Spa-goers craving a cold plunge at Good Hot in Richmond can jump straight into the San Francisco Bay. (Courtesy of Good Hot)
Soaking in mineral baths for relaxation dates back to prehistoric times. There’s nothing quite like that floating feeling after immersing yourself in hot, then cold, then hot temperatures for hours. After cycling through saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs and cold plunges, your skin emerges soft and dewy, your muscles less tight and your mind temporarily unburdened by anxious thoughts.
Fortunately, the Bay Area has a wealth of spa and hot spring options, some of which are fairly affordable. Read on for recommendations for where to unwind. Happy soaking! — Nastia Voynovskaya
Kabuki Springs & Spa is a meditative oasis in Japantown, San Francisco. (Frankie Frankeny)
Sometimes I just have to think about the Kabuki to calm myself down. On the Geary Boulevard side of Japantown’s mall since 1968, Kabuki offers private spa services like massages and facials. But the real treat here is their perfectly underlit public bathhouse, which is just a few stalactites away from being a magical portal to your most relaxed self.
Each week, Kabuki hosts men’s and women’s days when bathing suits are optional, and all-gender days when they’re required.
Sponsored
With a hot pool, cold pool, dry sauna, steam room and shower area, the Kabuki allows you to circulate between all of these different moistures and temperatures as much as your heart desires. I’ve seen people chilling for hours with their paperbacks on the lounge chairs, plunging into hot or cold pools as they see fit, and sipping cucumber or lemon water between salt rubs in the steam room. If whispered conversations ever reach unacceptable levels, guests can hit a gong as a sign for everyone to return to their meditative state. — Sarah Hotchkiss
If Kabuki is a Zen oasis, then Archimedes Banya is the party spa. Rooted in Russian bathhouse culture, and incorporating Turkish and other traditions, Archimedes attracts an eclectic array of relaxation seekers. Russian-speaking immigrants mix with Burners and diverse San Franciscans of all backgrounds. Unlike other spas that are near-silent, low-volume conversations are not frowned upon, and Archimedes offers chess nights, rooftop yoga and even a recurring comedy show for guests to attend in their robes between sauna sessions, should they choose.
More Fall Guides
A three-hour day pass buys access to several scorching saunas, a highly humid steam room, hot tubs, an invigorating cold plunge and a room-temperature pool surrounded by lounge chairs where you can read or nap. An upstairs cafe serves Russian comfort food like pickled herring, pelmeni and borsch.
Massages and full-body scrubs are among the offerings. But what sets Russian banyas apart from other bathing experiences is the use of veniks, small bouquets of birch, oak or eucalyptus branches. If you pay for this service, a body worker uses a venik to lightly hit you all over, stimulating blood flow for even deeper relaxation. — Nastia Voynovskaya
3939 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland
Hot tub $30 per person
Piedmont Springs isn’t a full-on bathhouse, but it’s a solid spa option for East Bay dwellers. Its claim to fame? Outdoor hot tubs, each of which is enclosed behind a tall fence so guests can enjoy a private nude bathing experience while gazing up at the sky. For a full hour, up to four people can soak in the tub, lay out on the deck or even douse themselves with cold water from a hose in lieu of a cold plunge.
Piedmont Springs also offers combination rooms that include a hot tub and sauna, as well as many different kinds of massages, facials, scrubs and other services to make you feel brand new. This little oasis is located on a strollable stretch of Piedmont Avenue shops, so lots of snack, ice cream and boba options abound for a pre- or post-spa treat. — Nastia Voynovskaya
The pearl of Pearl Spa is their Himalayan salt room, where I like to lay around on special occasions or after really taxing weeks. Pearl also offers a bunch of scrubs and massages. I once did the Korean scrub that sloughs off your dead skin like eraser bits from a number two pencil, and I highly recommend being that pencil for an afternoon. If you’re just interested in a day pass, the different temperate pools are lovely, as are the hair and body products. You usually have to book a week or so in advance, FYI. — Olivia Cruz Mayeda
Most of Good Hot’s outdoor saunas can fit up to six people. (Courtesy of Good Hot)
For East Bay folks, Good Hot is a social hot spot that’s as visually stunning as it is physically rejuvenating. Cedar saunas steaming on the shore of the San Francisco Bay as the morning fog dissipates is pretty ideal, if you ask me. And while it’s not my personal preference, lots of folks like to cold plunge in the bay.
As far as pricing goes, Good Hot is affordable if you can corral a few friends you wouldn’t mind being in close, sweaty quarters with — so maybe not that friend who’s going to yap the whole time. (That friend might be me, fair warning.) Six people fit in their smaller $120 saunas, so that runs you $20 per person. Since Good Hot recently returned from a year-long hiatus, reservations get snapped up quickly. — Olivia Cruz Mayeda
The hot soaking pool at Vichy Springs. (Courtesy of Vichy Springs)
Road trip-worthy hot springs
My Northern California hot springs experience is mostly one of longing, though I did, on one occasion, accidentally sneak into Vichy Springs before a wedding in Ukiah. Founded in 1854, the hotel and spa is situated on mineral springs once used by the Pomo to treat numerous bodily ailments. Today, you can stretch out in a concrete bathtub and enjoy the strange tickling of Vichy’s 90-degree, carbonated mineral water, or mix up your temperature combos with a hot tub and swimming pool (open in the summer).
Harbin Hot Springs in Lake County and Orr Hot Springs in Mendocino County are both worth the two-to-three-hour drive out of the Bay Area. (Heads up, these are clothing optional venues.) Harbin is a sprawling complex of eight pools, all fed by springs, with a variety of camping platforms, cottages and domes for extended stays, along with an on-site, mostly vegetarian cafe.
Sponsored
Orr has a mossier vibe, with rustic wood buildings and a communal kitchen (but no food offerings, cell signal or wi-fi). Both Harbin and Orr offer a variety of ways to visit — day passes, 24-hour stays, spa services — and require reservations for all of the above. — Sarah Hotchkiss
lower waypoint
Care about what’s happening in Bay Area arts? Stay informed with one email every other week—right to your inbox.
