At a Glance
- Water Temperature: 96–106°F
- Mineral Content: Sodium bicarbonate-rich
- Pool Opened: 1927 (current pool)
- Flow Rate: ~250 gallons/minute
- Ute Use: Pre-contact through 1881
- Distance from Condos: 5-min walk
The Springs Before the Town
The hot springs that rise along the eastern edge of present-day Ouray are a product of the same geological forces that created the ore bodies that made the town rich: deep fault systems that allow surface water to percolate to great depths, where geothermal heat warms it before it rises again through the rock. The springs discharge at temperatures ranging from 96°F to 106°F and flow at approximately 250 gallons per minute — a remarkable and consistent output that has continued without significant interruption for as long as records exist. The mineral chemistry of the water is dominated by sodium bicarbonate, with additional dissolved minerals including silica, calcium, and trace sulfur compounds.
The Uncompahgre Ute knew these springs intimately. They were a fixture in the band's seasonal round — a place to camp in late autumn before moving to lower winter quarters, a place to treat injuries and illness with the warm mineral water, and a place to gather with other bands for social and ceremonial purposes. The Ute word for the site roughly translated as 'hot water place' or 'boiling springs.' When the first American prospectors arrived in the canyon in the mid-1870s, the springs were already well known through the reports of earlier explorers, government surveyors, and traders who had observed the Ute using them.
Victorian Development and Early Tourism
The earliest American settlers recognized the springs' commercial potential almost immediately. By the early 1880s, crude bathhouses had been constructed at the spring sites, and Ouray was promoting itself not only as a mining center but as a health resort — a place where the mineral waters could cure rheumatism, kidney disease, and the various ailments that Victorian medicine attributed to 'bad humors' and 'impure blood.' The combination of dramatic mountain scenery, a lively mining town, and therapeutic hot springs made Ouray an attractive destination for health-seeking tourists from Denver, the Midwest, and even the East Coast.
The Ouray Hot Springs Company was organized in the 1880s to develop the springs for commercial bathing. Early facilities were modest: wooden tubs, a changing room, and an outdoor pool enclosed by rough timber walls. As the silver boom brought prosperity to the town, more elaborate facilities were proposed. The Beaumont Hotel promoted its proximity to the springs as a key amenity. By the early 1890s, visitors were coming to Ouray specifically for the springs — the first stirrings of what would eventually become the dominant economic activity in a town that had built itself on ore.
The Modern Hot Springs Pool
The present Ouray Hot Springs Pool complex dates primarily from 1927, when the city of Ouray took over operation of the springs and constructed a large outdoor swimming pool, bathhouse, and related facilities. The 1927 pool — greatly expanded and modernized several times since, most recently in 2016 — is one of the largest outdoor hot springs pools in Colorado, with multiple interconnected pools at different temperatures, a slide, and year-round operation. The 2016 renovation added a lap pool, a therapy pool, a cold plunge, and updated changing facilities, transforming the historic facility into a modern aquatic destination while preserving its essential character as an outdoor, naturally fed mountain hot springs.
The pool today is operated by the City of Ouray and is the top-rated attraction in town. Its combination of hot mineral water, mountain air, and box canyon scenery — the pool is directly overlooked by the sheer canyon walls that frame Ouray to the east and south — creates an experience that is genuinely unique. Soaking in water that has been rising from the depths of the earth for millions of years, under the same canyon walls that the Ute and the Victorian tourists admired, connects visitors to a very long chain of human relationship with this particular place.
Walking to the Springs from The Lumberyard Condos
The Ouray Hot Springs Pool is located at the northern end of Main Street, 9 blocks from The Lumberyard Condos at 55 4th Avenue. This proximity is one of the great practical advantages of a central Main Street location: guests can walk to the springs for an early morning soak before the pool fills up, return for a midday dip after a hike, and visit again in the evening when the canyon walls glow with the last of the sunset light and the steam from the pools drifts up into the cold mountain air.
Five dog-friendly units sleeping up to ten guests, 9.9/10 on VRBO, 4.94 stars on Airbnb — The Lumberyard Condos puts the hot springs, the historic district, and the trails all within walking distance. Book your stay directly at ouraycondos.com and make the healing waters part of every morning.