Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves Description

Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves is a historic spa and wellness facility in Glenwood Springs offering access to the only natural vapor caves in North America, combined with full-service spa and salon treatments. The geothermal vapor caves have been in formal use since 1893, when the current Yampah Spa building opened to the public and began continuous operation. The Ute Indians who originally inhabited the region visited the caves for centuries and regarded them as a sacred place for ceremony, healing, and rejuvenation, constructing the first sweat cave. The word “Yampah,” an indigenous word, means “Big Medicine.”

The natural vapor caves consist of three adjoining underground rock chambers accessed by descending a stairway inside the main building through a stone corridor. Hot springs mineral water flows through the cave floors at 125 degrees Fahrenheit at an aggregate flow of approximately 6,000 gallons per minute, creating natural geothermal steam with temperatures averaging 110 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. The sulpho-saline-alkaline medicinal waters contain thirty-four minerals and trace elements, especially high in sulfate, nitrate, zinc, and potassium, and are world-renowned for their therapeutic value. Visitors relax on slab marble benches in rocky alcoves for repeated visits of ten to twelve minutes separated by brief rests in a nearby cooling room or upstairs solarium. A cold water shower and small tubs are available for cooling off in the caves.

Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves provides massage therapy, body wrap rituals, body scrub rituals, private mineral baths, skincare treatments, nail services, and hair salon services. Seasonal packages include combinations of vapor cave access, private mineral baths, and specialty treatments such as the Gingerbread and Detoxing Mud Body Wrap with hand and foot exfoliation. Reservations are required for all services, mineral baths, and vapor cave access, and are accepted three months in advance. Guests booking spa services may arrive up to one hour early to enjoy the caves but must check in at least fifteen minutes before their service. Returning to the caves after facial treatments is not permitted to protect treatment results.

Services: Natural Vapor Caves, Massage Therapy, Body Wrap Rituals, Body Scrub Rituals, Private Mineral Baths, Skincare Treatments, Nail Services, Hair Salon Services, Seasonal Spa Packages
Category: Wellness & Relaxation
Features: Nature, Spa, Events, Family, Historical Sites, Unique Attractions, Spa, Massage, Nail Salons, Hair Salons
Address: 709 E 6th St, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Directions: View on Google Maps