Experience the best of Pagosa Springs

Pagosa Springs lies at about 2,200 metres on the San Juan River in the San Juan Mountains of south-western Colorado. The town takes its name from a Ute word for healing waters, for the hot springs that steam beside the river, and the Mother Spring, among the deepest geothermal hot springs known, feeds a string of bathing pools. Forested ridges and a long skyline of peaks surround the valley.

Wolf Creek Pass, to the east, is crossed by a high road, and the ski area on it is known for its deep snowfall. Chimney Rock National Monument, to the west, preserves an Ancestral Puebloan settlement on a ridge below twin rock spires, and the Weminuche Wilderness, a vast roadless area, lies to the north. Durango is a drive to the west.

Green chile, burritos and sopaipillas show the influence of New Mexico, only a short way south, and elk, trout and steaks fill many menus. Winters are cold and snowy, summer days are warm with cool nights, and the aspens turn gold in September.