Berkeley Springs Treasure Tour:
Main Bath House
The yellow brick Main Bathhouse at the south end of the park was built in 1929 on land added to the park after the Berkeley Hotel burned in 1898. The bath house has operated since then as the primary spa facility. While excavating for an addition in 1948 a new spring was found. Massages have been given here since at least 1932.
Currently, steam, massage and bath treatments are available at bargain prices daily, year ’round from 1Oam-5pm. Reservations are recommended with scores of people turned away on busy weekends. There is a men’s section and women’s section in the spa building. Baths, both in oversized tubs and Roman baths, use the natural spring water heated to 102°F. Claims for the waters in 18th and 19th century literature ranged from treatments for gout and arthritis to epilepsy and stomach problems. Contemporary praise focuses on the soothing, healing properties of the water in cases of stress. There is a small gift shop in this building.
The Ladies Spring next to the main bathhouse and currently enclosed was described in 1816 as “fine, bursting forth from rock in the form of a cone.” By 1853 it was covered by an elaborate pagoda used as a bandstand. The pagoda was torn down in 1918. Today the spring is the prime source for the Main Bathhouse and the town water supply.
Click here for an interactive map of the Treasure Tour of Berkeley Springs State Park.