Day Trips: Camp Hot Wells, San Antonio

Camp Hot Wells revives the essence of what was once San Antonio's most storied hot mineral water resort.

This might be the only bar in America that offers free hot mineral water foot soaks while enjoying a cold adult beverage. Patrons can dunk their tired dogs in the small concrete troughs off the front porch.

The small bar has picnic tables tucked among the trees and vegetation that overlook the yellow brick ruins of a majestic hotel that attracted guests from around the world.

Most visitors come to do full-body soaks in the tubs filled with the hot water with a slightly sulfurous smell that made the resort famous in the early 20th century. Guests take the waters in private outdoor suites in a secluded garden. One suite has a wooden tub large enough for two people while the other suite has two claw-foot bathtubs. The tubs rent for $100 an hour.

Straight out of the ground, the mineral water runs about 105 degrees.

After years of neglect, what remains of the towering walls of Hot Wells Hotel and Spa is now a county park. The first spa was built in 1893, but burned down and was replaced in 1894. The hotel was a stylish destination and the headquarters for a silent film company. It closed in 1923.

The building burned at least four times, the last time while occupied being in 1977 when it was a supper club called the Flame Room. The ruins opened as part of a park on the banks of the San Antonio River in 2019.

Camp Hot Wells is south of downtown San Antonio next to the park at 5503 S. Presa St., and is open daily from noon to 8pm. Contact them at 210/922-1927 or camphotwells.com.

1,655th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere: Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.