Entry No. 31 — the Pueblo file — filed under: hot-springs-wellness
Valley View Hot Springs & Orient Mine Bat Flight
“Seven pools, off-grid, clothing-optional — and a quarter-million bats up the hill.”
The nonprofit Orient Land Trust runs this off-grid, clothing-optional spread at the foot of the Sangre de Cristos: seven pools, natural rock-and-gravel ponds in the mid-90s, hot pools at 104–106, electricity from their own 1975 hydro plant. The real draw is up the hill. A 1.5-mile hike ends at the Glory Hole of the Orient Mine — Colorado's biggest iron producer, which fed Pueblo's steel mill until 1932 — where roughly 250,000 Mexican free-tailed bats corkscrew out at dusk, mid-June through mid-September.
The move: Book a summer day pass, soak in the Waterfall Pond until an hour before sunset, then hike up past the ghost town of Orient to the Glory Hole and count the minutes the bat column keeps pouring — headlamps on for the walk back down.
📍 Before you go Turn east off US-285 onto County Road GG north of the CO-17 junction and follow it to its end at the foot of the Sangres; the address says Moffat, but Villa Grove is the nearest town. Day admission is capped and summer weekends book out, so reserve ahead — members get a longer booking window than non-members. Clothing is optional everywhere on the property, including the bat-hike trail, and watching the flight itself is free even though soaking is not. The bats are only in residence mid-June through mid-September, the moderate 1.5-mile climb to the Glory Hole takes about an hour, and you will descend in the dark — bring headlamps.
- 📍 Villa Grove (north of Crestone)
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoor or outdoor
Where: 64393 County Road GG, Moffat, CO 81143 (end of CR GG, east off US-285 south of Villa Grove)
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4
last checked: 2026-06-11