Valley View Hot Springs

Valley View Hot Springs is a clothing optional nature preserve in the heart of Colorado that promotes social nudity in nature. The hot springs area is a portion of a much larger piece of land called the Orient Land Trust that is a non-profit entity protecting 2200 acres pristine Colorado wilderness. It is a supremely unique location with stunning views, amazing spring fed pools to soak in and an awesome laid back vibe. Everybody is warm and welcoming which creates an instant sense of community.

Did I mention that they are non-profit? This means that the prices are intentionally kept reasonable. The number of visitors per day is intentionally limited as to keep this place comfortable and never crowded. But, this means you MUST make a reservation, sometimes months in advance, if you wish to plan a visit. This is not the kind fo place you can just drive up to and expect to be let in….it not impossible to be let in, but if it’s a busy day and the numbers are already at capacity, then you may have to sit in your car all day until somebody decides to leave, and if that happens later in the day, you just won’t get in. So we highly recommend making a reservation in advance. To make a reservation, you’ll need to make a donation to the Orient Land Trust, based on your category of donation, you’ll have different benefits. Basically, the more you donate, the more months you can book ahead. The Orient Land Trust website has a breakdown of the benefits.

There is a check-in building with a gate located at the entrance. There you will be given a map of Valley View. The staff is very helpful and will highlight directions to your lodging or campsite, as well as share information about free tours and hikes. There is some very basic snack food and bottled water sold here, along with a selection of sarongs, sweatshirts and t-shirts. Yep, had to get one, we couldn’t say no to the cute tank top. Every good trip deserves a good souvenir and even nudists need to wear clothes sometimes.

We highly recommend that you stay for a few days, as this is a place that requires a little more time to soak in. The longer you stay, the more relaxed you become, it’s probably better than Xanax, though we’ve never tried that. The hot water, the nature, the wildlife, the friendly people, the shedding of layers of clothing as well as layers of stress is quite the remedy to the hectic grind of the over-extended modern life. Valley View Hot Springs offers camping, RV hook ups and Cabins/Hostel rooms for rent. The prices are more than reasonable, and the different options mean that there should be an option for anyone and any budget. You can find a more specific price breakdown on their website.

We were invited by friends who have been going for years and already knew the details that we are sharing here. Being from Florida, we are not very cold-tolerant, so camping sounded with low temperatures dipping into the 30’s even in the middle of summer didn’t sound easy. So, we decided to book a cabin and that was the perfect choice for us. We stayed a total of 3 days, which was amazing. There was a shared kitchen and bathroom between 3 rooms which we were slightly nervous about, but it turned out great. They have a sink, stove, refrigerator, etc. The cabins are also warmed naturally by radiant floor heating pipes. We ended up having an impromptu jam session with the neighbors in the 3rd room. By the way, there are no nearby grocery stores, and no on-site dining, so be sure you bring enough food to sustain you over the time that you are there.

There is an octagon shaped open air community kitchen/pavillion for those who are camping. But this is also sort of the after hours social center, where people get together, sit around on the picnic tables and share stories, roast marshmallows, play music, and generally enjoy some post-soak vibes together. Two steps from under the roof and you have one of the best sunset views you could ask for. Don’t skip this spot during your evenings at Valley View.

One of the things that is super unique about Valley View and that is different than anywhere else we’ve been to is that it is truly 100% clothing optional. Most places that are “nudist” or “clothing optional” require nudity in the pool areas, hot tubs, saunas, etc. So if you are a first timer this is a great place to get your feet wet. It’s encouraging that despite the option to wear a swimsuit, very few people choose that option. Most visitors soak fully nude in the pools, a few women are just topless, and a few younger kids or teenagers might choose to wear a swimsuit. Having kids of our own, we appreciate that as an option, as we believe that children should always have a choice regarding their own body. Many people there identify as naturists, but others are adopting a “when in Rome” attitude and might be trying it out for the first time. So, it’s definitely a good mixing pot with people from different walks of life, different experiences, all sharing stories about places they’ve been and experiences they’ve had. At nearly 9000 ft elevation, the air temperature can get chilly and vary widely from day to day, so on a warm day you are free to hike the trails naked, but on a colder day you won’t want to, especially if you are wimpy Floridians like us.

Here is an excerpt from their website describing their philosophy on naturism. It might be one of the most perfect explanations of naturism we’ve ever read!

The hiking here is amazing, but challenging if you live anywhere close to sea level and don’t have some kind of super hemoglobin. Remember, 9000 ft. elevation is up there enough to get pretty short winded doing less exercise than you might guess. That makes the hikes around Orient Land Trust a GREAT way to get in some exercise on a daily basis, and then relax in the pools along your way. This combination seems to be a part of the relaxing vibe that fills your body to the core.

One of the longer hikes is to Orient Land Trust’s very own bat cave. It also happens to be Colorado’s largest bat caves, serving as a seasonal home to over 250,000 bats from South America. Interestingly these bats are almost exclusively all male in gender, which is a feature that this particular pocket of nature shares in common your local nude beach! At dusk these bats come out en masse to feed on the local bugs. This serves two grand benefits, one is that it creates an amazing spectacle on the dimming skyline that makes the hike worth it! The other is that we didn’t have to use bug repellant even once during our stay, all thanks to our friends the bats and their daily mosquito massacre.

What is better than enjoying Valley View? Enjoying Valley View with good friends. We are lucky to be a part of Florida Young Naturists (FYN), an incredible community of young naturists. FYN was established in 2009 and continues to grow each year. We’ve met so many great friends through this group and miraculously, thanks to some cooperative intention, 12 of us were able to make it to Valley View Hot Springs at the same time. Having friends with us on this adventure made for some unforgettable shared experiences and left us feeling more deeply connected.

About 1 hour outside of Valley View Hot Springs is Great Sand Dunes National Park and we decided to check out this epic location with a group of friends following our last day at Valley View Hot Springs. It’s such an interesting feeling to be suddenly thrown into what feels like the Sahara Desert. There are endless huge mountains of sand with stunning views and the cool light & shadow play on nature’s own art canvas. It is a photogenic spot to say the least, and the subject of a separate blog we will have out soon. Thanks for reading!