3540 W. Colfax Ave., 303-825-2995
The treatment: One hour of reflexology; $30 plus the $15 entrance fee covering use of the eucalyptus steam room, dry sauna, hot tub and shower area.
This facility is for: anyone looking to relax or detox without the pretense or expense of a more fashionable spa.
Open since 1927, when it was started by a couple who immigrated from Russia, Lake Steam Baths is nothing short of a beloved local institution. This come-as-you- are place is cozy and humble, from the dated dark wood paneling in the lobby to the plastic yard chairs around the locker room and cafe where soaked, steamed and kneaded clientele can socialize or simply zone out. This place continues to feel like a secret despite being somewhere that devotees tend to want to share with friends, loved ones and out-of-town guests.
First impressions: It’s all about your birthday suit at this spa fashioned after a traditional Russian bathhouse. That means visitors use the facilities in the buff, save for a towel or sheet; there are separate days for women and men. “We don’t allow outside linens or swim trunks in,” says manager Steven Pacheco, “because the hot tub would become a washing machine.”
While being nude among strangers may be jarring at first, the vibe at Lake Steam Baths couldn’t be less like a high- school locker room. Yes, there are “perfect” bodies. But the aging and ill also seek out Lake Steam Baths, so there will always be a better body than yours right alongside those with birthmarks, stretch marks, surgical scars and tattoos both faded and fresh. The result? It takes moments for any awkwardness or insecurity about your own form to fall away. “I will give a modest person a free pass just so they can come in and experience the place,” Pacheco says.
The treatment was: pleasant, relaxing and revitalizing. Reflexology is based on the principle that, for every part of the body, there are corresponding reflexes in the feet, hands and ears. So applying pressure to specific areas — the feet in particular — is thought to relieve tension, improve circulation and promote better health.
One notable departure from a traditional massage is that during this treatment, the client sits up facing the therapist as opposed to lying down on a table. Fortunately, this treatment was performed by a professional who described herself as someone to whom “no one is a stranger.” She was an easygoing woman who talked casually and openly about whatever was on her mind or her client’s.
Amenities: Visitors to Lake Steam Baths receive a locker and key, sheet and hand towel at check-in. Larger towels are available for a small fee. The cafe is just off the locker room. This is the place to grab a light nosh or even a cold beer while indulging in a few minutes of trash television or thumbing through a magazine.
Room for improvement: The place ain’t fancy, which is something fans love about it. But the locker room, cafe and massage-area decor is dated. Fresh paint in a palette less jarring than the current salmon and turquoise, plus the easy addition of original local artwork or fine-art photography, would be a welcome and relatively inexpensive upgrade that would only underscore Lake Steam’s reputation as a healing sanctuary.
Make the most of your visit: There is a sequence in which visitors should use the facilities for maximum detoxification and relaxation, Pacheco says. First, shower. Next, use the eucalyptus steam room to open up the pores. Then another shower to rinse off toxins released in the steam room. On to the hot sauna, where visitors sit for a moment, then use buckets of cold water to splash and shock their core, which releases more toxins. Time for another shower before a soak in the hot tub.
The benefits of this ritual come from heating the body in layers, which treats tissues, muscles and tendons. “If you can take in each of those areas for 20 or 30 minutes, it makes your massage that much better (because) you’re more pliable,” Pacheco says.
Repeat visit planned? Definitely. Lake Steam Baths is known for its low-cost massage, which still goes for $30 an hour. But the facility also offers hot rock sessions, mud wraps, and salt and seaweed scrubs. No treatment is more than $45.
Know before you go: Women’s days are Mondays, Thursdays and one Sunday a month from October to April. Men’s days are Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday mornings. Elana Ashanti Jefferson
