Carson Hot Springs Resort

Carson Hot Springs Resort is an old resort located in Carson, Washington up the Columbia Gorge just east of the Bonneville Dam. It's an interesting historic relic that, if you can look past the oddities, offers a fantastic true mineral springs soak. It's very near to Portland, Oregon and soaking is reasonably priced at $20.

I was feeling pretty low the other day so I decided I needed to get away from it all. Carson Hot Springs was my choice for a short escape. It helped.

Sadly the resort has become muddled with various different owners and remodels over the years. There are still strong remnants of the original  1901 (1923 for the bathhouse) construction. I love the original Hotel St. Martin structure and the exterior of the bathhouse.

In 1994 a Korean investor bought the property. My guess is that to the Korean sensibility there was huge business potential seen in the mineral springs and natural surroundings. The mineral water of Carson is true mineral water, it is sulfur-y and has a high mineral content. This is very desirable in Japanese onsens and traditional Korean hot springs. A huge amount of money was spent doing redevelopment work, putting in a giant parking lot, two new hotel buildings and a brand new golf course. Luckily the old bathhouse and original hotel building were mostly untouched. Were there plans to eventually tear down and re-do these structures as well?

After the money was spent customers did not arrive. Tinygogo, my dear reader, exists to evangelize the joys of hot springs bathing, but on the whole this is a pastime that is largely forgotten by the American public. This means there's more room for me but this sort of recreation remains a niche market. Maybe the Korean investor had anticipated bringing in droves of appreciative Korean jjimjilbang goers? Whatever the plan was, it didn't materialize. In 2003 the property was resold.

Here are some photos of 1994 development nightmare. Parking lot:

 Looking east toward the gorge, more parking lot!

 Looking northeast

This view shows the two new hotel buildings. Up until recently the building on the right was vacant. The bathhouse is dimly visible in the middle. But, take a second to look past the asphalt and appreciate the beauty of the Wind River Valley. The natural surroundings are magical.  Wind River Hotsprings, a wild hot springs is somewhere up that valley on the river bank.

Meanwhile the treasures of the facility were neglected. With the pavement butting up against the wall of the building, I worry about the foundation. It's a great old historic structure that needs some attention.

Maybe the neglect was a good thing. The original structures are still there and potentially restorable. The new owners seem to be doing a good job of taking care of the property and bringing it back to working order. I will hope for the best.

A soak and towel wrap
The traditional Carson Hot Springs experience is to have a very hot soak in a large cast-iron clawfoot tub--maybe with a few intermittent dunks in another clawfoot tub filled with cold (non-mineral springs) well water--and then get tucked in on a bench with a hot towel wrap.

The towel wrap may be a traditional hot springs experience in other old resorts. I'm not familiar with it. Even though it's a little odd, I very much appreciate that it is a 100-year-old tradition at this resort. In spite of ownership and building changes the procedure has quietly remained a consistent part of Carson Hot Springs. This is what I came for and this it what I will share with you.

Inside the bathhouse
At various points in the bathhouse's history it has received updating to be in style with the conventions of the day. In the 90s a sauna was added, which despite my grumblings about the other development is a welcome improvement.

The bathhouse walls were tiled and the rest of the interior was covered in cedar. I took a quick peek in the ladies' area. It retained the painted white walls with wood wainscoting which were originally to the building's construction when the turn-of-the-century aesthetic celebrated the advent of sanitary indoor plumbing. Back then sanitary meant white porcelain and white everything else.

The men's soaking area consists of eight extra large clawfoot tubs. These are big tubs, probably even big for their day. (Just out of college, I used to move clawfoot tubs when I worked for Rejevenation House Parts. Their old store had more of an architectural salvage focus and we bought and sold many old clawfoot tubs. From this experience I know clawfoot tubs pretty intimately since I was one of the two flunkies who had to carry them up out of the warehouse basement when one sold.) I didn't measure them but my sense was that the standard is at least 6 inches shorter. There was plenty of room to stretch out in them.

