

However, what was most unbelievable was the selfless act by the front desk employees Joyce and LJ-around dusk that evening at the Bootlegger Campground along Chalk Creek, I realized I had forgotten my phone battery charging in the wall outlet inside the bar area of the restaurant. Little things in the big picture for sure, things we all take for granted.

Mount princeton hot springs free#
Now that our Collegiate Peaks Loop hike has finished, I am finally starting to catch up on things-the first being a HUGE shoutout to the gracious and accommodating employees at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort! Briefly, they accommodated us by storing our resupply boxes until we passed through, then held our “leftovers” until we could retrieve them later on, provided free showers in their hot springs pool area, and accommodated us on the dining room patio by rearranging chairs and tables and writing individual checks for our somewhat large group, and allowed access to outlets to recharge our phones/batteries-without a blink of an eye. Hotels near Ark Valley Motor Sport Rentals.Hotels near Colorado Surf Factory - Day Adventures.

Hotels near Arkansas Valley Trail Rides.Hotels near Mt Princeton Hot Springs Stables.Hotels near Mount Princeton Historic Bath House & Hot Springs.Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort Rooms.Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort Pool.Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort Features.Hotels near Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort.Then settlers and miners built a hotel and bathhouse and it’s been an undersung tourist destination ever since. Before that, for ages, the Ute people camped here in the winter for the hot springs. We cheers-ed a few times, then hefted our packs and crossed Chalk Creek to our cabin to hang wet tents, tarps and clothes before finally surrendering to the 100-degree relaxation pool.įor the previous three nights, we’d squatted on wet ground to eat meals of rehydrated food while swatting mosquitoes but on this night, we dressed in our least-smellies and dined as human beings in the Mary Murphy Steakhouse, named after the gold mine that originally funded this resort in the late 1800s. So it was a glorious moment on Day 4 after 50 hard miles, when I hobbled into Mount Princeton’s beer garden, next to the upper pool where my hiking buddies had been waiting for me for hours.

The steaming, foot-soothing mental images added to my forward momentum as I hiked. The payoff of a hot soak by the creek (and possibly a deep tissue massage in the spa) had been in my thoughts since my friends and I had departed Twin Lakes. A group of friends sets out to hike a 50-mile segment of the Colorado Trail in early August 2021, including a stop at Mount Princeton Hot Springs. To distract myself from the pain, I concentrated on the details of the fairy-scape around me, admiring the mushrooms and also counting the days, then hours, then miles, till we arrived at Mount Princeton Hot Springs. Ill-fitting boots were crushing my toes with every step. “Marching” because the trail was difficult, the miles long and my pack too heavy. I too was shaking it off, marching through the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness in central Colorado’s San Isabel National Forest. Many of them still had dirt and fir needles on their tops, as if caught in the middle of shaking off after their effort. There were mushrooms too, different colors, sizes, and species popping through the soil’s crust along the trail. There also are creekside suites and comfortable cabins. There’s an upper family pool with a 400-foot water slide, a stunning infinity pool where water yoga and other classes are held, an adults-only relaxation pool, and, when conditions permit, natural hot pools in Chalk Creek. Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort (, 71) offers adult pool passes for $30 during the week. Learn more about hiking the Colorado Trail (or volunteering to maintain it) at.
