Stratton Spring

This was my favorite mineral spring in Manitou because of the sculpture, the interesting way we found it, and it just says "magic" to me. We only found 4 out of the 8 springs in town, but that's because we were walking around in snow and it was getting late. Prior to finding this spring (by accident) - This particular spring makes a high pitch noise that I mistook for birds screeching, so we walked over to investigate, and here it was! We also found the Shoshone Spring (not working), Cheyenne Spring and the Navajo Spring. All of these springs have their own stories. According to the Mineral Springs Foundation, this particular spring was named after Winfried Scott Stratton, who struck it rich with gold in the early 1900's. When he died he left his fortune of several millions of dollars to indigent children and the elderly. "On February 21, 1936, at a depth of 283 feet, sparkling soda water was struck flowing at 25 gallons per minute. Today, Stratton Spring stands as one of Manitou's iconic mineral spring assets along its downtown corridor, ensuring Winfield Scott Stratton's legacy. (from Mineral Springs Foundation webpage)"The water here is sparkling, but not as salty as the Cheyenne Spring. It had the mildest taste of all the springs in town and the sodium, potassium and calcium content here was less than all of the other springs.

You will find this natural spring right on the Manitou Springs strip near the traffic circle. It not only serves as a spring but is also has a nice sculpture on it. The bronze sculpture depicts a lady, known as "the maiden of the water", bending over. The statue is on a semicircular pedestal and under a semi-circular pergola. It is a very nice spring set-up and draws you to the spring. The statue, spring, and little plaza area that it is located could use a little TLC and is in need of some maintenance. It is still operational, but just needs some attention.The spring is named in honor of Winfield Scott Stratton, who became the region's first self-made millionaire in 1891, after discovering a huge payload of 1.3 million ounces of gold. In 1936 his Foundation drilled the Spring in his honor after his untimely death in 1902.The spring flows at about 25 gallons per minute and appeared to having air coming out with the water as evident from its hissing. It has a seltzer water taste, and this and water from the other springs are rumored to have healing properties. The water is an acquired taste, but drinkable.This is not a very long stop and is one of many springs in the area. This is something that you would probably just stumble across and not a destination. There is metered street parking within a reasonable walking distance from here but I recommend combining a stop here with other activities like a visit to the tourist strip, with shops and restaurants, that it is located. The good news is that you can fill your water bottles here as well as look at a nice piece of street art. It is definitely worth a look if you are in the area.