Here I am in tub No. 6. Notice the hot mineral water is still flowing in. I've filled up a glass jar with sulfur-y mineral water for drinking.

No. 6 is a good tub.

And again, these tubs are special. My legs are totally stretched out and I'm not touching the end. The overflow is capped off so it was really filled up it for full immersion. 

The water is hot. The temperature varies but typically it's around 120 degrees (48 celsius). It took a bit of mental focus to adjust to the heat and, like a good sauna, it got me sweating. Fortunately when it got to be too much for me, there was another tub nearby with freshly-filled cold water.

The odd
By far the oddest addition to the bath house are the posters put in the bathhouse soaking rooms windows. They've been here for a number of years. Here they are in all of their glorious weirdness:

1. doe-eyed jungle animals 2. Unicorn in waterfall vista 3. One wolf moon (similar but not to be confused with three wolf moon.) 4. Sylvester, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil playing pool. It's a little much to look at while lost in the sensual state of bliss of a soak. I just don't get it.

Towel wrap

One neat, easily-overlooked feature of the bathhouse are the old original towel wrap bench/beds. Since they help you rest (in my case, sleep) in a somewhat upright position, they must have been custom built for this purpose. Notice the turned legs. Somehow they've survived all these years. Very cool.

Here's my bed, with the sheet awaiting me to finish soaking.

After the soak, I was asked to lie down naked on the bench/bed. A towel soaked in hot mineral water was placed over my chest and another was put over my head. The sheets were wrapped over me and I was covered in a blanket. Then the blanket was tucked under me (tuck, tuck tuck) just like I was a toddler.  I was wrapped up like a mummy, very womb-like. It didn't take long for me to blissfully doze off.

My attendant took this photo of me. My camera did not cooperate in the low light. Hopefully you get the idea.

I've mentioned some critical things about Carson Hot Springs. I want to stress a few really positive things as well and, fundamentally, these things make up for the unfortunately remodeling (and psychologically disturbing posters in the bathhouse).

My attendant was absolutely fantastic. He understood why I was there and understood the basic principles of vigorous soaking: hot water and cold dunking. Everyday he assiduously updates the hot and cold water temperature and records it on this board. Record high temperature: 124.7 f (51.5c).

I arrived toward closing time. I mentioned that I didn't want to hold him up. My priority was just to do some soaking in righteously hot mineral water. He let slip that he was hoping to soak a little himself at the end of his shift. I encouraged him to make this happen. I soaked and got my hot towel wrap tuck-in. When he was done helping me and with his other duties, I heard him slip into his own tub and then later take his own repeated cold dunks. I rested well knowing that there was someone working at Carson Hot Springs who really understood and appreciated their job.

Since my last visit from a few years ago, the care and cleanliness of the bathhouse has improved markedly. Nothing has changed all that dramatically but the space is a lot cleaner. The service was great throughout but I attribute the quality of the soaking experience to this one employee.

Carson Hot Springs Resort is a rare historic treasure. Old traditions somehow manage to be kept alive here. Whatever happens with the future development of the facility I hope a few things are kept: the old hotel (this is where I'd want to stay!), the bathhouse, the clawfoot tubs (Don't refinish them! The chipped enamel and rust are part of their charm) the towel wrap and the antique beds. Keep it simple! It was a blessing to soak in a place that didn't force me to listen to new age music. The only music I needed was the sound of flowing water. I also felt lucky not to assaulted by any unwanted hotel/resort fragrances. Here the basics are all that is needed.

Palace Spa, Federal Way, Washington

In the surreal car-centric suburban morass that is Federal Way, Washington (just south of Seattle) is Palace Spa. Palace Spa is a full feature Korean bathhouse spa in the fine tradition of Korean jjimjilbangs. I know of nothing similar in the Pacific Northwest. This facility is big, well thought out and designed specifically for those who have an appetite for serious bathing.

