ENJOY AN ALL NATURAL CEDAR HOT TUB
IN THE ADIRONDACKS
Located on one of the most beautiful spots of our land, our new Japanese wood hot tub is a delightful treat for our guests.
Built within a small post and beam temple-like structure inspired by Japanese architecture … with gorgeous views of the mountains beyond and wildflowers below, our spa tub is a wonderful way to relax during your stay. The cedar tub exudes a pleasant, natural aroma.
Available for private booking $25 for a private one hour experience.
ALL NATURAL … NO CHEMICALS
Our cedar tub is filled with pure well water which draws from water five hundred feet below the surface. The tub water is then kept clean by using two of nature's most powerful cleaners: ozone and ionization.
Ozone is natures cleanser and is 1000 times more powerful than chlorine in its ability to oxidize foreign matter including oils, and bacteria that can quickly form in a hot tub. It is the most effective sterilizer known to man, killing bacteria and viruses on contact. Ozone is made up of 3 oxygen molecules (O3) instead of two. Once Ozone is used up (oxidized) it reverts to pure O2 leaving no residual by products. Ozone is commonly used in municipal water treatment plants or in water dispensers found in grocery stores.
The second cleaning method is ionization ---a process that occurs naturally when atoms loose or gain electrons. Natural minerals when electrically charged act as ionizers. Unlike other systems, our Ionization system uses three types of metals (silver, copper, zinc) providing the best system on the market.
By using the combination of both systems bathers will experience the cleanest water with no harsh chemicals. You will notice that the water is a tan color—- this is because of the natural oils from the cedar wood.
SPA RULES
Please shower before using the tub. There is an outdoor shower at the spa but it is only for a quick soap and rinse, not for hair washing or extended showering.
Take the cover off the tub and put it out on the porch landing.
The tub is quite deep --- four feet deep! So take your time getting in and out. Best to sit or kneel, then slide in gently. The floor can be slippery so please be careful moving around.
The tub water level will overflow if there are multiple people in the tub so please take turns if there are more than two people.
If the water overflows, it will ruin all the expensive equipment below!!!
It’s fine to bring your cocktails. There are plastic cups for your use. Please don’t bring glass up to the tub area. Careful how much you drink because the hot water will make you more inebriated that you realize!
Kindly tie up your hair, and do not submerge in the water.
Do not use soap or add anything to the water.
We clean the spa daily but not between bookings so please wipe up any water on the floor --- there are white bath mats and towels for this use. If things are messy when you arrive, please let us know!
Towels from the spa stay at the spa. Please put used towels in the hamper.
If you use the tub at night, please be as quiet as possible so to not disturb neighbors and guests.
Naturally, no pets in the hot tub!
You will notice that the water is a tan color—- this is because of the natural oils from the cedar wood. Enjoy!
HOW TO FIND THE SPA
The hot tub is located 55 Shields Road, North River, NY 12856
ON FOOT FROM THE GLAMPING TENTS, THE FARMSTAND OR BIRD CAMP:
Walk down our driveway until it ends. Walk through the meadow past the Trout Pond and through the first opening in the woods. You will see the spa.
DRIVING FROM THE GLAMPING TENTS, THE FARMSTAND OR BIRD CAMP:
Go out our driveway and turn left going down Cemetery Road. Go left on 13th Lake and an immediate left on Shields Road (the North River Fire Department is on the corner). Drive no more than 25 miles per hour up Shields Road. The road goes from paved to gravel. The tub is about a quarter mile up the road on your left, way up on a hill. Please park off the driveway on the right side/
FROM CAMP HUDSONVIEW, CAMP TWOSOME, CAMP LILLIAN AND CAMP BOSSIE:
The tub is located on the opposite side of the road up on the hill. If you drive, please park off the driveway on the right side where there is gravel driveway.
THE STORY OF THE SPA
Leslie designed the spa structure to be reminiscent of a Japanese temple perched on top of a scenic mountain. She built a scale model out of 1/4 inch balsam wood to determine the lumber needed and layout.
Construction of the “temple” spa structure began in the fall of 2018.
A concrete slab was poured with plenty of wire and rebar to strengthen it. The well was drilled —- five hundred feet deep before hitting any water. Electrical power was brought up the driveway to the site. Meanwhile a local sawmill cut the posts and beams out of local Adirondack pine trees.
The posts and beams were cut to length, notched and installed by two wonderful carpenter brothers. The little scale model Leslie had built was quite handy for reference; later then wind blew it away down the mountain so it couldn’t be turned into a little bird house as planned. The posts and beams were stained in a dark rich brown, and the red metal roof installed.
After work had to shut down following an early snowstorm in Thanksgiving, Leslie turned the glamping Lodge kitchen into her woodworking shop and began building various components of the building to be assembled in better weather at the site. First she built heavy beautiful green doors for the lower level of the spa with cut outs of moon, sun and star. She then built 17 panels to fit between the posts and beams —- knotty pine panels with four coats of amber shellac were attached on the backside with firring strips to which oiled cedar shingles were nailed. During breaks in the weather when the site was accessible, the carpenters came back to install the doors and panels.
Then once again shut out of the site because of heavy snow, back in her workshop Leslie built an entire outhouse with a copper lined bench, fanciful diagonal screened top panels, 2 x 4 walls framed walls painted Chinese red, gable end roof sections with round red vents, painted red roof trusses and even the floor system — all neatly stacked in the rear hall of the Lodge ready to “assemble” in the spring.
An avid hunter for unique used building materials on Craigslist, Leslie found a retired builder in Lake Placid with a treasured collection of leftover hardwoods, moldings and such. He had 40 handcrafted chalet type of rails which would be perfect for the half flight of stairs on the back of the spa structure. After using her new power planer (“How did I ever live without this amazing tool???”), the rustic rough rails were sanded down and exposed a rich weathered patina. Leslie thought they were just too beautiful to put out in the Adirondack weather as exterior rails so she used them to make nightstands and benches for the glamping tents. She texted some pictures and a thank you to the retired builder who responded that he’d found 24 more of the chalet rails; these will be oiled well and used for stair rails for the spa.
The cedar wood tub was built in Canada and will be installed in the spring, just in time for our guests’ enjoyment in the summer 2019 season.
READ ABOUT TRADITIONAL JAPANESE SENTO BATHS WHICH INSPIRED US!