It’s only fitting that the largest natural hot spring in Colorado supplies water to the world’s largest outdoor hot springs pool.

The Yampah Big Spring, along the south bank of the Colorado River at the mouth of Glenwood Canyon has a maximum discharge of 2,200 gallons per minute, or more than 3 million gallons a day. This abundant flow of hot water has made Glenwood Springs a vacation destination for centuries. The Ute indians appreciated the hot water as much as those who followed and ultimately developed the resource.

The Utes considered the spring a sacred place and used the waters to heal their sick and wounded. They named the spring Yampah, which translates to “big medicine.”

The reputed healing powers of the water proved a commercial success for decades. At one time the water was touted to cure almost any conceivable ailment including rheumatism, gout, obesity, nervousness and even baldness.

Scientific evidence of such medicinal powers remains scant, but it can be said that the warm water certainly feels good after a long, hard day of work or play.

Isaac Cooper was the first to dream of a commercial resort utilizing the hot spring water, but it took the vast financial resources of Walter Devereaux to make it happen.

The original pool opened in 1888. It was 615 feet long and 75 feet wide. Devereaux called it the Natatorium. A large water fountain garnished the west end of the pool.

With the pool finished, Devereaux hired Austrian architect Theodore von Rosenberg to design a luxurious bath house and lodge. The sandstone structure was completed in 1890 for $100,000 and still stands next to the pool.

Devereaux added the stately Hotel Colorado in 1893 for a whopping $850,000. The lavish hotel has since hosted some of the worlds most glamorous celebrities.

The pool complex proved immediately popular. Such popularity has not diminished, although the pool itself has been improved over the years.

Today there are two pools. The large pool is 405 feet long and 100 feet wide. Water temperatures in the large pool are 90 to 93 degrees F. A smaller therapy pool, 100 feet long and 100 feet wide, is 104 degrees F. Together, the pools hold nearly 2 million gallons of water that must be cooled – the water from Yampah Spring emerges from the ground at an uncomfortable 122 degrees F.

Amenities around the pool have likewise expanded and evolved. A group of 22 businessmen purchased the complex in 1956. In 1960 the pools were renovated and a filtration system was installed.

In the 1970s a new master plan was implemented that included a new main bath house, sport shop, restaurant and athletic club. A new children’s wading pool was added along with a miniature golf course as part of the plan.

Two giant water slides were added in 2000.