When Southern California takes on a chill, our fair-weather “bones” aren’t always easy to warm. One sure way to seek both warmth and healing comfort is to submerge your body in the hot mineral water that naturally blesses the area.
By the mid-1800s, the world was extolling the virtues of “taking the waters” or soaking in natural mineral hot water springs as a way to vacation, relax, renew and address various health problems. In the last half of the 19th century, California’s hot springs became one of these main healing destinations, often decadent haunts, of the socially elite, rich and famous. Nicely, you don’t need to be rich or famous to reap the same hot water benefits today.
Good Goo between Your Toes
Nestled down Temescal Canyon off Interstate 15 is a hot springs retreat that probably defines the genre in one of the most impressive forms: Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa or “Club Mud.” This quiet nook at the end of a rural road is filled with a plethora of hot springs pools, mounds of deep rich clay for slathering, spa treatments and a unique underground grotto, making it an escape worthy of the most stressed of us.
Originally, the Lusenos, a Native American tribe made the hot springs sacred ground, enjoying the waters that flowed naturally from Coldwater Canyon nearby. In fact, “Temescal,” the canyon in which the resort resides means, “sweat lodge,” referring to the adobe saunas the Indians constructed on the grounds. Around the 1860s, the area was marketed as a spa-going destination to weary travelers. In time, a dirt airstrip alongside was bringing in celebrities, such as W.C. Fields and Ronald Reagan, who stayed while filming in the area. Sadly, in the late 1960s, a flash flood destroyed much of what was left of the original hot springs resort.
Totally upgraded and beautifully landscaped with flowering gardens featuring its logo bird-of-paradise and manicured shrubs, Glen Ivy still retains some historical charm, though no longer an overnight resort. Glen Ivy retains two on-site mineral water wells that vary in temperature from 80 to 110 degrees, together forming an ideal temperature of about 104 degrees. Glen Ivy is nicknamed “Club Mud” due to the resort’s unique red clay mineral bath—just one of many mineral treatment options on the grounds. The communal bath is filled with fresh mineral water daily but browns to a rich terra cotta as the clay dissolves in it. Indigenous to Southern California and mined in the canyon, the red clay has a purifying effect on the skin, cleansing the pores and tightening the skin.
Besides the clay bath, the day-rate entrance entitles springs goers to a wide selection of pools and relaxation areas on the five-acre retreat. Dotted about the grounds is a water aerobics pool, individual deep soaking baths, champagne pools with extra bubbles, a lounge pool, terrace “quiet” pools and two saltwater pools. Massage and spa treatment buildings abound, as does a simple but reasonable café and modern, fully stocked locker and shower areas for men and women. But the highlight of the resort is its unique Grotto, an underground moisturizing treatment area which is available at an additional charge.
The underground Grotto is an inexpensive treatment with rich results. Guests are escorted underground via elevator and emerge in a cave-like area. Attendants with super-sized paint brushes apply a sea kelp moisturizing mask to all parts of the body not covered by a bathing suit. Guests then enter a relaxing hydrating chamber for at least 30 minutes allowing the mask to penetrate. A mineral shower area removes the green gooey mixture and is followed by a cooling down room where hot tea is served. Guests emerge totally relaxed and very soft.
Beach-close hot springs
You really don’t have to choose between a beach or a hot springs vacation when you stay at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort & Spa. I remember when Sycamore Mineral Springs was just a handful of hillside tubs, nestled in wild growth and connected by rural paths. It was a coveted escape then, but Sycamore has transformed into a prime resort as well, just around the corner from one of the Central Coast’s most beautiful beaches—Avila Beach.
Guests have been coming to this site to soak in the mineral-imbued water since the turn of the 19th century when oil explorers in the area struck hot water instead of oil. Celebrities in early Hollywood would make a side trip here on their way to Hearst’s castle home in San Simeon, and, in the 1930s, the infirmed came to soak away their maladies at Sycamore.
Today, the resort sanctuary offers a long list of rejuvenating and stress-relieving amenities. The hillside tubs are still open to the public straddle the peaceful hillside, privately ensconced behind lattice work that peeks out to the canyon vista below. The popular restaurant and bar, The Gardens of Avila, provides organic, seasonal cuisine partially sourced from the resort’s own chef’s garden. Nestled in gardens filled with blooming lilies, orchids and ferns are the resort’s luxury suites with their own private full-size mineral tubs, making them worth the extra splurge. The suites here offer views of the oak-studded hills, a full living room with antique mantled fireplace, a wet bar with microwave and a separate bedroom with high-step four-poster bed and window seat. The mineral water hot tub on the private deck is reached outside your bedroom or bathroom, most of them huddled against the lush jungle-like hillside.
Sycamore also has a fun gift shop, a pool and an award-winning spa treatment facility with a full menu of treatments; spa and wellness packages are available. For spa treatments, first soak in your own mineral tub or reserve the resort’s Oasis Waterfall Lagoon adjacent to the spa—for a touch of Fiji. The private tropical-style mineral oasis with jade green water, tranquil waterfalls and nooks for relaxing holds up to 30.
Hot springs in the desert
Desert Hot Springs reigns as a “hot water” destination for California where the discovery of hot mineral water by city founder father Cabot Yerxa took place around 1913. Reap the healing, relaxing benefits at the city’s more than 20 world-renowned hot water spas. Choose from a Moroccan-style retreat to an intimate hilltop getaway or a lush, private Grotto setting populated by celebrities. El Morocco Inn is a Casablanca getaway with round beds, authentic Moroccan-inspired décor (including round beds) and a deluxe day spa. Two Bunch Palms, a favorite of celebrities and a backdrop for movie filming, is secreted away and famous for its enchanted hot water Grotto and laid-back charm that includes cell phones on mute and a variety of overnight choices, including the deluxe Capone Suite that pays tribute to the lore that Al Capone made his hide-out at the resort in the 1920s. Today, the resort is known for its unique treatments, some offered in outdoor treatment gazebos. The first carbon neutral resort in America, the resort also prides itself on fresh local fare and artisan cocktails in its Essence restaurant that has sweeping high desert vistas.
