• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

Seaside hot springs at the Esalen Institute.   (Photo: Courtesy of Esalen )

Primarily an educational facility for holistic health gurus, the legendary Esalen Institute welcomes nonstudent guests for massage treatments (from $150). Schedule your appointment for mid-morning, and arrive early to enjoy the coed, naked—and newly renovated—hot springs. Because massage appointments are limited, make a reservation well in advance. Without one, you won’t even be permitted on the property—except between the very un-Zen hours of 1 and 3 a.m., when the mineral baths are open to the general public.

May 16, 2007 issue of New York Magazine