Arizona’s first resort, Castle Hot Springs

It is the height of visitor season in our state, and Arizona tourism started with Castle Hot Springs as the State’s first resort. It also played a key role in the development of railroad spurs.

Filmmaker and producer Kristin Atwell Ford has now produced a Rocky Mountain Emmy® Award-winnng film titled, “Castle Hot Springs: Oasis of Time.” Ford joined “Arizona Horizon” to tell us more about the film.

Castle Hot Springs History

Originally, the hot springs were used as “a place to take a rest cure,” said Ford, because of the minerals in the water. In 1905, the resort became a vacation destination and later on in the 1920s, Castle Hot Springs became popular with the wealthy crowd of people who regularly traveled overseas because of the war in Europe at the time.

“It’s magical, it is truly an oasis out in the Bradshaw mountains that is brought to life by the water that runs out of the ground… it’s a garden spot out in the desert,” Ford said.

Later in the 1970s, Mae Sue Talley “gifted the property to ASU Foundation and ASU ran it for about six years as a retreat center. In fact, the 1980 groundwater act was decided in a sequestered group out at Castle Hot Springs,” Ford said.

The resort spent over 40 years dormant due to a fire in 1976 that burned a guest house building, they reopened in 2019.

“If you can imagine the most amazing nature experience coupled with luxury beyond your wildest dreams, that is the state of the resort,” Ford said.

Ford said they worked extensively with the Arizona Historical Society, Sharlot Hall, Arizona Library, ASU and other archives to piece together the history of Castle Hot Springs.

Streaming

The movie is now available on Apple TV+ and Prime Video.

Ford appeared on “Arizona Horizon” in 2023 to discuss her film, “The Weight of a Feather,” which included a tie in with Arizona PBS. Arizona PBS Passport members can stream “The Weight of a Feather” online. Not a member? Learn more about Arizona PBS Passport, just one of the benefits you receive when you support Arizona PBS.