Entry No. 18 — the Durango file — filed under: soak
Pinkerton Hot Springs
James Pinkerton ranched dairy cows here in 1875, and by the 1890s this water was bottled and sold as a cure-all — local legend even puts Marilyn Monroe in the old resort pool. In 2001, CDOT piped the spring under US 550 and let it drain over a stack of rocks. The minerals did the rest: a six-foot cone striped rust, orange, and white, trickling 105-degree water on the shoulder while traffic blows past at 65.
The story
In 1875, James Pinkerton brought dairy cows to this stretch of the Animas Valley, but the geothermal water seeping out of the earth proved far more lucrative than milk. By the 1890s, the spring water was being bottled and sold as a cure-all, and Pinkerton built a full-fledged resort around the flow. Local legend even places Marilyn Monroe lounging in the old resort pool, back when people paid to take the waters here.
The resort eventually burned down and vanished, but the 105-degree water kept coming. By the late 1990s, the spring was spilling across US Highway 550, creating slick ice patches that threatened winter motorists. In 2001, the Colorado Department of Transportation stepped in with a purely functional fix: they piped the spring under the pavement and redirected it over a stack of rocks on the eastern shoulder.
CDOT expected the water to drain off harmlessly. Instead, nature took over the engineering project. Iron, calcium, and thermophilic algae immediately began settling out of the warm runoff, coating the rock pile in thick layers of mineral crust. Over two decades later, that simple rock stack has morphed into a glowing six-foot travertine cone striped in rust, orange, and white—an accidental roadside sculpture built by state road crews and geophysics.
What it's like
Pull off into the broad dirt shoulder on the east side of US 550 just north of Academy Drive, and you'll spot the mound steaming mere steps from your car. Don't bring a towel or wear a swimsuit: despite what confused travel blogs claim, there is no pool, no tub, and nowhere to soak. The ground around the base is a swampy patch of orange mud and slick algae, so keep your boots on, stay off the fragile cone, and skip the climb. The move is to pull over on a freezing winter morning, hold your hands under the warm 105-degree trickle while semi-trucks blow past at 65 miles per hour, and move on.
The move: Stop on a cold morning en route to Silverton, hold your hands together under the warm trickle, and watch the whole cone steam.
📍 Before you go A big dirt pullout sits on the east side of US 550 just north of Academy Drive; the cone is steps from your car, no walking required. This is not a soaking spring — there is no pool, just warm water trickling over the mound, and the ground around it is marshy with algae-slick rocks, so do not climb it. It flows year-round and looks best steaming on a cold morning. Pair it with Haviland Lake or the drive up the Million Dollar Highway to Silverton.
- 📍 Durango
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 35554 US Hwy 550 (east-side pullout ~13 mi north of Durango), Durango, CO 81301
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- James Ranch Artisan Cheese & Farm Tour — Stop 1.7 miles south down Highway 550 to grab cheese and beef raised on the same valley pastureland James Pinkerton ranched in 1875.
- Honey House Distillery at Honeyville — Head two miles south down the highway to warm up inside with honey-distilled spirits and a live observation hive.
- Full Moon Howler Snowshoe Hike (Durango Nordic Center) — Continue 10 miles north toward Purgatory to trade the roadside steam cone for a moonlit winter trail walk.
Good to know
Can you soak or submerge yourself in the springs?
No. There is no tub or pool here—just a warm stream trickling down a rock cone onto a muddy roadside shoulder.
How hot is the water coming out of the rock?
The mineral water emerges year-round at temperatures between 95 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
Where exactly is the pullout located?
It sits about 13 miles north of downtown Durango on the east side of US Highway 550, just north of the intersection with Academy Drive.
Is there any cost or hiking required?
It is completely free, sits on public roadside land, and requires zero hiking—the rock cone is visible right from your driver's seat.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Atlas Obscura · visitfourcorners.com · myhikes.org
last checked: 2026-06-11