GO! ROADTRIP: Destination Pagosa Springs
PAGOSA SPRINGS • I’m immersed in hot water, sipping a frozen tropical cocktail with bananas in it.
Rafters splash by on the nearby San Juan River and I watch them, think about waving, and decide to take another drink instead.
The steam rises with a subtle sulphur smell that I’ve come to associate with natural hot springs, soothed muscles and bliss.
I’m in one of about two dozen hot springs pools in Pagosa Springs. These aren’t the kind of rustic, natural ponds you’ll find at some Colorado hot springs. Pagosa’s pools are totally pimped out, thanks to a series of recent renovations and expansions. Old World tile and weathered stone and waterfalls are built around little niches that make you feel like you’re in Venice or maybe a hidden hot springs section of The Broadmoor.
Couples and families shuffle from pool to pool wearing plush white robes, looking like refugees from the Albert Brooks film “Defending Your Life.”
This steaming relaxation center can be the centerpiece for an epic getaway.
Yes, this is a long drive (about 4 1/2 hours if you don’t stop much) to what might look on Mapquest like the middle of nowhere. But Pagosa is more than a sleepy town with some hot springs. The area is actually an oasis of culture and outdoor adventure.
HOT SPRINGS
Admission: $20, $12 for kids 2-10 and free for kids younger than 2.
Location: 165 Hot Springs Blvd., a block south of downtown Pagosa Springs
MUSIC IN THE AIR
Sounds at the Springs (all summer) — Starting at 6 p.m. every Wednesday through Sept. 1, the hot springs in Pagosa will host a free concert featuring mostly regional artists.
Pagosa Folk and Bluegrass Festival (June 4-6) — This three-day festival, held in Reservoir Hill Park in downtown Pagosa, serves as a low-key alternative to the big music festivals in Telluride and Lyons. On the lineup this year: The Waybacks, Russ Barenberg & Bryan Sutton, The Biscuit Burners, Martha Scanlan, The Bellevill Outfit, Cadillac Sky, Boulder Acoustic Society, Shannon Whitworth, Jayme Stone, The Badly Bent and Rock and Rye. Friday night’s short lineup is free, and two-day passes are $80. For more details, go to folkwest.com.
Music in the Mountains (July and August) — This classical music series will open its 24th season July 10 at The Springs Resort & Spa in Pagosa Springs, July 11 at the Durango Mountain Club at Purgatory Lodge, and continue at various schools and public venues through the summer. Both opening concerts will feature acclaimed violinist Dmitri Berlinsky and his wife, Elena Baksht. Concert and reception is $75. For more details, go to musicinthemountains.com.
Four Corners Folk Festival (Sept. 3-5) — A step up from the town’s Folk and Bluegrass Festival, the Four Corners, now in its 15th year, will feature Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Sam Bush, The Infamous Stringdusters, Crooked Still and other great pickers. It’s also at Reservoir Hill Park. Three-day passes are $95. For more details, go to folkwest.com
ON THE WAY
Some spots worth the time: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, where the kids can play in the streams and the dunes till the sand in the wind drives you mad; the Movie Manor, a Best Western grafted onto a drive-in where you can watch the movies out your window; and the Colorado Gators Reptile Park, which boasts a new albino gator.
BITES
Elkhorn Cafe
438 Pagosa St., Pagosa Springs, 1-970-264-2146
A great downtown breakfast joint with worthy green chili.
Kip’s Grill & Cantina
121 Pagosa St., Pagosa Springs, 1-970-264-3663; kipsgrill.com
Bare wooden tables, paper plates, bags of chips, huge crowds of locals and tourists and some of the best Baja-style fish tacos and wild game burgers in Colorado.
Alley House Grille
214 Pagosa St., Pagosa Springs, 1-970-264-0999; alleyhousegrille .com
They call it “Global/Colorado style fusion cuisine.” Not sure what that means, but the mussels, steak and salmon at this house-converted-into-fine-dining-spot rocked.
THE BED
The Springs Resort & Spa
165 Hot Springs Blvd., 1-800-225-0934; pagosahotsprings.com
This is one bizarre and wonderful resort.
It began as a glorified motor lodge beside the hot springs pools that went through a series of expansions. Then, last year, they built a huge luxury addition that looks a bit like The Cliff House, with soaring Victorian architecture, corner turrets, an ornate bar, oh-wow three-story atrium and gorgeous, spacious Western-style rooms and suites.
The check-in desk remains in the old part, and the whole arrangement made me wonder where the heck the actual front of the hotel is.
In any case, this resort has a lot going for it. Whether you stay in the old section or the new, you get complimentary 24-hour access to the hot springs, along with robes and towels.
Also, I appreciate that the resort has become among the most environmentally friendly places to stay in Colorado. It uses the natural hot springs to heat the buildings and for hot water.
Rates: $189-$595 a night
THE OUTDOOR THING
The San Juan Mountain range serves as a fun playground.
If you’re into whitewater rafting or kayaking, fly fishing, rock climbing, mountain biking, jet skiing, horseback riding or hiking, they’re all easy to find, and the scenery will blow you away.
Train enthusiasts can find nearby stops for three amazing scenic trains: Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad (which rides to an outstanding mountain-top concert series atop La Veta Pass).
We chose to go motorized, renting ATVs from Outback Mountain ATV Rentals, and it proved to be one of those family experiences I’ll never forget.
Our guide got us hooked up with helmets and three vehicles (our 13-year-old was a passenger on the back of my ride), gave us a map and escorted us to the entrance of the National Forest. From there, we wound up and down wilderness trails that were often so muddy, so covered with roots or rocks that they often seemed impassable. Somehow we got through.
The views of Chimney Rock and all the forests and meadows, similar to what you’d see on a horseback ride, were spectacular. We returned, all smiles and mud splatters.
It was pricey: $70 a piece and $100 for two on an ATV, for a two-hour ride. But it was worth it.
For details, go to outbackmountainatvs.com.
STAGING AREA
About an hour north of Pagosa, you’ll find the even sleepier town of Creede, a place known for mining, fishing and one of the best professional theater companies in Colorado.
Founded in 1966 by a local pastor as a way to revive the town after the mines dried up, the Creed Repertory Theatre. performs a staggering seven to 10 plays in rotation throughout the summer.
Among the shows this year: “Zeus on the Loose,” “Spelling Bee,” “Nohow on Concert,” “Storytime,” “39 Steps,” “Ladies Man,” “This Day and Age,” “Boomtown,” “Dragons” and “The Joy of Going Somewhere Definite.”
Some kids shows are free. Others range from $7-$29.
For tickets are more info, go to creederep.org.
