Penny Hot Springs, Natural hot spring in Pitkin County, Colorado.

Penny Hot Springs are natural thermal pools located on the west bank of the Crystal River in Pitkin County. The water collects in several basins that are contained by strategically positioned rocks to prevent the influx of cold river water.

Native Americans used the springs for generations before Daniel Penny, a local hotelier, ran a bathhouse and small hotel near the Avalanche Creek railroad stop. In the 1960s, after skinny dippers began using the springs, locals who objected bulldozed the bathhouse. Pitkin County acquired the land and restored the spring in the early 1990s.

Native Americans used the springs for generations before Daniel Penny, a local hotelier, gave them his name. In the 1960s, when skinny dippers began using the pools, locals bulldozed his old bathhouse in protest. Pitkin County bought the land and restored the spring in the early 1990s.

The pools can hold up to ten people and measure about 20 feet (6 meters) across with a depth of about 2 feet (60 centimeters). You can adjust the temperature by moving the rock walls to control the mix of warm and cold water.

The cliffs called Hell's Gates stand at the foot of the spring on the Crystal River, not on both banks; the water leaves the rock at 133 °F (56 °C) and runs into the river. Bathers cool a pool by shifting the river stones that hold back the current.