When it comes to getting blissed out in a hot spring, there are few better places in the world than Colorado. The state has 93 known geothermal areas running through the spine of the Rocky Mountains, with natural springs of all stripes. The Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop links up 23 hot springs in eight different places via an 800-mile driving route from Denver through the soaring Rockies.
Hot water springs up all over the Rockies thanks to the geological phenomenon of plate tectonics, which pushed its craggy peaks toward the heavens and resulted in hot water bubbling up along the range. The discovery of gold there in 1858 led to the Colorado gold rush and along with the influx of fortune-seekers came the establishment of mountain railways and Victorian hot-spring resorts – a tradition that continues today.
