Explore Oregon’s High Desert Wellness Spots with Mobile Saunas, Forest Bathing and Herbal Teas

Oregon is one of America’s most geographically diverse states. Nestled in the Cascades mountain range, you’ll find an entirely different type of environment from the deep and lush coastal greenery that the Pacific Northwest is most often associated with.

This is the “high desert,” and its diverse flora has attracted a plethora of nature enthusiasts, healers and wellness entrepreneurs. A recent trip through the area offered almost every kind of spa experience, outdoor yoga and hiking class you could think of. But the best parts were the entrepreneurs running things like a mobile sauna (you get toasty in a wood-fired sauna then thermal contrast in the cool Deschutes River), a modern apothecary that stocked more than 300 organic and wildcrafted bulk herbs and house-blended teas, and a juice farm and organic delivery service where the juices are botanically infused with high-grade plant extract remedies.

Golfers might want to stay at Sunriver Resort (where we also enjoyed forest bathing and a magnificent sound healing experience), while the more romantically inclined will be drawn to FivePine Lodge, where the fireplace and tub are the centerpieces of the rooms.

FivePine Lodge also houses Shibui Spa and is steps away from the town of Sisters

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Pull up to this handcrafted mobile sauna, where hot/cold thermal contrast therapy is enhanced by Baltic-Latvian plant-based treatments

The proprietor of Loving Fungi is a walking encyclopedia of mushroom-based healing

Naturopathic doctor Ashley Rieger owns The Peoples Apothecary, where plant medicine is accessible and fun