The entire building is segregated, with separate areas for men and woman. I didn't see the ladies' section but I expect that it's more or less a mirror of the men's. Since there are separate areas for men and woman, nudity is de rigueur in the segregated bathing/massage areas. Bathrobes and cotton shorts (provided) are required in the areas where everyone can mingle. 

Upon entering, customers are given water-proof locker keys on an elastic wrist band. You can wear the key without concern about the heat of the sauna or water hurting it. 

The first room is for your shoes, of course.

Here are the ample and secure lockers. The same key works for both your shoe and clothes locker. I looked closely and the lockers are made in Korea. They were probably conceived to support the Jjimjilbang industry in the country. It's a pretty nifty system.

After disrobing, the next step is to wash up. There are two options: The traditional western-style shower.

Or the Japanese/Korean squatting shower:

With this style of shower you squat (good luck if you haven't done this your entire life!) or use a little plastic stool. There's a shower head on a hose or, if you want to be even more traditional, you can wash using the tub spout and a plastic wash basin. Notice in the photo the specially-constructed ledge for placing the wash basin to be filled up. Once it's full, dump it over your head. Use the basin for dunking a nylon scrubbing cloth (a stack of itaeri tawol are provided at the entrance to the spa area) in the wash basin. Soap up the scrub cloth and scrub yourself into a soapy lather monster.

Palace Spa provides a complimentary tooth brush and razor. I suppose the mirrors in the showers are for shaving if you are one of those water-wasting types who selfishly chooses to leave the water running while shaving. Tinygogo public service announcement: Fill up a wash basin and turn the water off while you do this!
 
Have you scrubbed yourself clean sufficiently? Probably not. Repeat the process. Once clean, you can move on to the heat. 

In the men's area there are two options: On the left is the steam room. On the right is a Finnish-style sauna. Both are your standard fare. They are ample and in good shape and they do the job because they are righteously hot.

There are three soaking pools: cold, medium and hot! During my visit there were bathers in the other two pools so, out of respect, I didn't get to take any other photos. Suffice to say they do things right here! Really. Why don't more sauna facilities have a cold dunking pool?

One of the primary services Palace Spa offers are scrubs and massages. This is a Korean jjimjilbang specialty. Pictured is a vinyl-covered and padded massage table in an alcove just off of the main room where the pools and showers are. For $120 Palace Spa offers a sauna/soak, scrub and massage package. This service is intense but heavenly. 

The spa asks that you arrive at least a half hour early for the scrub and massage appointment so you can loosen up muscles and skin first with soaking and sauna. It makes sense. My experience is that a long sauna is the ultimate preparation for proper exfoliation. As part of the package you have unlimited access to the facilities. I recommend that you arrive a fair bit earlier for an appointment. Half an hour isn't adequate time to loosen up dead skin.

This is a photo of the stand next to the massage table. We see the masseur's swim trunks. (He's wasn't completely naked like me but there's too much water splashing around to wear clothes.) There's also his tooth brush and tooth paste and some nylon scrub clothes. I guess a fringe benefit of working here is that employees get to use the facilities. So he just does his morning grooming here.

With no English and just hand gestures, I was motioned to lie naked on a table. Yes, I was bare naked, upright and exposed on clam-y wet vinyl. The masseur dipped a plastic wash basin in a large tub of warm water. He slowly poured the water over my entire body. After four or five dousings, a nylon mildly-abrasive scrub cloth was soaped up and I was thoroughly scrubbed all over. At times this was a little uncomfortable, an odd mixture of pleasure and pain. Certain areas can be sensitive. Hey, that's not a wash cloth. That's sand paper! Or it was embarrassingly ticklish. My masseur was completely nonchalant about accessing almost all areas of my body. No, my genitals weren't scrubbed but he got close. The casual (but still vigorous) rote quality of the work made scrubbing near my junk a completely normal part of the procedure.

Here's the tub of warm water and the wash basin that was repeatedly filled and doused over me.

