Bathing Journal: Sand Springs Recreation -- The Only Thermal Pool in New England

When you pull up to Sand Springs Recreation Center you can hear the water gushing. A small lodge perched beside a rushing stream.

Entering the lodge there is usually a candle lit softly by the entrance. You are checked in by a local teenager (a day pass is $17 during sauna hours or you can get a season pass), and you can help yourself to spring water, local buckwheat tea from Wild Soul River and even an orange.

The sauna, which can fit up to 15 people is simple, yet does the job, and then when you can’t take it anymore you waddle out to the pool, fed by the ancient spring.

These waters were important to the Mohican people centuries before aggressive colonization.

“It is well documented that water and springs, more specifically, have long held extreme importance to the Tribe and are even embedded into the namesake “Mã’eekan” which means “water constantly in motion” as well as “Muh-he-con-ne-ok” meaning ‘people of the waters that are never still.’”

The waters which originate in Vermont make their way through the earth picking up minerals along the way, spurting out of the earth pressurized. The water reaches the surface at 74°F, making it always stay cool during the hot months as well as not freezing during winter, perfect for a cold plunge.

The springs were visited during times of sickness by the Mohican people and beloved for their healing and magical properties.

Starting in 1894 a bottling factory has operated there, privatizing the spring in some ways. However, Sand Spring Recreation Pool is one of the longest running spas in America, with references to the spa in the Pittsfield Sun in 1827 as already operating for over a century.

There is something so practical and homecoming about the space’s aesthetics. The floor is a simple speckled epoxy with an open room with board games and a library. In a separate room you can lay on a pool lounger and hear the water drip onto the linoleum floor.

If I really had to pin down what feels so good about Sand Springs, it is that it has just enough frills to make it feel like anyone is welcome and anyone would like it. It is a mix between a municipal pool, spa, and community center. In a world where aesthetics is dominating our era, it is nice to see a little bit of “just enough,” and for it to work.

Something to admire and also inspire…