Radium Hot Springs: access, fees and directions

Radium Hot Springs is a primitive soaking pool on a canyon wall above the Colorado River near Kremmling, reached on foot from a BLM trailhead near the Radium Recreation Area. This is the Colorado soak, not the hot springs and town of the same name in British Columbia, Canada. The BLM's recommended way in is a trailhead at the end of Warm Springs Road, off Trough Road, with two named trails to the springs; the old social trail from Radium Road is closed. For the rest of the state's soaks, see our hot springs in Colorado guide, or the full hot springs locator map for other states.

No sourced coordinates are on file for this spot yet — see methodology.

Fact box

Field	Detail
Location	Canyon wall above the Colorado River near Kremmling; reached from the BLM's Warm Springs Road trailhead, near the Radium Recreation Area
Trailhead	Parking area and trailhead at the end of Warm Springs Road, off Trough Road (BLM, September 2026)
Trails	Warm Springs Trail (foot travel only) or Ol' Warm Springs Trail (foot, horse, bicycle and e-bike) (BLM, September 2026)
Trail length	Not published by the BLM in the sources we checked (September 2026)
Closed route	Social trail from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mugrage Site on Radium Road, closed for habitat protection (BLM, September 2026)
Parking	At the Warm Springs Road trailhead; not permitted along Radium Road between the recreation area and Trough Road (BLM, September 2026)
Temperature	Not published by the BLM; we found no listing for this site in the NOAA thermal springs archive
Day-use fee	Required for day use and camping in the Radium Recreation Area from April 1 to November 30 (BLM, September 2026); the day-use amount wasn't found in the sources we checked, so look it up on the BLM's page before you go
Legal status	Public land; BLM trail access from the Warm Springs Road trailhead. Managing agency at the pool itself (BLM or Colorado Parks and Wildlife) not stated on the BLM page
Season	No seasonal closure noted in the sources we checked (September 2026); spring snowmelt can flood and cool the pool, so summer through early fall is the usual window

Getting there: the Warm Springs Road trailhead

The BLM's page for the Radium Recreation Area separates two things. From the recreation area itself, "there are no designated trails from this area and there is no designated access to the Radium Warm Springs," and the agency says it is "looking at a potential future designated and developed trail" from there. The way in it recommends instead starts farther along Trough Road: drive about 1.5 miles northeast along Trough Road to Warm Springs Road, following the directional sign at the Radium Road and Trough Road intersection. From there, in the BLM's words, "A parking area and trailhead at the end of Warm Springs Road provides access to the Radium Warm Springs via the Warm Springs Trail open to foot travel only, or the Ol' Warm Springs Trail which is open to Foot, Horse, Bicycle and eBike travel" (BLM, Radium Recreation Area). The BLM doesn't publish the length of either trail, so plan on a walk of unknown length rather than a quick stop, and the pool sits on a canyon wall above the river, so the way back is a climb.

What's closed

Two rules matter if you're working from an older trip report. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mugrage Site on Radium Road, including its restroom and the social trail that used to lead from there to the springs, is closed to protect habitat, and the BLM asks visitors to "respect the social trail closures and restoration" that protect wildlife in the area, including its bighorn sheep. Parking is not permitted along the narrow stretch of Radium Road between the recreation area and Trough Road. Camping in the recreation area is booked only through Recreation.gov.

Fees

The BLM charges for day use and camping in the Radium Recreation Area between April 1 and November 30; in the agency's words, "Fees are required for day use and camping between April 1 - November 30," per its Radium Recreation Area page. The page lists camping rates but no day-use amount, and it doesn't say whether the day-use fee applies at the Warm Springs Road trailhead or only at the sites in the recreation area itself, so check the BLM's page for current day-use fees before you go and don't count on the soak being free in season.

How this guide was researched

This page was compiled from the BLM's official page for the Radium Recreation Area. We haven't visited this site ourselves. Trail, closure, parking and fee-season details come from a direct read of the BLM's page in September 2026; the page gives no day-use amount, so no figure is stated here. Check the BLM's page for current fees before you go.

Before you go

Spring snowmelt floods and cools this pool, so summer through early fall is the more reliable window to find it soakable at all. Stay on the two named trails from the Warm Springs Road trailhead: the closed social trails are part of a habitat restoration, and the recreation area itself has no designated route down to the water. No official temperature reading for this spring is published by the BLM, and we found no listing for it in the NOAA/NCEI thermal springs archive either, so there's no reliable number to cite here; test any water you find with your hand before getting in, and keep your head above the surface, since natural warm-freshwater pools like this are the kind of exposure the CDC warns about for Naegleria fowleri (CDC, Preventing brain infection when swimming). The risk is very low in absolute terms, but it costs nothing to keep your head above water. See our hot spring safety guide for water safety, and our access and legality guide for why a land manager's closure notice outranks an older trip report or a map app.

FAQ

Is there an official trail to Radium Hot Springs?

Yes, from the trailhead at the end of Warm Springs Road: the Warm Springs Trail (foot travel only) or the Ol' Warm Springs Trail (open to foot, horse, bicycle and e-bike travel), per the BLM. What doesn't exist is a designated trail from the Radium Recreation Area itself, and the old social trail from the CPW Mugrage Site on Radium Road is closed.

How do you get to Radium Hot Springs?

Drive Trough Road northeast to the Warm Springs Road turnoff, about 1.5 miles along Trough Road per the BLM's directions, follow the directional sign at the Radium Road and Trough Road intersection, and park at the trailhead at the end of Warm Springs Road. Don't park along Radium Road.

How long is the hike to Radium Hot Springs?

The BLM doesn't publish a length for either trail in the sources we checked (September 2026), so we don't state one.

Is Radium Hot Springs free?

Not during fee season. The BLM requires fees for day use and camping in the Radium Recreation Area from April 1 to November 30; the day-use amount isn't on the page we checked, so look it up on the BLM's page before you go.

Is this the same as Radium Hot Springs in Canada?

No. This is an undeveloped soak on public land above the Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado, reached by BLM trails. The other Radium Hot Springs is in British Columbia, Canada.

When is the best time to visit Radium Hot Springs?

Summer through early fall. Spring snowmelt can flood and cool the pool, sometimes making it unreachable.

We haven't visited these places ourselves, and every page says so rather than implying otherwise. Details are compiled from public land-manager, USGS and NOAA sources and cross-checked where possible; conditions, access rules and fees change without notice, so confirm with the managing agency before you go. Page last checked September 2026. Read our full methodology.