PK Mystical Wates
Mystical Waters of Harrison Hot Springs
People have traveled up river to Harrison Lake since 1886, when the St. Alice Hotel was built, to bathe in the rejuvenating, healing waters of Harrison Hot Springs.
At one time the Salish Coast Indians in the area believed the boiling waters were supernatural, and that those who drank the water were given mystic powers over their fellow men. The waters have long been considered medicinal by many and some suffering from rheumatic ailments have found soothing relief in the hot springs over the decades.
Although the Harrison Hot Spring are not the only hot springs in British Columbia, they are the best known because of their relationship to the Harrison Hot Springs Resort, which in its history has attracted such famous guests as the King and Queen of Siam, Clark Gable, John Wayne, Sydney Poitier and Sylvester Stallone.
There are two springs at the end of Harrison Lake , the "Potash," which has a temperature of 40°C (120°F) and the " Sulfur " with a temperature of 65°C (150°F).
According to the book Healing Waters written by Belle Rendall and published by the Harrison Lake Historical Society in 1981, "Chemical analysis of the Harrison springs shows the water contains silica, ferric oxide, alumina, trioxide, lime, magnesia, chlorine, sulfur, sodium, potassium and some unidentified salts." The water averages 1,300 parts per million of dissolved mineral solids, one of the highest concentrations of any mineral spring.
Ancient and eternal in origin, the springs have bestowed their healing properties on all who have come since their discovery in the 1800s. To help visitors soak their cares away, Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa has created 8,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor natural mineral hot spring pools.
The Five Hot Spring Pools
Harrison Resort & Spa has two indoor and three outdoor pools with varying temperatures of hot, warm or refreshing. The indoor sitting pool is cooled to a temperature of 38° to 40°C (100° to 103°F), an ideal temperature for promoting the relief of general aches and stress.
The larger indoor pool is maintained at a temperature of 90°F. Guests can enjoy the indoor pools 22 hour a day.
The new outdoor pools have been built surrounded by plants, rock formations and a cascading waterfall. In the outside adult swimming pool, the hot spring waters are piped from the lake source and cooled to 32° to 35°C (90° to 95°F).
For people with disabilities there is a second outdoor hot springs pool also kept at 95°F that has a gently sloping ramp for pool access and a bench for sitting that follows the inside edge of the pool.
A large outdoor family pool is not fed by the springs, but is used by both children and adults and for swimming laps.
Next to the pools is the Healing Springs Spa, completed in 2001, where many of the treatments designed to relax, renew and rebalance guests incorporate Harrison 's natural mineral waters.
