Last year we experienced the most visitors ever at the hot springs. Because of the way our society is set up, weekends, holidays, and summer are the times that most people can take their vacations. The effect here is that the springs are busy during those times. The message that we would like to communicate is to call ahead. Even if your plans are for a day visit, it helps us know how many people are coming and a quick call notifying us of your arrival saves you from being turned away on those days we reach our capacity. Indoor accommodations are popular and reservations are usually necessary to get a cabin or room. Camping is the low cost option and tent sites are numerous. However, we do reach capacity limits for overnight and day visitors. Be wise, call ahead.

Recognition, Respect, Responsibility
  -- Neil and Terry Seitz (Founders of Valley View Hot Springs & Orient Land Trust)

Welcome! Now that you have discovered and enjoyed a little "Heaven on Earth", you are also a steward of Valley View Hot Springs, and Orient Land Trust. Recognize where you are and how your presence affects the place and the people here with you. Act respectfully to the water, the land, and other people. Be responsible for what you say, what you do, and, the attitude you demonstrate.

Punxsutawney Phil sees an early spring, and we are certainly seeing evidence of it here at Valley View Hot Springs! Visitation is up again for the first two months of 2016. More people are coming to the hot springs and they are coming more often. Good for us, yes? Maybe, it's a mixed blessing. We're glad that others are finding the hot springs attractive but it does mean some extra pressures on the fragile and small ecosystem. What does this mean to you?

Consider a more conscientious approach to your visit. Adopt a "pack in--pack out" way of thinking. The collection space for recyclables and refuse is limited. To dispose of recyclables entails a TWO HUNDRED MILE round trip! Additionally, the volume of trash accumulated is tremendous. We appreciate any effort to alleviate the burden of the land trust handling recyclables and trash as we strive to maintain the natural beauty.

Everyone loves their pet. However, not everyone loves the other guys pet. Orient Land Trust allows pets. We walk the fine line between including what is to many another member of the family while recognizing that pets can cause problems. Some of the recurring complaints associated with pet visitation are: barking, aggressiveness, dog poop, animals in the pools, dog hair, and many people's allergies to name a few. Pets have an impact on wildlife, our grounds, the serenity, the peace and quiet. It also affects the land, water, and other visitors. If your pet isn't a good fit, consider the effects and make other arrangements. Thank you for using the provided dog poop bags!

Perhaps most importantly, please vacate your accommodation by NOON on the day of your departure. Housekeeping and Grounds Maintenance are busy and work hard to make sure all accommodations are clean and ready by four o'clock every afternoon. You can help by being out of your accommodation by noon on the day you check out. As always, please stay and play, soak and relax until 10 p.m. on your last day.

"Heaven on Earth" depends on YOU!

You might have noticed that the progress bar for the WWTP campaign has been removed. We first want to thank all of those generous people who donated to the campaign. Your support and donations helped us immensely. The total costs of this necessary infrastructure upgrade was around $300,000. The exploration of different designs, the design fees and the permitting fees were paid by visitation and operations income. The construction phase cost $180,000 and we borrowed $100,000. With your contributions, we have already paid about half of that loan leaving us with only about $50,000 to pay and up to four years remaining on the loan schedule. We don't think it will take but two more years with modest payments. Therefore, we are ending the successful fundraising campaign! Of course, your donations to Orient Land Trust are still very much appreciated and vital to our continued effectiveness as a conservation organization. Once again, our deep and insufficiently expressed gratitude for your support. We have supporters with strong shoulders!

It's winter and the snow and ice are accumulating. Look for improvements around the swimming pool. We have laid out some mats and are installing a hot springs water heated system to prevent icy surfaces around the swimming pool. We'll save some shoveling time and cut down on slippery surfaces!

Do you dream of a chance to live at Valley View Hot Springs?  The Seitz’s are looking for someone to live in their home and help care for Neil who has a neurological condition and dementia.  Duties will be part-time providing companionship and personal care for Neil, as well as assisting in case of a fall or other emergency. This is a paid position, and would evolve as Neil’s condition and needs change. Experience with in-home or dementia care preferred, but qualities of empathy, humor, patience and a strong back are most important. Please contact Terry at if interested.

The idea was to take it easy this year and not try to do so much in December. Oh well, it was a good idea. Some of the projects that we worked on this December: install geothermally heated floor in Cottonwood cabin, flagstone path to heated pools, tile the Pool Bath showers, fix, replace, and refinish some of the well worn parts of Main Bath, prepare Spruce House (across the road from the Welcome Center) for rental, set up massage area in Spruce House, and the usual deep cleaning of the buildings. Biting off all those projects began to look like more than we could chew but we are up and running and all the little pieces are coming together.  Thanks to volunteers Mark, Adam, and Bruce for their hard work. We stayed busy and hope that you like the results.

The January Board Meeting is Saturday, January 16, 2016 beginning at 9:00 am. This time we are gathering at the Spruce House for the meeting. (Spruce House is the house across the road from the Welcome Center.) We are finally letting Neil and Terry keep their house on board meetings trusting that they will still attend and provide the meaningful feedback that keeps us on track. Many thanks to the Seitz family for letting us take over on board weekends for fourteen years!

This is our second year of participating in the Colorado Gives Day. Your generosity this year has been amazing. Orient Land Trust has strong support from many people. If you want to take advantage of one last charitable donation for 2015, the Colorado Gives Day is an excellent time. While I’m thinking of it, let me, again, extend  my gratitude to everyone that helped make this a memorable year.

December 1 through December 28, the hot springs will be closed. We open the gate again December 29th. We will be responding to phone messages throughout the time out. Things are different when we’re closed and we enjoy the change of pace. Enjoy your time with friends and family through the holiday. This may be the right time for us to wish you a Happy New Year! Thank you for 2015, a very good year.

Wednesday, October 28, the concrete trucks arrived and the astronomy pad was poured. Everything went smoothly and it's ready for the next show. The clouds came later in the day and we may have to wait a few days for a clear night. It feels good to have this stage of the astronomy program in place before