I moved to Calgary, Alta., from B.C. over a decade ago, but I will always be amongst the trees and beaches of the West Coast at heart.
In fact, it’s the biggest thing I miss about Vancouver and nearby Vancouver Island. The intoxicating smell of warm earth, mixed with the wet moisture of moss-covered trees. The ripple of water as a crystalline drop spills over the edge of a fern into a nearby pool.
So when I had the opportunity to enjoy a forest bathing experience paired with the natural therapeutic benefits of hydrotherapy on a recent visit to Vancouver Island, B.C., I couldn’t say no.
Solace Organic Spa is truly remote — nestled in the heart of a forest that is well over a hundred years old, on British Columbia’s Salt Spring Island, just east of the main Vancouver Island.
The spa is only a hop, skip, and a jump from Vancouver, making it the perfect day trip. For those of us unable to sprout fins and swim, it’ll cost you a ferry or two to sail from Vancouver’s Tsawwassen terminal to the main island, then another much shorter trip to land on Salt Spring Island.
Once you arrive, you’ll be greeted with absolute solace. Salt Spring is an island that truly values silence and inner peace above other earthly vices. In fact, the locals are so down-to-earth, they almost seem not of this place, softened by the natural ebb and flow of the land and sea around them.
Find stillness
Solace Organic Spa — located just 3 km from the island’s southernmost ferry terminal, Fulford Harbour — is a safe haven in this emerald lush. It’s a place of tranquillity where the pace of nature drives the healing process.
On arriving at the spa, I was greeted with a stillness that is coveted in the city, and a gravel path gently sloping up the walkway to the spa beyond.
Natural wood, minimalist design and a nearby fountain created a peaceful atmosphere. I felt myself instantly relax as I wandered into the secluded tea house and sipped an herbal wellness elixir.
It’s clear that Solace takes notes from Japanese bathhouse and garden design, and as I sipped my tea, I marvelled at the pond next to the teahouse, filled with natural flora and water lilies.
Forest bathing with therapeutic benefits
I had booked the Forest Hydrotherapy Circuit, offering a private and self-directed session in the spa’s hydrotherapy area. Complete with a cedar hot tub, dry sauna and a cold plunge, it offered the holistic wellness benefits of hydrotherapy in a tranquil rainforest setting.
The cedar hot tub was a welcome first plunge as the high humidity on Salt Spring can bring a morning chill to the air. After loosening up in the warm waters, I spent a long time stretching in the cedar sauna. The open window overlooking the forest was a nice touch to an experience that made me relax completely throughout the 90 minutes of bliss.
The circuit’s cold plunge, maintained at a refreshing 8 to 10 degrees, is enhanced by a nearby fountain that encourages you to zone out while immersing yourself in the chilly water.
Resting in the circuit’s lounge area before repeating the cycle helps you maintain the health benefits of an increased heart rate and physical ‘flush’ of toxins in the body, which is enhanced by expanding and contracting blood vessels at thermal temperatures.
Besides the therapeutic benefits, it’s a peaceful and private experience where you’re encouraged to take a moment for yourself to unwind.
You can follow up your hydrotherapy session with a massage, or another treatment (the spa offers everything from Reiki to hot stone massage). I opted for a 60-minute deep tissue massage to follow up my spa circuit, and I left Solace feeling revitalized, loose, and calm.
I brought Solace’s Forest essential oil blend home with me, and when I have a stressful moment in the day, one whiff brings me right back to that bubbling cedar hot tub.
Make Solace Organic Spa your next stop for finding inner peace in the woods. Your heart — and mind — will thank you.
Where: 111 Saltair Ln., Salt Spring Island, B.C.
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Em Medland-Marchen
Em is a Staff Writer for Curiocity Calgary. They are passionate about live music, rose gardens, iced coffee, their dogs Bandit and Stanley, and walks along the Bow River.
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