Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves

Useful Information

Location:	709 E 6th Street, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601. Glenwood Springs. Interstate 70, exit Glenwood Springs. (39.550691, -107.320107)
Open:	All year daily 9-21. [2026]
Fee:	Adults USD 25-50, depending on time of year, weekday and time of day. See online booking for actual price. Vapor Cave visit included with any other offer. [2026]
Classification:	Cellar
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:	T=53 °C, Y=23,000 l/min, A=1,898 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided, D=2 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:	(1993): Yampah Spa: Centuries of Cleansing Vapors, Yampah Hot Springs, Inc., 1993
Address:	Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves, The Hot Springs Vapor Caves, 709 E. Sixth St., Glenwood Springs, CO 81601, Tel: +1-970-945-0667. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1887	original Ute cave sealed over by the railroad.
1990	extensive renovation.

Description

Yampah Spa is a company which offers numerous wellness treatments, like massage, body wraps, body scrubs, body detox, and mineral baths. All those offers are centered around hot springs of volcanic origin, which produce hot and mineral rich water. One point on the list of offers are the Yampah Spa Vapor Caves, which are a part of the spa. A 2025 test of the water in Vapor Cave found sodium, calcium, sulfur, potassium, magnesium and strontium and much more, a total of 34 minerals. The water which springs in the cave has 51 °C, the air in the cave has 44 °C, so its more or less a natural steam bath. There is a legend about the history of the hot springs based on the oral history of the Kapuuta and Mouache bands.

This place was called Yampah (Big Medicine) by the indigenous Ute Indians. The natives discovered the healing properties of the hot steam inside the cave long ago. Many battles were fought over the springs by the Utes, Arapahoes and Cheyennes. Whenever a big chief of one of the tribes fell ill, his tribe attempted to drive off the tribe occupying the site at the moment, so he could make use of the mineral water. The Native Americans taught early pioneer living on the other side of the Grand Rivers how to use the cave. The patients were lowered into the cave on a stretcher, then the opening was shut. This way the cave became a natural sauna.

This village was originally named Defiance, and was a camp of tents, saloons, and brothels. It was in a way illegal, as this land was actually owned by the Ute, according to a 1868 treaty negotiated by the Tabeguache Ute Chief Ouray. The first legal settlement was named Barlow and was started at the confluence of the Roaring Fork River and the Grand River in 1883. The Town of Glenwood Springs was incorporated in 1885, and it was located at the crossing of two railroad lines, had a post office and a railroad station. The Defiance Town and Land Company purchased the land on the other side of the river with the hot springs and built a second cave. It was accessible through a short tunnel, which was so low, the bathers had to crawl on their hands and knees to enter the cave. Inside it was large enough to stand. On two sides hot water was running down from which steam emerged. At this time genders were separated, men visited the cave in the morning, women in the afternoon. There was no light, every visitor took a candle with him.

The cave which is used today is the third cave, also built by the Defiance Town and Land Company in the late 1880s. This was necessary as the original Ute cave was sealed over by the railroad in 1887. In other words the natural cave is not accessible any more, the cave which is used today is man made. It has three different chambers and a stairway leading down 20 steps into the cave. It also has an enclosed entrance, electric light and marble benches. We originally classified it as a show cave, as there actually once was a natural cave, but the structure is artificial so we reclassified it as subterranea. An artificial structure used as steam bath is a category we do not have though, this would be the only entry for this category.

As we mentioned there are numerous hot springs, and so there are other Only a few meters downstream lies Glenwood Hot Springs Pool, a large, publicly accessible thermal spa with a long history, set in picturesque mountain scenery. Originally there were about 50 hot springs on both sides of the river with a total yield of some 23,000 l/min and a temperature around 53 °C. However, as far as we know Yampah is the only place with a natural cave.