Rivers, creeks and streams weave their way throughout Western Colorado, painting our landscape with life, but they also provide a natural cold plunge right in our backyards. Cold plunging is a form of therapy where an individual submerges in a body of water that is at least 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit. Even as the weather shifts with the colder months, this form of therapy still proves to heal your muscles, fascia and joints from the outside in. Modern technology has created a standard for people who want to practice this recovery and wellness tool to purchase a physical bath. However, this timeless allure originally lies in the practice of plunging in a natural body of water where numerous additional benefits await.

Boulder-based exercise physiologist, Josh Watson, recalls one of the first documented cold plunges in the 18th century. He illustrates the story of an injured European nobleman who noticed an elk with a noticeable limp returning to the river within his estate. The nobleman discovered that, over time, the elk’s limp improved. He took it upon himself to submerge in the water too; after several months his injuries healed, and his own mobility improved.

What once was thought of as a magic river is now concluded to be the benefits of cold plunging. Watson says that once you take that plunge your brain releases the most powerful anti-inflammatory hormone that, according to some, can only be released in a cold body of water. As a result, one’s body reduces inflammation, increases endorphins, reduces body temperature, aids in immunity and metabolism and may aid in tissue regeneration.

Avid cold-plunger and Steamboat Springs native, Lance Ostrom, says he has been practicing this therapy for decades, beginning in bodies of water off Rabbit Ears Pass. He makes it a habit when biking, hiking, hunting or backpacking to follow fresh-water streams to plunge into. Afterwards, he finds a burst of energy that keeps him energized and rejuvenated for miles.

The natural water in Colorado is pristine. Most of it is snow melt. “Being at high altitudes away from cities gives us better quality water with less urban pollution,” Watson explains. “Rivers and natural bodies of water naturally cleanse and detoxify [submerges].”

Ostrom finds plunging in wild water easier than getting into a tub because it feels more untouched and innate. He says his “dopamine levels are off the chart,” when he’s outside, in our natural habitat. He notes that taking that initial step may be challenging but assures that doing so will improve the rest of your day because nothing will be as hard as jumping into frigid water.
This mindset has rewritten the experienced plunger’s inner dialogue for everyday life.

“My brain may be telling me there is an easy way out,” Ostrom says. “And [cold plunging] is my way of quieting the voice in my head.”

Taking a plunge in open waters is also better for the environment. Artificial cold plunges not only waste water, but are essentially refrigerators that drain electricity.

“Think every time you plug [an artificial cold plunge] in, that big coal plant in Pueblo that supplies most of our electricity spews out a big plume of coal ash for the cities’ children to breathe in on their walk to school,” Watson says.

Although the heat is halting, our natural water supply is arguably more beneficial this time of year. The waters’ temperatures are dropping making it cooler for our bodies to absorb the advantages in our elevations.

Ostrom credits his spiritual, emotional and physical health alignment to this consistent ritual. “It has opened my mental world, and it crazy that it took sitting in water to do it.”

Plunge into your new ritual today. Start by choosing a stream to trek alongside or plan a sunrise dopamine splash in any safe crevice along the Colorado, Roaring Fork, Yampa or Eagle Rivers.

Wild Water Cold Plunging in Western Colorado