Matt turned 40 and we decided to celebrate with a trip to Breitenbush Hot Springs. It was a good decision.
Our cabin was very roomy for two people.
At Breitenbush, you are provided with a bottom sheet, but bring your own blankets and pillows.
All of the heat is provided by geothermal energy.
I loved the beadboard siding and the many hooks to hang things on.
Our cabin exterior.
They had indoor showers, but this is a picture of the “new” outdoor showers and they are great. Breitenbush provides the biodegradable soap.
Interior of the outdoor showers. There’s something about showering outside that is so fun.
The bathhouse, one of men and one for women. There was also a restroom building near our cabin.
Breitenbush is a year-round operation, and I loved this snow shoveling schedule posted.
It must be some operation to clear all the roads when it starts to snow.
There are multiple fire stations on the property. This is one of them.
In the warmer months you can rent a tent.
There are a lot of good hangout spaces. This one is near the Sanctuary, where a lot of the classes are held.
They ring a gong to call people to the thrice-daily vegetarian meals that are mostly organic.
A view of the lodge.
Some steam escaping from a too-hot stream near the lodge.
The sign keeping us all away from the very hot spring.
Originally Breitenbush was a regular hot springs resort, rather than a hippy granola hot springs resort. My mother visited it when she was a child. I was excited to find a remnant of that time: the traditional-style swimming pool.
More steam coming from more hot water.
One of the meadow pools. These were my favorite pools. There are three of them and their temperature gets progressively hotter.
The view from the pool.
I love all the hooks affixed to the sheltered bench near the pool.
The view from the silent pool.
I’m always interested in how operations work, so I was happy to find this schedule tucked away on the back of a bench/structure thing.
Some really great details have gone into Breitenbush, such as the wood that creates this bench.
There are outdoor showers that help you cool off from your soak.
The sauna, which more like a steam room, not a dry sauna. While the hot pools at Breitenbush somehow manage to escape the stinky sulfur smell I associate with hot springs, the sauna is the most sulfurous smelling.
One must duck to get into the sauna.
The resort generates it’s own power from the Breitenbush River. They have also built a fish ladder.
A view from the bridge over the Breitenbush River.
And a view of the river itself.
The kitchen always had music coming from it. It’s probably a big job to provide three vegetarian meals per day for the resort guests.
Where we got our massages.
One of the vehicles.
The forest shelter building.
Us in front of the lodge. Notice how people hang their towels along the deck in front of the lodge. That was one of my favorite details.
Once you park your car in the parking lot, you use these carts to bring your things down to your cabin. Then you never see your car for the rest of your stay.
This was a great place to celebrate a big birthday. It’s such a relaxing place. When I wasn’t sleeping, I was lounging, or soaking, or eating a good meal.