After the scrubbing comes the massage. Nothing in me was broken but I certainly felt like it might have been. The massage includes deep pressure and pulling and bending of limbs. At one point my sadist attendant was actually on the bench squating over me. He had one of my legs bent back. I was pinned like the bad-guy loser in a pro-wrestling match. In my head the audience was wildly cheering him on.

It was intense and at times painful but enduring the sensations had its rewards. I was left with a final wonderful dousing of warm water. I was so relaxed I could have easily melted and flowed down the drain in the floor with the rinse water.

After my manhandling I was freed to relax further in the saunas and soaking pools. Later I donned my cotton shorts and terrycloth bathrobe to go downstairs to a co-ed area. Here there is a lounge with cooled and filtered water, a TV (with Korean variety shows playing) and various lying rooms: a salt room, jade room, clay room and a cool room. 

For kicks I sampled all four. Each room is supposed to impart certain healthful qualities. What exactly each on does, I don't know.  A couple of the rooms were hot enough to keep me sweating. In one room, I somehow managed to have a righteous nap. After my working over upstairs (and salt, clay and jade aside), the nap was probably the most rejuvenating spa therapy I could have asked for.

There's an alcove room (next to the shoe locker room) for grooming before you leave.

 Hot or cold filtered water anyone?

Hair dryer, q-tips, lotion, hair spray. I'm a big fan of q-tips.

Telephone and hair brush sterilizer. Oddly enough, I didn't have use for either. Still, I include it to help show how Palace Spa goes the extra mile to be a full service bathing spa.

Wind River Hot Springs

Craig, a longtime friend, came to visit. For the day we planned to head out to Carson Hot Springs Resort (more on that later) for a soak and towel wrap. We arrived at Carson. I suggested that we go for a hike first since I had read that there where hiking trails near the resort. The Wind River Gorge is really beautiful and the woods in the area were certainly inviting. I also read that some folks had found access to the old natural hot springs, Wind River Hot Springs, via certain unspecific paths. Maybe we should investigate?

 

 



Without going into too many details, we found the hot springs. The hike was enchanting, full of various challenges and stunning scenery. It ended with a wonderful unplanned hot soak in the beautiful outside.

Wind River Hot Springs is a wild natural hot spring that is located on the Wind River, just outside of Carson which is on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. Carson is a little east of Stevenson, Washington and the Bridge of the Gods, a bridge that crosses the Columbia River connecting to I-84.

The springs are part of a geological hot springs system that also supports the water that is pumped into the historic Carson Hot Springs Resort. I suspect that historically the hot water for the hot springs along the river was more abundant. At the springs you can see evidence of man-made tampering. 

Currently there are two soaking pools. There is a large-ish pool that can fit six or seven people, if a little intimately. Down stream about 50 meters is a smaller pool. In between is a pool that appears as if it once held water. Unfortunately it is filled with concrete and you can see rusty remnants of steel pipe. Presumably this was "tapped" to feed Carson Hot Springs or another competing resort that supposedly existed at the turn of the century. 

I have a strong suspicion that the existing soaking pools were, at some point, artificially enhanced by dynamite. The shape of the pools just seems unlikely from a geological perspective. What do you think?

 

This is the larger pool. The spring is pretty well traffiked in the summer by locals and daytrippers from Portland. Craig and I were lucky to visit during a lull in soakers. We had the place to ourselves for 30 or so minutes. I bet a good time to visit would be in late spring and early fall during a weekday when school is in session. Otherwise you might get stuck having to wait a turn to soak with a crowd of teenagers. Toward the end of the day the water can get pretty, ahem, murky. 



Hi, Craig!

The downstream pool is a little smaller and more shallow. During our visit it seemed a little warmer too. 



If you look closely at the upper area of water in the pool, you can see the ripple of a bubble from the spring. 

As far as I know there is currently no legal way of accessing the spring aside from possibly fording/walking up the river. This would be a formidable challenge since the banks have steep cliffs and some sizable boulders. The land on either side of the river is private property and the public land in the area has some very strict "no trespassing" notices. For this reason and due to the fact that it already gets plenty of visitors, I will refrain for going into further details on how to get there. 



