They might not seem like much — three small, round pools sourced by a hot spring along a county road in Buena Vista. But Coloradans love any new soaking opportunity, as evidenced by the busy debut winter of Charlotte Hot Springs.

And however small the scene appears, it’s a big deal for owner Glen Merrifield.

It’s a dream “damn near 100 years in the making,” he said.

Charlotte Hot Springs is named for his grandmother. She was married to Roy Merrifield. Family history maintains he was one of the first miners to set up a tent along the Arkansas River in the late 1800s, going on to work with one of the valley’s first homesteading families, the Holloways.

Gold and silver were the goals, “but they ended up mining hot springs,” Merrifield said. “They had a spring coming out of the mountain, and they mined that back 400 feet and had 300 gallons (a minute) of free flowing water.”

This was high along Cottonwood Pass. “They were gonna pipe that water five miles down into town, down there right around the center of town, and build a hotel-type gig,” Merrifield said.

A passed-down prospectus lays out the idea from the late 1930s and ’40. “Then the war came along,” Merrifield said. 

The idea was scrapped. The years gave way to a different enterprise for Merrifield’s family: Close to the center of town now is Merrifield’s Garden Hut, the shop stocked from the greenhouses about five miles west of town. Merrifield’s parents started growing here in the ’70s.

The greenhouses sit on the 60-acre property now also home to Charlotte Hot Springs. The same geothermal water feeding the greenhouses also feeds the pools.

Approaching drivers might first notice the building spanning 60-by-120 feet, 40-plus feet high. It inspires confusion upon first glance, Merrifield said.

“Then you go inside, and it’s like you walked into the tropics,” he said.

He’s still populating the indoor botanical garden featuring exotic plants and palm trees. A waterfall pours into a pond, serenading visitors who have taken their packed lunches inside. Outside, they soak in the pools on a terraced, fenced-in deck surrounded by pines, with Mount Princeton in view.

Merrifield traces today’s concept back to 1985, when he started thinking about ways to further take advantage of the water his parents adjudicated the previous decade. This was in picking up an old family dream — and taking a note from hot springs nearby.

“I could see what Cottonwood Hot Springs did, how packed they were,” Merrifield said. “I thought, Gee, I’m probably missing out here.”

Charlotte Hot Springs is not Cottonwood Hot Springs nor the larger Mount Princeton Hot Springs, he emphasizes. It’s a “boutique hot springs,” he said, “a mom and pop.”

“Intimate” is the word he prefers, “packed” the word he fears. The three pools are prone to fill fast on weekends. “We may have to go to reservations,” Merrifield said. “But right now it’s just walk-in.”

Pricing and more information are posted at coloradohotspringsresort.com: $30 for adults (older than 17) Monday-Thursday, $25 for youth, seniors and military. Day passes are $5 more Friday-Sunday.

Merrifield’s family also rents two rustic cabins a short drive away, with their own private hot springs: the one-bedroom Holloway Cabin (starting at $450 a night) and the two-bedroom Merrifield Cabin ($600).

The old cabins might symbolize the scrappy origins of a family here — a dream generations in the making. Just like his grandparents before him, Merrifield in recent decades ran into his own funding and logistical challenges to realize Charlotte Hot Springs.

“If I got one thing to be proud of, it’s that I stuck with it,” he said.