Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs

Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs is a Victorian-style mountain lodge at 45 3rd Avenue in Ouray, at a quiet end-of-road spot near the entrance to Box Canyon and across the street from the Uncompahgre River. The operator dates the hotel to 1959 and says it is known for the mineral hot springs that percolate out of the hillside behind it. That water is captured in seven red cedar tubs and then empties into the river. The springs are natural. In its 1981 geothermal assessment of Ouray, the Colorado Geological Survey listed two Box Canyon Motel Hot Springs behind the motel, each measured at 60°C (140°F), with discharges of about 3 and 8 gallons a minute. That is a source temperature; the operator doesn't publish a tub temperature. The survey describes the Ouray waters as a calcium sulfate type with high lithium and boron, and its later low-temperature assessment says the Box Canyon motel uses geothermal water from springs at the motel site. The town's other thermal areas are around the Wiesbaden and the municipal pool, and the Pool Spring up in Box Canyon itself measured 69°C. The tubs are a lodge amenity. The operator's site sells rooms, including single king, single queen, double queen and San Juan family suite options, and lists no day pass or soaking fee, so plan on an overnight stay. Room rates are shown only through the booking engine. Check-in is after 4 p.m. and check-out is at 11 a.m. The minimum stay is one night from October 1 to May 15 and two nights from May 16 to September 30. Breakfast is an optional $10 per person add-on, free for children under 12. House rules set the minimum check-in age at 21, and children under 6 aren't allowed in the hot tubs. Dogs are allowed in ground-floor rooms other than suites and apartments, at $30 a night with two per room. Smoking of any kind isn't allowed. The front desk keeps 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. hours, until 10 p.m. on summer Fridays and Saturdays, so call ahead for a late arrival.

Sources: boxcanyonouray.com (1), boxcanyonouray.com (2), coloradogeologicalsurvey.org (1), coloradogeologicalsurvey.org (2)

Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs (Ouray, Colorado) is mapped within a quarter mile of drivable access. This is a developed resort or spa on the operator's own site. Vent heat in the NOAA thermal springs survey: 140°F, scalding. No price is given in the sources found and the listing records lodging on-site and pet friendly. Ask on site about clothing rules; nothing in our file settles the policy.

Source: Colorado Geological Survey Resource Series 15 (1981): two Box Canyon Motel Hot Springs behind the motel measured 60°C (140°F), a source reading. The operator publishes no tub temperature.