Entry No. 22 — the Durango file — filed under: soak
The Mother Spring
“The Utes named it Pagosah: healing water, or water that smells bad.”
The steaming aqua pool between The Springs Resort and the bank next door holds a Guinness record nobody can finish measuring. Surveyors dropped a 1,002-foot plumb line in 2011 and never touched bottom; Colorado School of Mines and USGS crews tried again in 2020 with the same result. The surface runs around 144 degrees, too hot to soak, but it feeds the resort's 50-plus pools and the free riverbank tubs. The Utes named it Pagosah: healing water, or water that smells bad.
The move: Peer over the edge into the bottomless aqua water, then go soak in what it feeds: book a terraced pool at the resort or claim a free rock tub across the San Juan.
📍 Before you go The spring sits in plain view on The Springs Resort grounds off Hot Springs Boulevard, between the resort and the bank next door, and you can walk up for a look without buying a soak pass. It is a short, flat stroll from the resort parking area or from the San Juan Riverwalk on the other side of the river. Soaking in the Mother Spring itself is prohibited since the surface hovers near 144 degrees; to get in the water, use the resort pools it feeds or the free rock-lined tubs on the town side of the river. Pair it with Nathan's Hippy Dip and a Riverwalk loop through downtown.
- 📍 Pagosa Springs
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 323 Hot Springs Blvd, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 (on The Springs Resort grounds, beside the San Juan Riverwalk)
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4
last checked: 2026-06-11