Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado at 14,433 feet, towers over Chaffee County. These five hot springs destinations will enhance your next trip to western Colorado. Ultimately, the goal is rejuvenation and spending time with friends and family. The warmth has a relaxing, soothing effect on muscles and the mind. The high mineral content absorbs into the body, helping to eliminate toxins, increase blood flow and circulation, and boost metabolism. It has been known to reduce the symptoms of arthritis, fibromyalgia and depression, as well as locomotor and circulatory diseases. This type of therapy helps to revitalize the skin, calm nerves and detoxify the body. Soaking in super-heated water saturated with minerals offers many wellness benefits. Practiced for thousands of years, balneology is the art and science of baths and bathing in natural mineral waters for health and wellness. Five premier hot springs destinations in the western part of the state-Chaffee County, Pagosa Springs, Ouray County, Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs-have come together to form the Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop, offering 19 unique facilities. All-in-all a fun way to spend 4.5 hours of our afternoon, though some of us were frightfully cold at the end of it all.Thermal springs flow abundantly throughout the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We paddled for about 10 miles, with Chris giving us lots of insights into the history of the canyon and telling funny jokes and asking us about ourselves. We only went through grade 1, 2 and 3 rapids, so nothing was super dangerous, and we never felt like we were in danger, but we all did get very wet. However, after we rode the 25 minutes to the starting point on our very run down school bus, some of us wished we had opted for the splash jacked, as the wind had picked up and the water was extremely cold. Since it was fairly warm and sunny at the main AVA site, we did not opt for the wetsuit or the splash jacked. There was option for a wetsuit or a splash jacked. We were provided at the start with helmets, personal flotation devices and an oar. He was also the leader of all the other guides. We were in a boat of 6 (along with a group of 2 that we had met earlier in our zip lining crew). The rafting adventure had a lot more participants involved - around 10 boats with 6-8 people per boat. We definitely should have brought our own food and snacks, as there also isn't any place within reasonable driving distance to grab something quick - even though we did have about 90 - 120 minutes to wait before our rafting adventure started. ![]() And there is no food available for purchase at the AVA main site - though they do sell water shoes, t-shirts, rash guards, shorts, and other sundries (sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, water bottles, etc.). For anyone like us who have some picky eaters, this option may not work. The lunch consisted of the same turkey and cheese wrap for everyone, along with an apple, a chip bag, and a cookie in a bag (no drinks included). We opted to partake of the lunch that was included in the day-long package of zip line in the morning and river rafting in the afternoon. adventure, we headed back to the main site of AVA to return our gear, get some water, and have our lunch. And after that point, they continued to encourage us and make us feel comfortable at every next zip line. Though no one in our group decided to do that, Jess and Gage continued to let us know that was an option. There is also a point at zip line 3 where the faint-of-heart could have opted to stop. ![]() The zip lines themselves varied in height and speed, with the hardest being almost at the end. This was great for those of us that needed a few minutes for our heart rates to subside before getting to the next zip line, though may be a nuisance for those seeking more action-packed adventure. There were 10 of us in our group, which meant we did have to wait a bit between zip lines. Jess and Gage continued to put us at ease and talked us through every step of our journey, that would consist of 6 different zip lines. Then after a short bus ride to our starting point, we did a very short, 5-7 minute hike to the first zip line. ![]() We started the morning with with a very short introduction to our zip lining gear by our expert guides, Gage and Jess, who made us feel very comfortable with the equipment and their experience and concern for our safety. Our family of four (2 adults and 2 teenagers) spent the day with the AVA team and had a wonderful experience.
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