Part historic landmark and part day spa, Steamboat Hot Springs Healing Center and Spa has always been about one thing: the water. As stated in Healthy Beginnings Magazine, the site probably earned its name from Mark Twain, who is said to have likened its rising columns of steam with the steamboats he used to captain on the Mississippi River. The picturesque vapors emanated from what was the third-largest geyser in the United States, rivaled in majesty only by Old Faithful and the ears of an angry Yosemite Sam. Native people, settlers, and travelers seeking healing—including President Ulysses S. Grant—partook of the up to 80-foot-high waters before the geyser and springs dried up after an earthquake in 1900. Osteopath Dr. Edna Carver bought the property 25 years later and drilled down into the earth to once again unleash the artesian waters.

Today, temperature-controlled mineral water from the hot springs flows into soaking tubs and the steam room, nourishing skin with rare sulfate minerals including borax, silica, and magnesium. The center—which Kathika.com has named one of the best spas in Reno—keeps the tradition of healing alive with modernized treatments ranging from soothing massages to light, color, and sound therapy.