Contact: Eden Umble
Telephone: 707) 942-6333
Email: eumble@calistogachamber.com

There’s a fire down below Calistoga that’s been attracting humans for centuries.

At the northern end of the Napa Valley, a mile or two underground – maybe deeper – water condenses and drips its way into a vast underground reservoir in a layer of fractured rock. Below that, perhaps another mile or more, molten magma swirls and bubbles, heating the water above until it begins to turn to steam. As the steam rises, it heats more water along the way and together the mixture races upward, looking for release.

At its most noticeable exit areas, such as the geyser just north of Calistoga, the heated concoction shoots above ground like a giant sub-service water pistol. The mixture of liquid and steam can reach 350 degrees Fahrenheit and catapult itself 40 feet or more into the air.

The geyser is indeed a sight to behold but it isn’t the only show in town.  For centuries, humans have made pilgrimages to natural hot springs and mud baths in the area, seeking the curative properties of heated water, minerals and mud.

“Some people swear by the water alone and some prefer mud baths, but both are good for a lot of ailments from arthritis to just the everyday aches and pains of life. I’m a believer in the mud, myself,” says Jan Thomas, operations manager at Calistoga Spa Hot Springs, one of the oldest purveyors of mineral and mud baths in town. “I get in there whenever I can.”

Much of the mud in the area is infused with volcanic ash, said to be particularly effective in pulling toxins from the body. The Wappo Indians, living in the northern valley 8,000 years ago, bathed in the warm sulfur waters and may have used mud for its restorative values as well. The first Europeans in the area, -- the Spanish, more than 300 years ago – did the same and called the area “Agua Caliente.”

Resorts began promoting mineral and mud baths in Calistoga more than a century and a half ago. Now more than two dozen spas and hot springs-centered resorts dot the landscape around Calistoga.

“If they’ve never had a mud bath, people do owe it to themselves to give it a try,” Thomas says. “You lie suspended on this bed of hot mud – it’s very buoyant – and another layer is spread on top of you. You only stay in for seven or eight minutes because it’s pretty hot. But since you’re immersed, the warmth and the mud’s properties work quickly on every part of your body. It really is amazing.”

Most spas follow a process with their mud and mineral baths that include mineral showers, whirlpool or jet baths, steam rooms and blanket wraps at the end to allow your body to return to a normal temperature.

“If you’re going to get a massage, it’s best to do the mud or mineral bath beforehand to truly loosen up your muscles,” Thomas says. “Massages are much more effective after a heat treatment.”

Spa choices in Calistoga run the gamut from high-end luxury to cost-conscious basics, from long-established spas to trendy newcomers.

Indian Springs Resort and Spa, founded in 1861, is California’s oldest continuously operating pool and spa facility. Four thermal geysers on the 16-acre property produce bountiful supplies of hot, rich mineral water.

Calistoga Spa Hot Springs, founded in the 1920s, is another venerable establishment with separate men's and women's bath houses, four outdoor mineral water pools, exercise and aerobics rooms.

One of Calistoga’s newest spas, Solage Calistoga, opened in summer 2007 as a more casual counterpart to its sister spa, the luxurious Calistoga Ranch run by Auberge Resorts.

Dr. Wilkinson's Hot Springs Resort is a spacious, competitively priced resort with three mineral pools, spa treatments, mud baths and skin care treatments.

Other hot springs spas in Calistoga, including Eurospa & Inn, Roman Spa, Mount View Hotel and Spa, Calistoga Village Inn & Spa, Golden Haven Hot Springs, Calistoga Oasis Spa and day spas such Calistoga Massage Center & Day Spa, Lincoln Avenue Spa  and Lavender Hill Spa offer several different spa treatment packages.

With more hot springs spas per capita than perhaps any other town in North America, Calistoga is making a civic duty of harnessing that fire down below.

“People have been coming here to do this for centuries,” Thomas says. “It’s just a good healthy thing to do for your body.”

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Calistoga Chamber of Commerce
1506 Lincoln Avenue
Calistoga, CA 94515