Entry No. 42 — the Pueblo file — filed under: soak
Joyful Journey Hot Springs
The water here has no sulfur smell — it surfaces odorless and laced with lithium, which locals will tell you explains everything. The geodesic greenhouse attached to the property is open around the clock; at night, steam fog rolls through it and collapses visibility to arm's length, so you're wading through wet tropical air in near-total darkness in a valley that already feels like the edge of the map. Three outdoor pools sit beneath the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with next to no light pollution, and the silence is the kind that rings.
The story
Before the quiet-spa branding took hold, this patch of dirt in the northern San Luis Valley was known simply as Mineral Hot Springs. Most geothermal sites in Colorado vent hydrogen sulfide, wrapping the pools in a sulfur reek. Here, the water surfaces completely odorless and heavy in lithium—a mineral composition locals will tell you with a straight face is why everyone in the valley stays strangely calm.
The spread sits along County Road 58EE, positioned beneath the jagged wall of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in a valley that already feels like the edge of the map. Beyond the three main outdoor soaking pools lies the property's weirdest feature: an attached geodesic greenhouse open around the clock. Thermal vapor trapped inside creates a humid microclimate where thick steam fog collapses visibility to arm's length, leaving you wading through wet tropical air while high-desert frost sits just on the other side of the glass.
What it's like
You turn off US-285 onto a washboard county road framed by miles of low scrub. By day, you sit in warm water staring across the valley floor at 14,000-foot peaks. At night, zero light pollution leaves the valley pitch black, and the desert quiet gets so intense your ears start to ring. The day-use crowds show up at 9:00 AM, but booking an overnight yurt, tipi, or room gets you into the water before public hours—which means you can slip into the greenhouse at 2:00 AM, navigate the thermal mist by touch, and soak in total darkness.
The move: Drive out in the late afternoon, soak through sunset into the dark, then slip into the greenhouse when the fog is thickest — bring a headlamp you won't use.
📍 Before you go On County Road 58EE off US-285, roughly 2.5 hours from Pueblo via Alamosa. Unpaved county road for the last stretch — suitable for standard cars in dry conditions. Overnight lodging (yurts, tipis, rooms) lets you access pools before public hours open at 9am.
- 📍 Moffat
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoor or outdoor
Where: 28640 CR 58 EE, Moffat, CO 81143
Hours: Added 2026-06-21 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Valley View Hot Springs (Orient Land Trust) — Just six miles north, this nonprofit land trust offers a raw, off-grid contrast with hillside natural soaking ponds and a fully clothing-optional policy.
- Crestone Ziggurat — Drive 22 miles east into Crestone to climb a concrete Babylonian ziggurat built in the mountain foothills by a former airline executive.
- Tashi Gomang Stupa — Follow the valley roads 23 miles east where the pavement quits at the foot of a 42-foot Tibetan Buddhist stupa staring back across the basin.
- Smokey Jack Observatory — Head across the Sangre de Cristo range to Westcliffe to match your starlit valley soak with deep-sky telescope views inside a roll-roof public observatory.
Good to know
How far is Joyful Journey from Pueblo?
It is about 130 miles—roughly a 2.5-hour drive—west of Pueblo via US-285. The last leg is on an unpaved county dirt road that standard cars can handle in dry conditions.
Why is there no sulfur smell in the water?
The geothermal water here naturally lacks hydrogen sulfide gas. It surfaces odorless and rich in minerals like lithium.
How do I get pool access before public hours?
Overnight guests staying in the on-site yurts, tipis, or rooms get early pool access before day-use hours open to the public at 9:00 AM.
What was this place called originally?
Historical mineral spring records list the property under its former name, Mineral Hot Springs.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · colorado.com · Yelp
last checked: 2026-06-21