Bustling, touristy GLENWOOD SPRINGS sits at the end of impressive Glenwood Canyon, 160 miles west of Denver and within easy striking distance of Vail and Aspen. Just north of the confluence of the Roaring Fork and Colorado rivers, the town offers endless recreational opportunities. Long used by the Ute as a place of relaxation, the hot springs here were the target for unscrupulous speculators who broke treaties and established resort facilities in the 1880s. North from downtown and across the Eagle River, is the town's main attraction, the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool , 410 N River St (summer daily 7.30am-10pm; rest of year daily 9am-10pm; $8), announced by its sulphurous smell. Billed as the "world's largest outdoor mineral hot springs pool," it sports an exhilarating water slide and special "jacuzzi" seats into which water is jetted. Next door, you can de-stress in the natural subterranean steam baths of the Yampah Spa Vapor Caves at 709 E Sixth St (daily 9am-9pm; $8.75), where cool marble benches are set deep in ancient caves.

Some of the West's most colorful characters came here in the early days, including Dr John R. "Doc" Holliday , a dentist better known as a gambler, gunslinger and shooter in the gunfight at the OK Corral. A chronic tuberculosis sufferer, Holliday came to the springs for a cure but died just a few months later in November 1887, at the age of 35. He is buried on a bluff overlooking the town in the picturesque Linwood Cemetery. In the paupers' section lies the grave of Harvey Logan, alias bank robber Kid Curry, a member of Butch Cassidy's notorious Hole-in-the-Wall gang.

Whitewater Rafting, I-70 exit 114 (tel 970/945-8477), arranges good float trips and whitewater rides along a fairly placid twenty-mile stretch of the Colorado River. Hiking and mountain biking trails alongside streams and waterfalls crisscross the White River National Forest surrounding the town, and offer good fishing opportunities. The nearby, family-oriented Sunlight Mountain Resort offers some of the least expensive skiing in the region, accessible by shuttle from Glenwood Springs (tel 970/945-7491; $1).

Glenwood Springs

• Glenwood Springs
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