• Introduction
• Napa
• Sonoma
• Mendocino
• San Francisco and Beyond
• Best Boutique Wineries
• Tasting Room Tips
• Spa Secrets
• Getting There and Itineraries

Spa Secrets

Napa’s Calistoga was founded in the 19th century by a Gold Rush entrepreneur who saw even more gold in the geothermal hot springs considered sacred by local Indians. Today, tourists still soak in mud baths, rinse in hot mineral waters, and bask in herbal wraps. At one of the traditional spas, like the ’40s-era Dr. Wilkinson’s Hot Springs Resorts, the treatment with a massage costs around $129 (drwilkinson.com). If you’re queamish about recycled mud, try Lavender Hill Spa, which is nestled in a hillside garden (lavenderhillspa.com). At Meadowood, treatments use antioxidant-rich grape skins in products developed by Robert Mondavi’s grandson, Carlo (daviskin.com). At the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, you can luxuriate in thermal mineral springs (fairmont.com). For something different, drop by Osmosis in Sonoma’s Sebastopol, where you can be massaged in a Japanese pagoda after soaking in a bed of rice bran heated by fermentation (osmosis.com).

See San Francisco Travel Guide | See Napa Valley Travel GuideSee Sonoma Travel Guide