An important part of our hydrotherapy for the afternoon was the cold dunking in the river. This was done repeatedly to enhance the bliss of the warm soaking. Fantastic.

Crystal Crane Hot Springs overview

Way down in deep dry isolated southeastern Harney County, Oregon, is Crystal Crane Hot Springs. It's located 16 southeast of Burns. Crystal Crane is not a fancy, aesthetically-refined facility. It’s very much a product of this isolated rural region which, economically, is largely centered around cattle ranching. It is what it is and if you can accept that, it is a great place to soak.

The hot springs water is pumped up from the ground into an artificial lake and, as needed, into a long narrow single-story building with individual private soaking rooms. (More on that below.) The water that feeds the lake is pumped up onto some sort of old concrete platform. This may have been the foundation for an old pump house. Water spills off of the platform into the lake. Airing the water out first may serve to help moderate the temperature. It also slows the flow of the water into the lake, helping to provide less intense temperature gradation so it doesn't go from cool to scalding hot as you float closer to the water source.

When I stayed here we only were able to take advantage of soaking in the lake, not the baths. (There wasn't enough time since we were just passing through. ) The experience was excellent. It was great floating in the sunset watching migratory birds land in nearby marshes. When it was completely dark the stars came out in full splendor. I was so taken by the show that I left the water, went to my cabin and put contact lenses in so I could appreciate the dazzling night sky. This wouldn't have worked with glasses since they would have fogged up while floating in silent luxuriance.

The artificial lake is periodically lined with gravel to keep it from getting too mucky. Some little insect creatures were swimming in the water. Floating around I and others would periodically get nipped. My best guess was that these were dragonfly nymphs. It was a little disconcerting but the bites didn’t hurt much and I don’t seem to have caught any diseases.

Crystal Crane Hot Springs offers a number of accommodations. There are individual cabins built along the artificial hot springs lake. I stayed in one of these. It was an odd mix of home-improvement construction materials and simulated cowboy-themed décor. Nevertheless, it was quiet and clean and I slept well.

Here are the cabins:

At one point there may have been hotel rooms but that building looked to be shuttered. There are pads for teepees that in the summer are set up for camping.

Teepees (pad and actual teepee):

These might be an affordable way to visit, especially if you were car camping through the area.

Finally there were a number of people who were staying in larger community bunk-like facilities. These groups were enjoying an odd form of recreation. I didn’t get the full story but I’ll relate it as best I can:

When we entered the driveway off to the south there was a large gravel pad with a number of really odd custom-made trailers. I couldn't figure out what they were for. They looked like gypsy caravans or crudely conceived Conestoga wagons without the canvas tops. They were, in fact, old truck beds that had been converted into trailers with plywood platforms with what looked like benches on the sides. I learned from a guest that these trailers were shooting platforms. Crystal Crane provides these rigs, with paying guests!, to farmers for controlling prairie rats on cattle land. I didn't get the complete financial arrangement but people from all over the Northwest come to Crystal Crane for the privileged of shooting these animals.

This metal building contains a small store, a hotel lobby-type space and the guest registration counter. This is where the prairie-rat-shooting tourists stayed as well (or it might have been in a building behind this one.)

When I arrived it was for a short visit. We made dinner. I relaxed in the lake-side cabin, I soaked and went to bed. I didn't get to appreciate the bathhouse until the next morning when it was light out.

I think the bathhouse is the highlight of Crystal Crane Hot Springs. If I were to return here I'd take full advantage of a private bath.

The bathhouse is a long single story structure. There is a covered walkway outside of individual bathing rooms. Here are some photos:

These rooms seemed absolutely magical. Maybe it was the light from the old windows. Maybe it was the sound of the water filling up a tank getting ready for the next soaker. The tubs were either cattle stock tanks or concrete. Any one would be ample for two people to utterly relax in privacy. The wood siding maybe had a bit of a 70s feel to it but it worked me.

I want to go back and experience this properly!