools vary in temperatures from 86 to 106 degrees. Creekside spa cabanas offer a menu of treatments ranging from prickly pear and shea butter wraps to cranial sacral therapy. Meals are a highlight. An organic farm provides ingredients for dishes such as white corn pozole and harvest panzanella.
Durango Hot Springs Resort & Spa, Colorado
This historic property has had many lives including a gambling hall in the 1930s, a dude ranch in the 1940s, and a Western film set that hosted stars like Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne in the 1950s. Its new incarnation is a beautifully landscaped mountain oasis with more than 20 mineral pools, six onsen soaking tubs, a 25-meter saltwater pool, cold plunges, plus a full-service spa. Food trucks sell snacks and drinks, and stage hosts live music every Tuesday and Friday. There aren’t accommodations but downtown Durango is less than 15 minutes away and the Rochester Hotel recently got a stylish makeover.
Murietta Hot Springs Resort, California
This storied 1900s resort located between Los Angeles and San Diego re-opened in February after a 30-year-closure. Re-imagined accommodations include 174 rooms spread between three historic lodges, plus hillside suites with private pool access. The historic bathhouse has been outfit with a steam room, panoramic sauna, cold plunge, and terra thermal mud loft. There’s also a serious spa and fitness center where guests can reset with yoga sessions, aqua sound baths, and re-mineralizing scrubs. But the property’s steamy, mineral-rich waters remain the star attraction.
Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, New Mexico
Many consider this high desert retreat located halfway between Abiquiu and Taos America’s first health spa. Sulfur-free, therapeutic hot springs have been luring people here for centuries. Today, the resort offers a fabulous spa, a yoga yurt, suites with kiva fireplaces, and an excellent farm-to-table restaurant. A recent renovation added bathhouses with saunas and steam rooms. Day passes are available but an overnight allows guests to take advantage of the wilderness trails just beyond the resort’s doors.
Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado
An 1800s ghost town turned Relais & Châteaux getaway, Dunton Hot Springs is one of the West’s most celebrated retreats. Not one to rest on its laurels, the property recently unveiled a multi-million-dollar makeover. The iconic Saloon & Dance Hall and historic bar both have a fresh look, and a new family-friendly cabin, Chuck’s, has been added and features two bedrooms with modern bunk beds. The restored 19th century Bathhouse, with its healing bicarbonate soaking pool, remains the heart of the property and guests can also soak under the stars at the source.