folksy hand-painted
interpretive exhibits,
picnicking and a little
petting zoo, where you
can come nose-to-nose
with llamas. It’s north of
Calistoga, via Hwy 128
west to Tubbs Lane, and
discount coupons are
available around town.54 p89
The Drive » Backtrack east
on Hwy 128 and go 4 miles west
on forested and curvy Petrified
Forest Rd.7 Petrified
Forest & Safari West
Three million years ago, a
volcanic eruption at nearby
Mt St Helena blew down a
stand of redwoods between
Calistoga and Santa Rosa.
The trees fell in the same
direction, away from the
blast, and were covered
in ash and mud. Over themillennia, the mighty
giants’ trunks turned
to stone. Gradually the
overlay eroded, exposing
them, and the first stumps
of Petrified Forest (%707-
942-6667; http://www.petrifiedforest.
org; 4100 Petrified Forest Rd;adult/child $10/5; (^) h9am-7pm
summer, to 5pm winter) were
discovered in 1870. A
monument marks Robert
Louis Stevenson’s 1880
visit. He describes it in The
Silverado Squatters. Check
online for 10%-off coupons.
CALISTOGA SPAS
Calistoga is famous for hot-spring spas and mud-bath emporiums, where you’re
buried in hot mud and emerge feeling supple, detoxified and enlivened. (The mud is
made with volcanic ash and peat; the higher the ash content, the better the bath.)
Packages take 60 to 90 minutes and cost $70 to $90. You start semisubmerged
in hot mud, then soak in hot mineral water. A steam bath and blanket-wrap follow.
The treatment can be extended with a massage, increasing the cost to $130 and up.
Baths can be taken solo or, at some spas, as couples. Variations include thin,
painted-on clay-mud wraps (called ‘fango’ baths, good for those uncomfortable
sitting in mud), herbal wraps, seaweed baths and various massage treatments.
Discount coupons are sometimes available from the visitors center. Reservations
essential at all spas, especially on summer weekends.
Indian Springs (%707-942-4913; http://www.indianspringscalistoga.com; 1712 Lincoln Ave;
h8am-9pm) The longest continually operating spa and original Calistoga resort
has concrete mud tubs and mines its own ash. Treatments include use of the huge,
hot-spring-fed pool.
Spa Solage (%707-226-0825; http://www.solagecalistoga.com; 755 Silverado Trail; h8am-8pm)
Chichi, austere, top-end spa, with couples’ rooms and a fango-mud bar for DIY
paint-on treatments. Also has zero-gravity chairs for blanket wraps, and a clothing-
optional pool.
Dr Wilkinson’s Hot Springs (%707-942-4102; http://www.drwilkinson.com; 1507 Lincoln Ave;
h8:30am-5:30pm) Operational for 50 years, ‘the doc’ uses more peat in its mud.
Mount View Spa (%707-942-6877; http://www.mountviewhotel.com; 1457 Lincoln Ave; (^) h9am-
9pm) Traditional full-service, 12-room spa, good for clean-hands gals who prefer
painted-on mud to submersion.
Calistoga Spa Hot Springs (%707-942-6269; http://www.calistogaspa.com; 1006 Washington St;
happointments 8:30am-4:30pm Tue-Thu, to 9pm Fri-Mon;^ c) Traditional mud baths and
massage at a motel complex with two huge swimming pools (h10am-9pm) where
kids can play while you soak (pool passes $25).
NORTHERN.CALIFORNIA
5
(^) NAPA
VALLEY