The tradition of “taking the waters” is perhaps as old as civilization itself. In prehistoric times there were sacred springs. The Romans built sophisticated baths. People long ago flocked to baths from Baden Baden, Germany to Bath, Britain. They traveled to spas in Vichy, France and Fukata, Japan. In the Americas, native peoples held sacred the waters of Saratoga, New York and Wagon Wheel Gap, Colorado.
The Historic Wagon Wheel Gap Hotel
The nomadic Ute people frequented the warm, healing waters of Wagon Wheel Gap long before European settlers discovered them. They called the hot springs and mineral waters “Little Medicine” and used them for healing and in sacred rituals. When an influx of homesteaders and miners put an end to the Ute’s annual visits to the waters, tourists took their place. More than a decade before there was a town in Creede, there was a hotel and spa at Wagon Wheel Gap.
