Can you soak at Pinkerton Hot Springs?
No. Our research found no place to soak at Pinkerton Hot Springs.
This Pinkerton Hot Springs entry is a thermal point beside Animas Spring Road, thirteen miles or so from Durango in La Plata County. The record carries no temperature, so do not assume it is soakable. Ownership and public access are not recorded either. What the record does hold is water chemistry from a 1976 survey, including pH and several dissolved minerals.
Roadside. The point is under thirty yards from Animas Spring Road. Elevation is not recorded. Winter snowfall totals around sixty-seven inches with a moderately wet year overall. Chris Park campground is a bit under five miles away.
The record lists no best months. Go to look, and do not count on a soak. Check ownership and access on the ground since the record is silent. The chemistry, nearly fifty years old, is the one hard thing on file beyond the location itself.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Pinkerton Hot Springs.
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
- Setting
- Hillside
- The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the west.
- Highest ground nearby
- 400 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the west
A slice through the ground from west to east, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's about 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 62% of the springs on this site.
Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
- State record Most iron of Colorado's 42 springs with an iron reading: 4,500 µg/L
The water at Pinkerton Hot Springs is slightly acidic (pH 6.4). It is notably rich in calcium (may support bone density and joint health), magnesium (known for muscle relaxation and stress relief), and sodium (supports circulation and skin hydration).
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Overview Chris Park is located near Haviland Lake in southwestern Colorado, 18 miles north of Durango. Visitors enjoy the area for its hiking, canoeing and fishing opportunities.Recreation Several trailheads are in the vicinity, including Forebay, Goulding, Elbert Creek and Purgatory Flats. The historic Rico-to-Rockwood Wagon Road passes through Chris Park. Built in the late 1800s, the road was used for six years until the railway opened.Facilities The campground offers three group sites. Sit...
Pinkerton Hot Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear.
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Springs Near Pinkerton Hot Springs
Slightly Acidic Springs (pH ~6.4)
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