Iron Mountain Hot Springs Opens Globally Inspired Pools in Colorado | Lifestyle

GLENWOOD SPRINGS • In Colorado, you can soak in hot springs from around the world.

This is the idea behind the latest expansion of Iron Mountain Hot Springs.

This is the second summer of the destination’s “inspired pools”: 13 Colorado River-side waters blended with mineral recipes that aim to replicate famous hot springs around the world.

“Over the years, a scientist has gone to all these places and analyzed the mineral content,” said Aaron McCallister, general manager of Iron Mountain. “It’s obvious to us that our waters have a lot of iron and calcium. Then there’s a lot of silica in the Blue Lagoon.”

Iceland’s milky blue pool is mimicked here, nestled between replicas of South Korea’s Osaek Hot Springs (rich in bicarbonate, said to be good for the skin) and Guatemala’s volcanically heated Fuentes Georginas Hot Springs (magnesium and potassium to maintain muscle tissue and flush out toxins).

Chiancianco Hot Springs, nicknamed “the city of health” in Italy, are also represented here at Glenwood. This pool sits between a spring inspired by the hot springs of Hokkaido, Japan, and another that nods to the springs of Yarrangobilly Caves in Australia.

A larger, rectangular pool honors the Dead Sea.

“We’re getting as close as we can to the amount of salt in the Dead Sea,” McCallister said. “That’s your buoyancy. You go in and it immediately pulls you up.”

Welcome to the 21+ side of Iron Mountain Hot Springs, with its own café serving cocktails, smoothies, and food. The World Zone is accessed via a “passport”-activated gate on the side known since 2015.

Founder Steve Beckley now has 32 pools in total on the deck. The expansion is the culmination of a concept that has been in the works for years, called WorldSprings, in partnership with New York-based Off Road Capital Partners.

The group recently opened a second WorldSprings, outside Dallas, which heats fresh water with gas, like Iron Mountain. The idea, according to the investors’ website, is to “create a new social and wellness experience that brings the hot springs experience to cities across the United States.”

At Iron Mountain, the idea was based on feedback from recent years, McCallister said.

In addition to crowd-control reservations, WorldSprings has further spread out people who wanted more space. Others wanted more pools directly on the Colorado River; there are now eight more, from France to Australia. Others now have the requested cold-water pool, albeit small, next to a pool inspired by Turkey. “We learned it wasn’t big enough,” McCallister said.

A larger cold-water pool is planned for the next expansion, which is underway. There are also plans to set aside more pools and private riverside cabanas. The hope is to launch additions next summer, McCallister said.

WorldSprings is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations for three-hour slots, which include access to all Iron Mountain Hot Springs pools, are $59 at ironmountainhotsprings.com.