Vacations Blog

There’s some spas in Napa which take pleasure in treating guests like pigs. Yep, that’s right – you’ll end up wallowing in mud up to your neck. This would be the mud spas in Calistoga, where a mix of volcanic ash, essential oils and water from the region’s mineral hot springs are used to offer a body and skin treatment which, believe it or not, is actually cleansing and relaxing.

Before we get to the spas offering this treatment, here’s a bit of background about why these mud spas are centered around Calistoga. For that, we need to go back 148 years to 1860, when a bright spark called Samuel Brannan had the idea to mix some volcanic ash from Mount St. Helena with the plentiful mineral water from the hot springs in the area  and offer spa treatments at his’Calistoga Hot Springs Resort. The mud bath thing kinda caught on, and now Calistoga is ground zero for mud baths, with a string of resorts and spas offering said treatment. For the record, Samuel Brannan was Calistoga’s founder, and a cottage built by him – The Brannan Cottage Inn – is now a Bed and Breakfast.

The spas offering mud baths in Calistoga include the Calistoga Village Inn & Spa, Golden Haven Hot Springs Spa & Resort, Solage, Oasis Spa, Indian Springs Spa and the Lincoln Avenue Spa.

Of course, spa treatments are not just about minerals and massages, so it helps that Napa Valley in general, and Calistoga in particular, offers a splendid vista and a beautiful landscape for a romantic holiday or getaway. Poking around the wineries and the historical landmarks, with some relaxing downtime at the spa in between, is what really makes these Napa vacations really memorable. And you get to fool around in the mud without anyone telling you to get out of there at once!

Photo copyrights – Golden Haven Spa