The Way to Relaxation

Some aspects mentioned on this page are tied to some services that are not currently available. Please be patient with us while we continue to add amenities and features to the facility over time.

In the jumble of everyday life, when we are invited to slow down and listen, magic happens

When we unwind, truly relax, and quiet the noise in our minds, we come across something very special -- the centre of our own existence. Those who have been there will tell you, this is an especially beautiful and soulful place to be. You will know it when you find it. There is a wonderful and often emotional sense of coming home. The feeling is that of a river moving in you; a warmth and a longing that no words can fully capture.

Steps 1-5 - How to Use the Facility

Start your Eclipse experience with a cleansing shower with Yukon botanicals for your skin and hair.

Once you have cleansed yourself, you are now ready to find your locker number and put your belongings away. Put on your robe and choose a heat therapy such as bathing in the hot pools, having a seat in the jetted tub or visiting the steam room or sauna. Before you choose your treatment find your hook number (same as your locker number) in the hallway. This is the place to hang your robe and extra towels and leave your sandals. Please use the shelf above to keep your water glass, toque, glasses, reading material etc.

Next, choose a cold treatment. This may be a cold shower, a plunge in the cold mineral pool or in the summer a walk down to the pond for a cold dip.

Now it is time to relax for 10-15 minutes. Lay your towel down on one of our heated lounge chairs in the relax room. Perhaps have a stretch in the yoga room or have a chair in the upstairs solarium and enjoy a view of the surrounding mountains. You can also go outside and sit around the fire pit or lounge in one of the deck chairs. This is a good time to get a glass of water from one of the water stations to keep yourself hydrated.

Repeat this cycle a minimum of two times to feel rejuvenated. Many people like the benefits of leaving the minerals on their skin after they are finished. If you would like to rinse off, there are showers located before the dressing room. Please return keys and rental towels, toques and robes at the side counter on your way out. Guests are welcome at any time to come to the food counter for food and drinks. Please wear your robe and keep food and drink in the café or outside on the upper patio only.

Hydrotherapy

Why is the Nordic Cycle Beneficial?

-Cleanse

Our bodies are 70% water and our molecules are 99% water. It is important to clean our skin. Not only is cleansing and hydrating our skin healthy for us but it also removes the lotions, sprays and creams that we put daily on our skin. We need to clean our pores before we dilate them in the heat. Clean skin and hair also keep the hot pools, jetted tub, sauna and steam rooms free from bacteria, creams and cosmetics.

-Heat

Heat dilates your pores and encourages you to sweat and cleanse your body. It also dilates your blood vessels which improves blood circulation. This in turn increases cell oxygenation and increases nourishment to the cells, tissues and organs. Soaking in hot water has been proven to block pain receptors in bones and muscles.

The circumpolar countries have known for centuries the health benefits of using the sauna and steam rooms in thermotherapy. They know that regular sauna use improves function of the innermost layer of blood vessels in the body which has a very good effect on blood pressure.

All our blood vessels have a muscular layer in their wall. As with every muscle in the body, muscles in the heart and blood vessel walls need an occasional workout. Recent studies have shown that having a sauna 4-7 times per week eliminates the risk of developing high blood pressure by 50%. Regular hot therapy provides the best training for your blood vessels’ muscles because the hot/cold constantly constricts and dilates blood vessels throughout the session.

The sauna and the steam room also help relieve nasal and lung congestion. It helps people breathe easier.

-Cold

The cold therapy, using cold showers and plunges, closes your skin’s pores and increases blood circulation. The cold stimulates the body and invigorates, increasing your adrenalin levels. This paves the way for your brain to release endorphins to flow through your body. You will feel immediate effects to your well-being.

-Rest

Finally, there is a rest period. This is needed to bring the body closer to its normal temperature so the cycle can be repeated two more times.   After you have completed 3 or more rounds of the thermotherapy cycle, the relaxation that you feel is deeply restorative. It will make you feel rejuvenated, reduce stress in the body and will give you an improved quality of sleep.

Eclipse Experience

Most people in North America bathe in hot springs for recreational purposes only. They like to have a nice long hot soak then go home. Our hot springs experience is inspired not only for recreation but with our guests’ health in mind. Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs uses the concept of alternating hot and cold therapy with relaxation to achieve a state of health and mental wellbeing.

This spa concept, called Nordic spa, does not relate to the word north although it was developed by the Scandinavian countries. In a Nordic spa guests are encouraged to follow a cycle of hot then cold followed by a rest period. This process is known as thermotherapy. Using the hot springs for thermotherapy- rather than just for a hot soak alone- can have a profound effect on physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. We invite our guests to try the Nordic cycle. This process will help to strengthen your immune system, purify your body, and to soothe various aches and pains.

The Nordic Ritual at Eclipse

Start the cycle with a cleansing shower using Yukon botanicals for your skin and hair. Next choose a hot therapy. Choose between the outdoor hot springs’ pools, the saunas, steam rooms, or the jetted tub. A special summer experience is to relax in one of the eight Japanese hand-crafted ceramic bathtubs. Imported from the famous Shigaraki region of Japan you get this beautiful soaker tub all to yourself.

Next have a plunge in the cold mineral pool or a cold shower.

In the summer we are inspired by barefoot walks in nature to cool off. Take a walk down to the pond and sit by the fire or go for a cold dip. Walk over to our history corner to learn about the hot springs over time. Don’t miss a visit to see the actual spring source where the hot water has come out of the ground for millennia.

In the winter we invite you to freeze your hair in our famous Hair Freezing Contest. Help yourself to some snow to cool off after your sauna.

Finally, we have some special ways to relax. Check out the heated lounge beds in the relax room. Close your eyes and listen to the beautiful music and sounds of nature created by Yukon musician Mathew Lien.  Or go upstairs to the yoga multipurpose room and have a stretch. Sip a glass of orange and lemon water on the deck by the firepit or read your book upstairs in the solarium with its beautiful mountain views. Have a cold soda or gelato in your robe at the food counter.

Now repeat this cycle 2 or 3 times. Although that may be too much gelato.

Experience Serenity

Slow down, take an afternoon off. Take time to relax and enjoy life.

Our facility reflects the unique nature of our hot springs and the northern boreal forest which surrounds us.

Orange - the colour of sunrise and sunset but also the mineralized earth. Our reception room has orange walls and floors, the colour of the travertine sedimentary rock which surrounds our facility. This rock was created from millennia of evaporation of calcium carbonate and iron from the hot spring waters flowing over the ground.  Feel the smooth polished travertine under your feet on the barefoot walk and visit the actual water source where the spring bubbles out of the earth.

The grey slate and stone walls of the spa evoke the mountains and Yukon’s wild river beds and streams. Inspired by the wildness of Liard Hot Springs, the stone pools, crafted by master Japanese Canadian stone masons could be secret hidden pools of paradise, a hot springs hunter’s dream in the forest. The doors and wood interior finishing are made of Canadian fir. The post and beam facades surrounding the building are made of Canadian cedar.

Taste the actual boreal plants of the forest in one of our wild foraged teas at the food counter; close your eyes and listen to the magical sounds of falling waterfalls in the eclipse pool or the inspired sounds of nature from musician Mathew Lien from a heated lounger in the relax room. In the evening enjoy the artificial northern lights of green, red, pink and white lighting the hall way or perhaps real ones from outside in the pool.

Relaxing in the hot pools is made even more enjoyable by the wonderful view of the Ibex Valley and Miner’s Range mountains. Whether the mountains are draped with snow, ablaze with autumn colour, bursting with spring greens or shadowed with clouds and sunshine, they provide a beautiful focus for thoughtful appreciation.