Cottonwood Hot Springs Inn & Spa

Which Cottonwood Hot Springs this is

The name on this page has no state attached. We matched it to Cottonwood Hot Springs Inn & Spa outside Buena Vista, Colorado, the long-running commercial soak that goes by that name and the one most travelers mean when they search for it. If you were looking for a different spring called Cottonwood, it is not this one.

What to expect

Cottonwood Hot Springs is a small, deliberately low-tech resort in the Cottonwood Creek valley, west of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, with the Collegiate Peaks rising behind it. Rooms have no TVs or phones, and the inn bans phones across the property, so the pool area is quieter than most commercial springs in Colorado.

The water is gravity-fed from the springs into stone-formed pools set among trees and decks. The inn names each pool and posts an average temperature:

• Head: about 104°F40°C
• Elbow: about 106°F41°C, the hottest
• Watsu: about 90°F32°C, used for floating and water massage
• Belly: about 85°F29°C, a cooler pool for long sits
• Cold plunge: about 80°F27°C

There is also a dry sauna and a plunge by the creek. The inn says nothing artificial is added to the water. Its posted analysis lists naturally occurring elements including arsenic, lithium, silica and sulfate, so soak in it but do not drink it.

The site has a long history. Dr. Julia Adams and her husband bought the 160-acre property in 1878 and built a hotel in 1879, before the railroad reached the Arkansas Valley, with bathing rooms fed by water at 132 to 150°F56 to 66°C. That hotel burned around 1911. The Denver Gazette notes the land was once sacred to the Ute people.

Prices and booking

• Day soak: $45 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under, the same price Monday to Sunday. It includes the soaking pools, the creek plunge and the dry sauna.
• Towels: not included. Bring your own towel or robe, or buy one at the front desk.
• Reservations: walk-ins are welcome and soak reservations are optional. If you do book, cancel at least 2 hours ahead for a refund; there are no partial refunds.
• Spa: massage and bodywork are offered on site, including deep tissue, hot stone and Ashiatsu.

Overnight stays include soaking from check-in to check-out during pool hours. Options are lodge rooms with private bathrooms, creekside cabins with a full kitchen and a private hot spring tub, budget dorms with shared bathrooms (one of them women-only), and RV and tent sites. Check-in is after 4 p.m. and check-out is at 11 a.m. You can soak before your room is ready. Overnight guests get coffee and a light breakfast, but there is no restaurant, so bring food or drive into Buena Vista.

Getting there

The inn is at 18999 County Road 306, Buena Vista, CO 81211. From the stoplight on US-24 in Buena Vista, head west on Main Street, which becomes County Road 306 toward Cottonwood Pass. The inn is on the road about 5 to 6 miles from downtown, on the opposite side of town from the Chalk Creek resorts near Nathrop. The road is paved.

Buena Vista is about 2.5 hours from Denver via US-285. Restaurants and supplies are 10 to 15 minutes back in town.

The neighboring Charlotte Hot Springs and Merrifield Homestead Cabins are close by on the same stretch of road, and map apps sometimes mix them up. Check the address before you turn in.

When to go

The pools are open every day from 8 a.m. to midnight. Weekday mornings are the quietest time for day visitors. Summer and fall weekends bring Arkansas River rafters, hikers and Cottonwood Pass drivers. Fall, when the aspens in the valley turn in late September, is a strong season.

Winter is the best time for a night soak, with snow around the pools and clear, cold skies. County Road 306 stays open to the inn in winter, but the pass above it closes for the season, so you cannot continue over to Taylor Park. Expect snow and ice on the road after dark.

Rules and etiquette

• Swimsuits required at all times, for everyone.
• No phones anywhere on the property.
• No alcohol. Visibly intoxicated guests are asked to leave. Only water or clear drinks are allowed, in plastic or metal bottles.
• No glass and no smoking.
• Children stay with an adult and leave the pool area at sundown. No lifeguard is on duty.
• Keep it calm. Loud voices, shouting and disruptive behavior are not allowed.
• Pets stay out of the pool area, lodge rooms and dorms. Dogs are allowed in Cabins 1 and 3 and at RV and tent sites for $20 a night, leashed and never left alone. Only ADA service animals go in restricted areas.

Where to stay nearby

The inn itself is the most convenient base, with rooms, cabins, dorm beds and campsites in one place. Nearby, Merrifield Homestead Cabins rents two cabins with private spring-fed pools. Buena Vista has motels and vacation rentals, and national forest campgrounds lie farther up Cottonwood Creek toward the pass. Check fire restrictions with the Salida Ranger District before you build a fire.

Safety notes

• Hot pools: The Elbow pool runs about 106°F41°C. Start in Belly or Watsu, keep hot soaks short and drink water.
• Altitude: Buena Vista sits near 8,000 feet. Heat and altitude together can make you lightheaded faster than you expect.
• Do not drink the spring water. The inn’s analysis lists arsenic among the natural elements.
• Winter driving: Snow and ice are common on CR 306 at night.

Nearby stops worth adding

Chaffee County has more hot water than almost anywhere in Colorado. Down the valley, Chalk Creek Canyon near Nathrop has Antero Hot Springs Cabins and Treehouse Hot Springs, and Salida has the city-run Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center.