Any recommendations? Especially interested in finding springs and baths in the East.
I can't help with springs in the East but we've visited several here in the Pacific Northwest. I greatly prefer natural hot springs where there's just a circle of rocks or something to contain the hot water, but we've been to a few developed springs too.
McCredie hot springs near Oakridge, Oregon was our favorite for many years. Despite being right off the highway, it was clothing optional and had a nice parking area and a short walk. There's actually another spring on the other side of the river we enjoyed more, a bit more secluded, but more of a hike to get to it. Sadly, it's several hours away so we haven't been there in many years. Don't know what it's like today.
Terwilliger hot springs is popular, but was more of a hippie hangout. Lots of long haired folks smoking weed, and a fair amount of garbage laying around. A bit out of our comfort zone, so we rarely went to that one.
Belknap hot springs is a developed resort in Oregon. We never soaked at the resort but we did rent a private cottage nearby that tapped the same springs to heat the cottage and outdoor hot tub. It was nice.
Breitenbush hot springs is a rustic resort with a few hot springs you can soak in and cabins you can rent. The springs themselves are clothing optional, clothing required elsewhere. It's set up as a holistic retreat, natural healing, healthy food, and all that. We only visited once for the day, not really our vibe. A little too new age for our tastes.
Bagby hot springs is closer to home (a couple hours out of Portland, OR). Last time we were there it was sort of half developed, cool outdoor tubs made from carved out logs, as well as enclosed private soaking areas. I think it was about a one mile hike in. Last I heard it was kind of a victim of it's own success, vandalism in the parking areas, garbage left around, loud partiers, people waiting in line for a turn to soak, etc. We haven't been back in many years.
Olympic Hot Springs in Washington's Olympic Peninsula was also one of our favorites when we were younger. It was a hike in, but had a few natural pools to soak in. I don't know what the current status is. Last I heard the trail was closed due to a dam being removed, so it required a really long hike through back country to get there. Clothing optional when we were there.
Sol Duc hot springs is also on the Olympic Peninsula. It's a developed resort, right off the highway, with several large swimming pools fed with hot spring water. It was OK, but just felt like soaking at a hotel pool. At least the scenery is nice and you can hike in to Sol Duc Falls. Suits required, and they sell you towels (we still have a set of three).
The last hot spring we visited was Chena hot springs east of Fairbanks, Alaska. It's a developed spring, but is large and set up so it still feels fairly natural. Suits required. There's a nice restaurant on site, as well as an ice sculpture museum you can tour. Makes for a nice day outing if you're in the area.
Sadly, other than Chena back in 2016, we haven't visited any hot springs in quite a few years. The status of natural springs seems to change often as people abuse them and land owners take action. There are plenty of hot spring guide books, but you can find quite a few by searching for "hot spring" in Google maps. Colorado and New Mexico have several, and I know there area few in California. I haven't visited any of those.
Quite a few years ago we visited Goldenhaven spa in Calistoga, California (north of San Francisco). It was an older facility but we enjoyed soaking in the mud baths together, showering with spring water, soaking in the spring water hot tub, and getting body wraps and massages.
