Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves

What to expect

Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves is not a place to soak. It is a place to sweat. Under a stone building on East 6th Street in Glenwood Springs, three small rock chambers sit over flowing hot spring water. Spring water at about 125°F52°C runs through channels in the cave floor, and the steam it gives off keeps the air in the chambers at roughly 110-113°F43-45°C, according to the spa.

You reach the caves by a stairway from the main building and a short stone corridor. Inside, the light is low and the walls are bare rock. Slab marble benches sit in alcoves, and you sit or lie in the heat for 10 to 12 minutes at a time. Then you cool off: there is a cold-water shower, small tubs filled from it where you can soak a towel, a cooling room next to the caves, and an upstairs solarium with lounge chairs. Most people repeat the cycle a few times over their visit.

The caves are run as a silent space, so do not plan on chatting. The spa says the water is untreated and carries 34 minerals and trace elements, with sulfate, nitrate, zinc and potassium among the most plentiful. The chambers are cleaned every night.

Upstairs, the business is a full day spa, with massages, body wraps and scrubs, facials and private mineral baths. If you want warm water to sit in, a private mineral bath is the only option here. For an open-air hot pool, go to the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool down the street.

The name

“Yampah” is usually translated from the Ute as “big medicine,” and the name turns up all over Glenwood Springs. The Yampah spring feeds the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool, and that resort calls its newer soaking area the Yampah Mineral Baths. This listing covers the separate Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves business at 709 East 6th Street, which has its own tickets and its own owners.

History

The Ute used these caves for ceremony and healing long before the town existed, and the spa’s history page credits them with building the first sweat cave. After the Meeker Massacre of 1879 led to the Utes being removed to reservations, developers moved in. The spa dates the first commercial use of the caves to 1887, when Walter Devereux’s company held the mineral water rights. Electric light reached the caves in 1888, and construction of the present building began in 1893, the year the caves opened to the public.

Ownership changed many times through the 1900s. Bruce Kendall and Patsy Steele’s company bought the caves in 1990, renamed them Yampah Spa and Vapor Caves and renovated them. The Delmonico family took over in 2022.

Getting there

The spa is at 709 East 6th Street, on the north side of the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs, a short walk east of the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool entrance.

• From Denver: Drive west on I-70 through Glenwood Canyon and take Exit 116 for Glenwood Springs. Head east on 6th Street past the pool.
• From Grand Junction: Take I-70 east to the same exit.
• From Aspen: Follow Colorado 82 down the Roaring Fork Valley into Glenwood Springs, cross the river on Grand Avenue and turn east on 6th Street.
• By train: Amtrak’s California Zephyr stops at the downtown depot, and a pedestrian bridge over the river puts you on 6th Street.

The spa website does not cover parking, so ask when you book. Glenwood Springs sits at about 5,800 feet.

When to go

The spa is open every day from 9am to 9pm. Cave appointments can be booked until 7:45pm, but the caves close at 8:45pm, so anything booked after 6:45pm gets less than the full two hours.

The caves feel the same in any season, but the contrast is best in winter, when stepping out of 110°F43°C steam into cold mountain air is half the appeal. Summer weekends in Glenwood Springs are busy, and with reservations required, book ahead for any weekend or holiday. Combine a cave visit with a day at the pool down the street.

Prices and booking

• Vapor Cave visit: the spa’s online booking page listed a two-hour cave booking from $25 per person in October 2026. Prices may change, so check when you book.
• With a spa service: cave access is complimentary with any massage, wrap, scrub, facial or mineral bath. If you have a treatment, you may arrive up to an hour early to use the caves, and must check in at least 15 minutes before the appointment. Cave use after a facial is not allowed.
• Packages: in fall 2026 the spa offered a seasonal package with two hours in the caves for $165 per guest, and a Date Night Special for two at $450 that includes cave access, a 30-minute private mineral bath, a body wrap and a $150 dining voucher.
• Tribal members: members of any tribe get free cave access with a valid tribal ID. Reservations still apply.
• Included: towels for everyone, lockers, showers and toiletries. Robes come with spa services, and sandals are available on request.
• Payment: taken at booking, with a card kept on file. The spa suggests a 20% gratuity and adds a 15% service charge on cash payments.
• Cancellations: at least 24 hours ahead, or the full amount is charged.

Book online through the spa’s website or call 970-945-0667.

Rules and etiquette

• Minimum age 13 for the caves. Guests under 18 need an adult with them at all times. Massages, wraps and scrubs are 18 and over.
• Swimsuits are required.
• Silence in the caves.
• Lock away jewelry, phones and other valuables before going down.
• No one under the influence of alcohol or drugs is admitted, and intoxicated guests are asked to leave without a refund.
• Bring water in a non-glass bottle.

Where to stay nearby

The spa has no rooms. The Lodge at Glenwood Hot Springs is close by on the same side of the river, and the historic Hotel Colorado, finished in 1893 like the spa building, is a few minutes’ walk away. Downtown Glenwood Springs across the river has more hotels, and chain motels line the I-70 exits.

Safety notes

• Heat: 110-113°F43-45°C humid air works on you fast. Stick to the suggested 10 to 12 minutes, cool down between rounds and drink water.
• Altitude: the spa itself warns that guests feeling the effects of Glenwood’s 5,800-foot elevation should skip the caves.
• Pregnancy: the spa says pregnant guests should not enter the caves. It can offer a cooler mineral bath instead.
• Medical conditions: check with your doctor first if you have heart, blood pressure or other health problems.
• Footing: the stairs and rock floors are wet. Sandals or water shoes help.

Nearby stops worth adding

The other two hot spring businesses in town are close: the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool, with its 405-foot pool, and Iron Mountain Hot Springs, a set of small soaking pools above the river. Doc Holliday died in Glenwood Springs in 1887, and his memorial is in Linwood Cemetery on the hill above town. Glenwood Canyon to the east has a paved recreation path along the Colorado River.