Mini Review: Blue Mountain & Scandinave Spa

Spent a good six days in Collingwood, Ontario at Blue Mountain Resort with great friends. Spent a majority of it on the slopes undoubtedly and luckily with plenty of fresh powder.

I bought my self a snowboard last year to force myself to learn how to snowboard after spending all that money. This was my second season with my own board and probably my fourth year going to Blue. After last season, I managed to get a hang of the toe edge and was pretty comfortable with my heel edge.

This year, my goal was to learn to put them together and carve! For the majority of the beginning of the season I deemed myself to be neither "regular" nor "goofy" but rather "retarded" as I couldn't manage to figure out which style I was more comfortable with. As my good friend J calls it, "an identity crisis." After many falls and much frustration I'm proud to say I am regular! Carving is a pain in the butt to learn - literally! I almost raged quit SO many times. My boyfriend - so very patiently - was trying to teach me but I think it's one of those things where you kind of have to figure it out yourself. On Day 2 of our six day vacay, I fell (but of course I did) probably my millionth time since strapping on to a board for the first time - on my wrist pretty badly.

I just sat there - waiting for the pain in my wrist to go away on a plateau area of Happy Valley. You can bet I was ready to rage quit. As I sat there, there were two boarders in front of me - one learning and one teaching. I sat there for probably a good five to ten minutes. My boyfriend kept asking me I was okay but I just sat there staring at these two people in front of me frustrated. Not sure what got into me but after those ten minutes, I got up with a whole new attitude and miraculously began to carve! I still can't explain what went through my head or how it happened - it just did.

Snowboarding is a very fun winter sport but like all sports it can be quite strenuous. After four days straight of boarding, my body needed a good spa day and/or massage. Since hearing about the Scandinave Spa @ Blue Mountain about two years ago I've been dying to go try out their hot baths. I convinced my friend J to come with to see what all the raving was about.


We had a 2-for-1 deal with our season passes at Blue Mountain for the Scandinave Baths so we took advantage of that on Day 5 of our trip. Apparently the proper way to go abouts these "baths" is to spend 15-20 minutes in a "Hot" environment - either in a hot tub at a temperature of about 40 degrees Celsius or the sauna or steam room. You are then to spend 15-20 minutes in a "Cold" environment - either in a pool at about 15 degrees Celsius or quickly roll in the snow! To finish it off, another 15-20 minutes in a relaxing area where you can read magazines and/or papers. You are to repeat this cycle - some people spend two to three hours doing these "baths".

The baths are located outside and lit in a very calming manner. At night, it offers a great view of Blue Mountain all lit up for night skiing. There are "quiet please" signs everywhere and very soothing music playing in the background. The temperature on the day we went was well below -10 degrees Celsius so needless to say we didn't follow the step-by-step. We spent most of the time in the "Hot Baths," tried out the sauna and chilled out in the relaxing area reading magazines.  One of the hot tubs even had a mini waterfall where you could stand under and get a pretty awesome shoulder and upper back massage. The jets in the pools offered great massages on your lower back also. It was definitely a very relaxing experience!

It is definitely a must try for the experience.  Not sure if I would be willing to fork out that type of money and driving two-hours from Toronto if I wasn't already conveniently there boarding to do it again. I prefer the more economical and easier alternative of a hot bubble bath with some LUSH bath products =) It would be a nice getaway spa date for two - for an anniversary or even Valentine's Day - for some rest and relaxation as I would of definitely fallen asleep in that hot pool if it wasn't for the fear of drowning. Those interested can check out their website here. They also have locations by other ski resorts in Whistler, British Columbia and Tremblant, Quebec - great way to unwind and relieve those aching muscles after a long day of boarding and/or skiing, that's for sure! 

Any suggestions for spa/massage destinations? Feel free to leave comments below!

As always, Read. Comment. Share. Follow. <3


-Karennn