Colorado Hot Springs RV Parks: Where to Camp Near the Soaks

Colorado has more developed hot springs than almost any state in the country, and soaking after a day in the mountains is one of the great pleasures of RVing here. But there’s a planning quirk worth knowing up front: almost none of the famous springs let you park your rig at the water’s edge. The springs themselves are commercial pools, historic bathhouses, or resort soaking terraces — so the real question for RVers isn’t “which spring,” it’s “which campground gets me closest to the soak with the hookups I need.”

That’s how we’ve built this guide. We’ve focused on four hot springs hubs that genuinely work for RVers — Pagosa Springs, Glenwood Springs, the Mount Princeton area near Buena Vista, and Steamboat Springs — and the verified parks that put you within easy reach of each. We’ve left out springs with no realistic RV camping nearby, because a beautiful soak you can’t get your rig to isn’t useful trip planning.

A note on honesty: hot springs towns are tourist towns, which means the RV parks fill in summer and the pools themselves can sell timed-entry tickets that sell out. Prices have crept up — full hookups in these towns now commonly run $55–70 a night. Plan ahead, book the soak as well as the site, and you’ll have one of the most relaxing trips Colorado offers. This guide is part of our broader Colorado coverage; for the full statewide picture see our best RV parks in Colorado flagship.

Renting an RV for this trip? Compare rigs, prices, and pickup locations on RVshare and Outdoorsy — both let you filter by rig size, dates, and location.

Pagosa Springs — the deepest, and the easiest base#

Pagosa Springs, in the far southwest near Wolf Creek Pass, is built around what’s billed as one of the world’s deepest geothermal hot springs. The Springs Resort downtown has a stack of terraced soaking pools right on the San Juan River, and the town itself is small, walkable, and far less hectic than Glenwood. For RVers, Pagosa is the most accommodating hot springs town in the state: several full-hookup parks sit within a couple of miles of the pools.

Pagosa Riverside Campground#

A long-running riverside park between town and Wolf Creek Pass, set along the San Juan River with the springs about two miles away. A solid all-around pick.

• Hookups: 42 full-hookup sites (water/electric/sewer); 57 sites with 50-amp service
• Sites: Riverside RV sites plus camper cabins
• Cost: $59–69/night for two (approximate)
• Max RV length: Big rigs accommodated; confirm site when booking
• Reservations: Direct
• Best for: Riverside setting, easy two-mile run into the springs

Pagosa Springs RV Park (Hwy 84)#

About 10 miles south of town on Highway 84, this grass-sited park is a quieter, slightly-removed alternative with full hookups and 50-amp service.

• Hookups: 41 full-hookup sites (water/electric/sewer), 50 amp
• Sites: 41 RV sites plus cabins
• Cost: $55–68/night for two (approximate)
• Max RV length: Grass pull-throughs; confirm size
• Reservations: Direct
• Best for: A calmer base a short drive from the soaking pools

Field tip: If you’re heading to or from Pagosa over Wolf Creek Pass, drive it in daylight and good weather. It’s a high, steep pass (over 10,800 feet at the summit) that gets weather year-round — including summer afternoon storms. Top off fuel in town before you climb.

Glenwood Springs — the big classic, right off I-70#

Glenwood Springs is the headliner: the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool is one of the largest hot springs pools in the world, and the town also has Iron Mountain Hot Springs and the Glenwood Caverns up on the canyon wall. It’s right on I-70, which makes it easy to reach and correspondingly busy. RV camping in the immediate town is limited, so the handful of nearby parks fill fast in summer.

Ami’s Acres Campground#

A family-run park (operating since 1973) about three miles west of downtown, ringed by mountains with Colorado River views, and only about 2.5 miles from the Hot Springs Pool and Iron Mountain Hot Springs.

• Hookups: Full (electric, water, sewer) on the larger sites; easy pull-through access
• Sites: RV sites plus tent sites
• Cost: Approximate; confirm current rates directly
• Max RV length: Up to about 42 feet
• Reservations: Direct
• Best for: The closest practical full-hookup base for the Glenwood pools

The Hideout at Glenwood Springs#

A wooded park with cabins, tiny homes, and a set of full-hookup RV sites. Note the tighter rig limit — this one suits mid-size rigs rather than the biggest coaches.

• Hookups: Full-hookup RV sites (limited)
• Sites: RV sites plus cabins and tiny homes
• Cost: Approximate; confirm current rates directly
• Max RV length: About 36 feet or less on full-hookup sites
• Reservations: Direct
• Best for: Smaller-to-mid-size rigs wanting a quieter, wooded setting near town

Mount Princeton & Buena Vista — the mountain soak#

In the Arkansas River Valley, ringed by the highest concentration of 14,000-foot peaks in the state, Buena Vista is the base for Mount Princeton Hot Springs — a resort with creekside pools fed by natural geothermal water, including hot pools you can dig into right along Chalk Creek. This is the most scenic, mountain-immersed soak on the list, and the valley has genuinely big-rig-friendly camping.

