Best family vacation spots in America: Glenwood Springs, Colorado

May 18, 10:19 AMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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Glenwood Hot Springs pool and club house

Family vacations are the best. They shape your memories and mold your idea of what vacations should be like for the rest of your life. In this on-going series, I'll introduce you to some of the best places for taking your family on a vacation. First up:

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Tucked in the midst of the Rockies about two and a half to three hours west of Denver on I-70 is the mountain town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It boasts family fun for families with all ages of children.

It's home to the world's largest natural hot springs pool, river rafting adventures, cave tours and even an amusement park.

My family and I just traveled to Glenwood Springs last week and had a wonderful vacation. We stayed at the Hot Springs Lodge, which is owned by the same people that run the hot springs pool. It's a very nice hotel in a convenient spot in the center of town, making there no need to travel by car really. You can walk to the cute streets and shops of downtown and to many nearby restaurants. The rooms were spacious and we had a fantastic balcony that gave us the perfect bird's eye view of the pool, mountains and downtown area. And included in every night's stay is access for the day to the hot springs pool for everyone in the fam staying at the lodge. Even if you only stay for one night, you get access to the pool the day you arrive and the day you leave. Read more about the lodge HERE.

The hot springs pool itself is made up of several areas. One is a 104 degree small therapy pool. The other is a huge perfect-temperature 90 degree swimming pool. Both are maintained with strict health standards and both are heated with the natural mineral-rich hot springs waters mixed with cooler water to bring the temperatures down to usable ranges. The waters here are world famous for their healing properties and you feel it. Swimming in the pool is relaxing and revitalizing. My husband's back had been in severe pain prior to our arrival but after a few days enjoying the pools, his back is still feeling good with no medicine. He's the last person to attribute such fixes to something so easy as water, but not in this case. He says he feels better thanks to the hot springs pools. So for our family, the pool was not only fun but therapy too. For those with older children, they also have water slides here. Read more about the pools and slides HERE.

While you're in town, if you can break yourself away from the pool, a great time can also be found at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. This is home to some fabulous caverns with amazing rock formations inside, all of which can be seen on informative guided walking tours. To get here, you ride up a skytram high above the town which offers great views and is worth going on just to see the town and river below. They have a restaurant up there too that you can dine at.

Besides the cool caves, there are lots of rides the whole family will enjoy. My three year old and husband's favorite was the Canyon Flyer, which features individual cars on 3400 feet of track with amazing views. (I couldn't ride it, as I'm pregnant and neither could my 1.5 old, as the minimum age is 3.) My three year old also loved their bungee trampoline. For smaller tots, they have a sand pit with some toys that my 1.5 year old enjoyed playing in while her sister was doing the other rides. There are rides for older kids that we didn't try as well. You can get details on all of their rides and other attractions HERE.

If your family is into river rafting, Glenwood Springs also offers that. This is something I look forward to doing when my kids are older, as I love the river rafting memories I have from being a child (and as an adult). Check out rafting in Glenwood Springs HERE.

All in all, this small mountain town holds lots of excitement for the whole family, while offering relaxation at the same time. It's a must-visit family vacation spot in America... that you might not of heard of but shouldn't miss out on! My family will definitely be vacationing here again.