Help me plan a trip to a Virginia/West Virginia Hot Spring

We have some days off together in October and The Wife has wanted to try going in a hot spring since one of her therapists suggested it could relieve some pain. Western Virginia looks like the closest place to go but what I'm finding on Google is a bit hard to decipher. I found some general info that sounds like they are easy to find and out in the open and other info looks like you have to stay at a particular resort to go in one. I'm not opposed to booking a hotel that includes a spring but if there is a less expensive stand alone place or a public park I wouldn't mind saving a buck or two.

I'm tuned into this. That would be a great trip for me and the old lady.

I didn't know there were hot springs in WV so I'm not going to be any help here except... There is probably a hot TUB closer to you and it's the same thing as far as pain relief.

I do know some of the springs out west are open to anyone who wanders in and some are on private property. There is a hot springs tour you can buy the map for and go on. There was a thread on ADV where a couple rode to all of them I thought sounded like a cool idea. Now that I know they exist a few hours from here I'm intrigued. Report your findings please.

I went to high school and have parents/in-laws in Lewisburg, WV, about 9 miles from The Greenbrier Hotel, in White Sulphur Springs, WV. I've never heard of hot or warm springs in the area, either free and in the wild or commercial, but I think the hotel has a natural spring for guests. I've been there several times, but never to the spring.

There is a small town called Hot Springs just over the border in VA.

The area is full of limestone caves and most are wet. I used to do a lot of spelunking and I never encountered any warmth down there. Maybe the commercial springs are artificially heated? The Greenbrier River runs through the area and is very clean, being partially fed by underground water. There are open swimming areas with deep blue-green pools, like Blue Bend, though in October, you wouldn't mistake them for thermal springs.

We got our water from a spring and though it tastes fine and I've taken many hot showers in it, I don't know that it's any better than a hot tub for therapy. A hot tub probably has more detritus and miscellaneous crotch leavings from random strangers than a natural spring. That said, the supply line that ran from our spring to the house did get partially blocked once when a newt got sucked into the pump.

So I guess you pick your poison, so to speak.

It's a lot further than WV, but Hot Springs, NC has hot springs (go figure). There is or was a resort there and I'm pretty sure you can still use the springs.

Funny enough, we met someone once on a weekend getaway from Berkeley Springs, WV. She made it sound like an awesome place to visit; it's on our list. I'll be sure to take a GRM photo when we go.

szeis4cookie wrote: Funny enough, we met someone once on a weekend getaway from Berkeley Springs, WV. She made it sound like an awesome place to visit; it's on our list. I'll be sure to take a GRM photo when we go.

The Googles says it has "warm mineral springs", so there you go Wally.

szeis4cookie wrote: Funny enough, we met someone once on a weekend getaway from Berkeley Springs, WV. She made it sound like an awesome place to visit; it's on our list. I'll be sure to take a GRM photo when we go.

That was my grandma's address when i was a child, the only thing i can think of after spending every summer on her mountain property is the mountains in general. The town never offered much entertainment, the potomac overlook is neat though.

In reply to Huckleberry:

I'm sure a hot tub would work as well but there seems to be a mental part to this too. He acupuncturist recommended it and while I keep reading that it's mostly gibberish there's definitely a noticeable change when she's there so I'm happy to try it. She's also a bit limited to what she can do physically a lot of days so this pretty much qualifies as an adventure.

So far this looks to be the most promising Jefferson spa The hotel is a bit steep, I priced it a $350 when we were looking at going but the spring is available separately for $19.

The Homestead in Hot Springs Va. & the Greenbrier in White Sulfur Springs W.Va. are very,very nice & quiet expensive. Food at the Greenbrier is great but it's even better at the Homestead.

In reply to Woody:

We got one of those when my wife was pregnant with our 4 month old. The hot water and flotation really help relieve pain and discomfort from the pregnancy. It worked way way better than it had any right to. We put it in our basement and kept it covered when not in use. We barely noticed it on our electric bill too.

If you're in the area Wall-E, I'd cut you a good deal on it. Shipping it to NY would be cost prohibitive!

I've heard good things about the Homestead Resort. Looks like OMNI Hotels took it over in 2013. My (limited) knowledge of the place far pre-dates that, so I can't say what it's like now. It looks like a very cool, historical place, though. And they DO have hot springs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Omni_Homestead_Resort

I feel like I've seen the Omni Homestead resort show up on Groupon from time to time, so you may be able to get it cheaper that way.

In reply to dculberson:

Thanks for the offer, but I agree shipping is a killer. I may pick one up if I can figure out where to put it.

In reply to szeis4cookie:

I'm signing up on Groupon so you will probably never see it advertised again. It is looking like that's our place though unless she decides she wants something else.

After a bit of research into things I chose the Jefferson pools in Hot Springs VA, somewhat by default since it was oe of only two that had publicly availible directions and since we were going to Skyline Drive the day before I mistakenly thought they were in the same area.  We spent the night before in Lexington VA near VMI and Google said we were going to be about an hour away.  We took a little longer than that because I followed the GPS on The Wife's phone most of the trip and if you choose "shortest route"  it will take you almost strictly down two lanes and dirt paths instead of Interstates to shave inches off your travel.  It did take us down some beautiful winding roads in to and out of the area so it was worth the extra time.

We originally drove past the pools, twice, as the signage leaves a bit to be desired.  While the pool's website and that of the Omni Resort both mention it they are not connected.  It is not maintained by the resort, or really anyone from the looks of it so if you are expecting the level of polish and amenities that the resort's website shows on it's own facilities you will be shocked and probably disappointed.  Being more history buffs we didn't mind the very vintage building and lack of modern gadgets like electric lighting and a roof you can't see through.  The only thing the safetynut in me was concerned about was that the floor was the same one Jefferson walked on and the uneveness and occasional loose board coupled with The Wife's general clumsyness made me a bit nervous until she made it into the water.  That water though, was worth the trip. 

A spring spews out beautifully clear water at a steady 98 degrees day and night filling two pools, one in each building.  The Woman's pool that we went in is between four and six feet deep and there's a Men's pool next door that is six to eight feet deep.  They give you a pool noodle and you float around for a 59 minute session.  To go into what is essentially a pond lined with rocks but filled with comfortably warm water is an odd sensation at first but it was so calm and so warm that you just float around without giving it another thought.  I gladly would have stayed a few more hours but we had plans to go to a concert that night and the GPS was showing it to be about five hours away.  I will be trying to work this into other road trips in the future.