Mt. Princeton RV Park (Buena Vista)#

The most convenient base for the hot springs, with over 50 big-rig-friendly full-hookup sites at about 7,965 feet, surrounded by 14er views.

• Hookups: Full (30/50 amp, water, sewer, Wi-Fi)
• Sites: 50+ full-hookup sites, many pull-through
• Cost: Approximate (seasonal); confirm directly
• Max RV length: Up to 60 feet — comfortably big-rig friendly
• Reservations: Direct
• Best for: Big rigs, mountain scenery, and the shortest hop to Mount Princeton Hot Springs

Arrowhead Point Campground & Cabins (Buena Vista)#

Another well-equipped Buena Vista option with both 30- and 50-amp service, pull-throughs, and a game room — a good value alternative in town.

• Hookups: Electric 30/50 amp, dump station; full-hookup sites available
• Sites: RV sites plus cabins
• Cost: ~$40–49 spring/summer, ~$30–38 fall/winter (1–2 guests, approximate)
• Max RV length: Pull-through sites; confirm size when booking
• Reservations: Direct
• Best for: Value-minded RVers using Buena Vista as a hot springs and 14er base

Steamboat Springs — soak after the slopes#

Steamboat is best known for skiing, but it’s a year-round hot springs town: the rustic Strawberry Park Hot Springs sits in the forest above town (a rough, sometimes 4WD-only access road — not an RV destination itself), and there are developed pools in town as well. The practical RV play is to base at the one full-hookup park in Steamboat and drive to the soaks.

Steamboat Springs KOA Holiday#

The only campground right in Steamboat, along the Yampa River about three miles from downtown, open year-round and notably big-rig friendly. A free town bus runs from nearby.

• Hookups: Full hookups, up to 50 amp; pull-through and back-in sites
• Sites: RV sites plus cabins
• Cost: Approximate (varies sharply by season — ski-season rates are higher); confirm directly
• Max RV length: Up to 85 feet — among the most big-rig friendly on this list
• Reservations: Direct (KOA); open year-round
• Best for: A year-round Steamboat base for both summer soaks and winter ski-and-soak trips

Field tip: Don’t try to take your RV up to Strawberry Park Hot Springs — the access road is narrow, steep, and frequently requires 4WD in winter. Park the rig at the KOA and take a tow vehicle or a shuttle. The in-town pools are the easy option if you’d rather not drive at all.

Comparison table#

Park	Region	Cost/night	Hookups	Max length	Reservations
Pagosa Riverside Campground	Pagosa Springs	$59–69	Full (50 amp)	Big rigs	Direct
Pagosa Springs RV Park	Pagosa Springs	$55–68	Full (50 amp)	Confirm	Direct
Ami’s Acres	Glenwood Springs	Varies	Full	Up to ~42 ft	Direct
The Hideout	Glenwood Springs	Varies	Full (limited)	~36 ft	Direct
Mt. Princeton RV Park	Buena Vista	Varies	Full (30/50)	Up to 60 ft	Direct
Arrowhead Point	Buena Vista	$40–49	Electric/full (30/50)	Confirm	Direct
Steamboat Springs KOA	Steamboat	Varies	Full (50 amp)	Up to 85 ft	Direct

Planning a hot springs RV trip#

Routing. These four hubs don’t sit on one easy loop. Pagosa is deep in the southwest (pair it with Durango and Mesa Verde); Glenwood is on I-70 in the central mountains; Buena Vista is in the Arkansas River Valley; and Steamboat is up in the northwest. Pick one or two that fit your broader route rather than trying to string all four together in a single trip.

Booking the soak, not just the site. The popular pools — Glenwood Hot Springs, the Springs Resort in Pagosa, Iron Mountain — increasingly use timed entry that sells out on busy days. Book your soaking tickets when you book your campsite, especially for summer and holiday weekends.

Seasons and elevation. Hot springs are a four-season draw, and a few of these parks (the Steamboat KOA, some Pagosa parks) stay open year-round. But you’ll be at 6,000–8,000 feet, mountain passes can hold snow into late spring and arrive early in fall, and many smaller parks close from roughly October through April. Winter soaking trips are magical but demand real winter-driving prep.

Budget. Full hookups in these towns run roughly $55–70 a night in Pagosa, similar to higher in Glenwood, and around $40–60 in Buena Vista, with ski-season Steamboat rates higher still. Add pool admission on top. Mixing in a night or two at a nearby state park (see our best RV parks in Colorado guide) keeps the overall trip affordable.

If your route runs through the San Luis Valley, pair this with our guide to RV camping near Great Sand Dunes — it’s a natural add-on south of the central hot springs corridor.