Orient Land Trust/Valley View Hot Springs — Hotel in Saguache

Stuff to know:||We visited in early September||Crowd: The pools that are a hike away (especially the top pools) are never too crowded. In the smaller pools like the meadow and waterfall pools, we were always alone. The very top pool is much larger and can hold many people, but at its busiest there were only 8 people. Usually we were the only ones.|The main swimming pool gets busier during the mid-afternoon. There are a few chairs to sunbathe on, but those fill up quick. We were a little annoyed that a good amount of people seemed to leave their stuff on a chair to reserve it, then leave the area for more than an hour. The facility could definitely use more lounging chairs by the pool. The pool itself is very large, so there is always plenty of room to swim around.|The Sauna has a steady flow of people going in an out. In the morning and evening, expect at least 2 other people to always be in the sauna with you.|The two hot tubs get pretty full in the night, but we could always still find a spot to sit, even if it was nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. The hot tubs are empty in the afternoon due to the heat.|The main soaking pool is very large and usually has 2-8 people in it, but it was a bit cold for our taste.|Age range was pretty evenly distributed from early 20s to 70s. ||Ammenities: |Every shower had a body soap to use. Hygine products in the bathroom cupboards. |In the pavillion, there are dishes you can borrow and return after using their dish washing station. No need to bring your own pots/pans/plates or dishwashing soap. You can also use their kitchen containing a microwave, stove, and oven.|Right at the gate where you check in there is a tiny shop that has 5 pound bags of ice for sale for $1. They also sell ice cream bars there, dairy-free options too. They have a few snacks for sale, fresh farm eggs ($7), and I saw they even sold tooth brushes in case you forgot one.|There is a food storage cabin if you do not have a room to store it in, but we just stored our food in the car.|There are water fountains in the bathroom and sauna.||Camping:|Check out the map before choosing a tent camp site. We found one along the stream, which was super nice as you could hear it while falling asleep. Some of the campsites are much more remote with a significant walk to get there, but neither of us wanted to carry all of our stuff over there.|Do not underestimate the amount of walking you may do here. I thought I was being lazy, but got 15,000 steps each day just walking between our campsite, car (for food), and bathrooms. Next time we will find a camp site closer to the bathrooms and parking spots.|There is a clothesline behind the bathrooms, but that was no where near our campsite. However, there are plenty of trees at the campsite to hang towels and robes out to dry.||Clothing:|We found that about 80% of people walking between facilites had robes on, us included. I assume less would wear robes in the hotter months. |I didn't notice a single person wearing swimsuits in the hot springs. |Around the entire pool area (pool deck to sauna to bathrooms), most walked around nude. A couple people wore swimsuits in the pool, but I only noticed that the first day. |In summary, you may be the odd one out if you choose to wear a swim suit, but no one will judge.||Other tips:|Make sure you get sunscreen that is safe for natural bodies of water (reef safe is the key word if searching on amazon).|Have a flashlight with a red light setting for walking to the pools at night. There is no artificial lighting beyond the main areas, so it is pitch black once the sun goes down.|No phones allowed anywhere, except at your accommodation and the welcome center. The welcome center does have wifi so that you can check messages/emails.|Find a good spot to watch the sunset! The porch of the sunset rooms is a great dry spot to watch, otherwise the lowest of the top pools is another great spot.|Bathrooms are co-ed. Every shower has a curtain for privacy, but if you want more privacy there are two lockable bathrooms with a shower and toilet. |There is algae in the pools that collects up along the edges. Thats just a part of the natural setting. If you do not like that, the hot tubs and swimming pool are much much...

Finally made it to Valley View after years of having it on our destination list. What a great place and a lovely experience! I understand why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but most of the 1 star reviews seem to come from people who did zero research and were expecting a Glenwood/Mt. Princeton experience. Having read the info on the website, there were zero surprises. ||||We only interacted with office staff—not sure who these “creepy”/nagging employees referenced in other reviews were as we didn’t see any of them—but the women in the office were very friendly and easy to deal with. It’s quite a large property, so I found the short orientation to be really helpful, especially since we arrived after dark and there is no outdoor lighting on the property. ||||We loved our experience soaking in the pools. Although there are some nice looking man made pools with spring water, our group stuck to the natural hot ponds because they have warmer water and it was quite cold outside. Yes, there was some algae and slimy stuff but that’s nature for you. Didn’t ruin the experience. I also appreciated how folks kept conversations quiet—Valley View is definitely not a big social/party scene if that’s what you’re looking for. I enjoyed how peaceful the place felt even during busy hours. ||||Pretty much everyone we encountered was nude with just a few exceptions. We wore bathing suits our first day but opted not to on Day 2 because it seemed more comfortable and everyone was respectful—the vibe was body positive rather than sexual/judgey. Can’t say I agree with previous reviewers who felt judged/shamed for choosing to wear bathing suits either because that certainly wasn’t our experience. Whatever is comfortable for you is fine—it’s not weird if you don’t make it weird!||||Finally, if all this sounds like something you’d enjoy, I’d recommend taking flashlights/headlamps if you plan to be there in the dark, but definitely use the dim or red light settings to avoid blinding folks sitting in the pools. A warm robe and some kind of boots/closed shoes for navigating the property in the snow are also recommended. Our favorite pools were a short hike away from the main area, which wouldn’t have been feasible in sandals. ||||Wish I could speak to other accommodations, but as winter day trippers we really just stuck to a few ponds and the bath house this time. We had a great first visit, so I’m excited to return in warmer months and get the full...

We were able to spend the night with my in-laws in the Spruce House near the welcome center. That equated to 6 adults. Two brought bedding to sleep on the floor, and there were three full-size beds for the rest of us. The house was fully equipped and met out needs perfectly.

I have been to the hot springs once before, and had spent time in the Meadow Pool and the Apple Tree Pool, which were natural and man-made, respectively. I also fell in love with the amazing sauna. This time around, I hit up the Party Pool (that's a nickname) and the Top Pools, which are some other natural pools. The Top Pools take some determination to get to - the welcome center is at about 8700' and the Top Pools are a quarter mile hike uphill from the Party Pool, which is already uphill from the welcome center. But the hike was totally worth it. The view was amazing and the upper-most top pool bubbles like soda water in the up-hill side.

We were also able to sit in the Party Pool during dusk, and got to see the bats coming in for their evening drink and witness some lightning bugs along the waterline.

There is an astronomy pad where a gentleman sets up a telescope and showed us different satellites - I got to see the rings around Saturn for the first time without a photo or movie to help. That was pretty cool.

We also checked out the evening camp fire at the pavilion (lit with party lights around the edge) where there were free make-your-own s'mores and the Camp Host did a good job of taking care of folks who were cooking around the fire. The pavilion is also stocked with cookware and flatware for those who are camping lite. From what I understand, you can purchase meat raised on the affiliated ranch and single eggs from the same place at the welcome center.

This is by far my favorite hot spring. Please remember that it is clothing optional once you reach the front gate, and there are a number of people wandering about nude, which can deter some folks. But everyone has either been friendly or kept to themselves, so it is a very safe and comfortable...