Ukiah is the Mendocino County seat, and its two hot springs sit on opposite sides of town and feel nothing alike. Vichy Springs Resort is a historic inn in the hills just east of Ukiah, with warm, naturally carbonated mineral baths and a strict swimsuit rule. Orr Hot Springs is a small clothing-optional resort out on Orr Springs Road toward the coast, with hotter tubs and a reservation for every visit. Both are paid soaks on paved roads. Choose Vichy for a bubbly, warm bath and a walk on a big private reserve. Choose Orr for hot water, no phones and a long, unplugged day.
Vichy Springs Resort
Vichy Springs Resort is a paid day-use or overnight soak at 2605 Vichy Springs Road, reached by paved road from town. The state lists it as California Historical Landmark No. 980, and the operator dates the resort to 1854. Its famous baths are warm, not hot. The operator puts the naturally carbonated Vichy water at 90°F, filled into fourteen old tubs, four outdoors and ten inside, and NOAA's survey records the spring source at 85°F. For heat there is a 104°F communal hot pool, which is mineral water the resort heats. An unheated swimming pool opens in season.
Day use runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It costs $45 for two hours or less, $65 for three hours or less, or $110 for the full day, and holiday periods are two-hour only. Swimsuits are required in all facilities; suits and towels rent for $3. Pets are not allowed anywhere on the property, including the parking lot. Day guests can also walk the resort's 700-acre private reserve.
Orr Hot Springs
Orr Hot Springs is a paid, clothing-optional resort at 13201 Orr Springs Road, on a paved road through the Mendocino hills west of Ukiah. The operator says several springs bring mineral water into the bathhouse at about 106°F. Private tubs average about 104°F, and the communal pools run 104-107°F. A cooler spring-fed swimming pool is built into the hillside rock. NOAA's survey lists the source at 104°F.
Reservations are required for every visit, including day use, which runs from noon to 9 p.m. at $50 per person and often fills. The swimming pool is closed on Tuesdays. Orr does not sell food and the nearest grocery store is 12 miles away, so bring your own. There is no cell service or Wi-Fi, pets are not allowed even in parked cars, and bath salts are not allowed because the tubs drain into the creek.
Which one to pick
For a warm soak with lots to do between baths, pick Vichy: the baths, the hot pool, trails and a swimming pool in summer, all a short drive from downtown. For hotter water, a quiet bathhouse and clothing-optional tubs, book Orr ahead and plan to stay a while.