Radium Hot Springs is a set of small rock pools perched on a bench above the Colorado River, a short but definitely steep walk down from a gravel pullout off Trough Road near Kremmling, Colorado. There is no building, no ticket window, no sign beyond a worn trail cut into the hillside. What you get is warm water fed by a natural spring, a view of the river moving below, and whatever company happens to be soaking that day, which in summer often means a raft crew pulled over mid-float.

This is not the manicured, fee-charging hot springs experience you find at Glenwood or Pagosa. It's the opposite end of the spectrum: undeveloped, unsupervised, and free. That's both the appeal and the catch. If you want lounge chairs and a snack bar, this isn't it. If you want a quiet soak above a Western river with nobody checking you in, it might be exactly it.

Why Radium Hot Springs Matters

Colorado has dozens of hot springs, but most have been built up into resorts with pools, changing rooms, and admission fees. Radium Hot Springs is one of the handful that's stayed essentially as it was found. That matters to a certain kind of traveler, the one who'd rather scramble down a dirt path than swipe a day pass. It also matters to the rafting and fishing community that works this stretch of the Colorado River, for whom the springs are less a destination than a known pull-off, a place to warm up after a cold morning on the water.

Quick Facts

• Location: on the Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado, reached off Trough Road (County Road 1)
• Cost: free, no admission or reservation system
• Facilities: none — no restrooms, changing areas, or trash service
• Access: short, steep trail from a roadside pullout, or by raft during the summer floating season
• Water temperature: warm rather than hot, noticeably milder