The first hike of the season was a doozy but such a rewarding one. It is a 6.2 mile out and back trail, with an elevation gain of 920 feet. It was all up hill on the way to the Hot Springs but then we got the descent going back down. We had to walk a little on the street to get to the trail. The trail started off on wide open field, it then got a little more narrow.
After the first mile we got to walk next to the Hot Spring Creek. It was early in the morning, there were a few bugs out but not that bad as long as we kept walking. We were able to see green trees, caterpillars, wild flowers and a few butterflies. After walking for about 1.5 hours we made it to the Hot Springs. We took about a 10 minute break then checked into the front desk and headed down to the pools.
The Hot Springs park has 3 or 4 pools that vary in heat. The parks website suggested to start off in the lower temperature pools first and then make your way to the hotter ones. We did that and by the time we got to the hottest one we spent maybe a few minutes in it, it was pretty hot. There are many health benefits of soaking in the hot springs. There are about 15 different minerals in the pools. We stayed for about 2 hours and then headed back down the hill. The hike was so much easier going back down. The drive home was a different so we could experience a different area. We ended up following the Poudre River for a very long time and that river was full and flowing. We had another fun weekend exploring the area.
