A natural hot spring is a mineral spring with free-flowing water, where is no commercial facilities.
Normally such places are in secluded areas.
Penny Hot Springs in Colorado is, on the other hand, one of exceptions.
The Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America; they stretch more than 3,000 miles from the northernmost part of British in Canada to New Mexico in the United States.
Photo by Todd Petrie - Reflecting (2017) / CC BY 2.0
Colorado is the highest part, which is famous for the beautiful scenery and skiing-mecca.
Penny Hot Springs
Beside the highway between Glenwood Springs and Ouray, I found a parking lot at the riverside.
I looked across the Crystal River in the picture-book scenery.
Some people were gathering at the riverside.
Going down the bank, I saw several pools made of rocks.
Be careful for the extremely hot water.
The water temp is around 133 degrees F.
Probably the major source is under the highway that is gushing from the bank.
The hot water is mixed with river water inside each pool.
The quality of water is not so characteristic, without odor.
I had to add river water, but the river water looked clean enough.
This place is one of the exceptions of natural hot springs, which is easy to access.
Summary
Penny Hot Springs, Carbondale, Colorado, USA
Favorites:
Point
Too easy to find from the highway!
- Walk-in: Yes
- Lodging: No
Related Hot Springs
It is 50 minutes’ drive from Penny Hot Springs to get to Glenwood Springs.
For those who do not prefer natural hot springs, a clean hot spring for walk-in is located at the riverside.
Iron Mountain Hot Springs, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA