Rainbow Hot Springs

General description: Moderate hike to small streamside pool in wilderness. Undeveloped except for rocks piled to make a pool below springs. Rainbow Hot Springs spouts from a crease in the solid rock about 15 feet above the West Fork of the San Juan River, cascading into a small foot-soaking pool fashioned from log and rock by busy hands, and then falls into the main pool below. The big pool shares a short, stacked-rock wall with the river on one side and the soaking pool on the other. The soaking pool is about 15 feet by 6 feet, and perhaps 3 feet deep at its deepest point. It is a delicious temperature for soaking in summertime, and just big enough to hold two or three people in comfort—more if they are already good friends. The beauty of the hot springs is its secluded location and riverside location. You can become warm from your soak, splash in the cold river for a heart-thumping moment, and then leap back into the soothing warmth. No sleepy nerve cells after that! From your protected river hot pot you can enjoy crisp, fresh air and green trees all around you, with the roaring stream filling your ears with water music.