Page 50 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

SPAS & WELLNESS
views. From five-star luxury resorts and
posh day spas to holistic healing programs
and “hippie hot springs,” the array of
retreats will dazzle even the most experi-
enced serenity seeker. Here are some of our
favorite spots for the ultimate escape.
Taking the Waters
Home to numerous large geothermal areas,
California has for centuries been a cele-
brated mineral springs destination, with
myriad spas statewide. Two hours inland
SUNSET YOGA in La Jolla Cove,
top; spa pool at Terranea Resort,
above; Travertine Hot Springs,
Bridgeport, right; Sonoma’s
Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary,
Freestone, opposite.
48 2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
from Los Angeles, Desert Hot Springs offers
dozens of options, from the glamorous,
sprawling Two Bunch Palms (featured in
the movie The Player) to cozy boutique inns
like Hacienda Hot Springs. The Central
Coast also boasts famous baths, such as
Esalen (equally known for its extensive list
of alternative-education workshops) and
Tassajara, the first Zen monastery built out-
side of Asia. But small, funky Calistoga in
the north is the state’s oldest spa town,
renowned not only for hot springs but also
abundant volcanic ash used for therapeutic
mud treatments.
Eight thousand years ago, the Wappo
Indians named the area “Ta La Ha Lu Si,”
meaning “Beautiful Land” or “Oven Place,”
and today spa facilities run the gamut from
luxurious to laid-back. The oldest in Calis-
toga—and likely California—is Indian
Springs, opened in 1862 by Sam Brannan,
the first Gold Rush millionaire. The 17-acre
property features a recently remodelled
Olympic-size heated mineral pool (compli-
mentary with spa treatment on weekdays;
$30 extra on weekends), an adults-only
pool with dining and beverage service, plus
mud baths, steam rooms steeped with
eucalyptus, and a meditation pond.
LILY A./CREATIVE COMMONS/FLICKR; PETER COOPER/ISHOOT; KRIS WIKTOR/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: CHARLES NADEAU/CREATIVE COMMONS/FLICKR