Choose a sunny Sunday at the start of spring.

Drive two hours Southeast from Portland, to the Mt. Hood National Forest…

and hike a mile-and-a-half among old-growth trees, to the bathhouses. 

(First built in the 1980s, these are fed with hot mineral water from two natural springs.)

Bring your bathing suit!

(Or don’t.)

Lay down in a private, hollowed-out log tub filled with hot water, and look up…

to a view of sky, sunlight, and mossy branches.

Soak.

Keep soaking.

Soak a little longer.

On the hike back out…

stop to touch the moss (and smell the cedars). And decide that next time, you’ll stay the night.

Bagby Hot Springs and nearby camping, friends. Just another reason to visit Oregon…

xo ~C.

p.s. For Christmas this year, Joe and I decided to give each other ‘experience’ gifts. This trip to Bagby was his gift to me. We had somewhat similar ideas, as my gift to him is spending an afternoon unwinding together here. (Complete with steam room.)

*Photo #4 via katu.com, #5 via statesmanjournal.com, #6 via Portland Monthly. All other photos by Joe and I.