The New Fitness: Electrifying Adventure Spa Getaways

Everyone has their personal wish list when it comes to spa travel. Mine is to visit a luxury spa resort where the massage therapist looks like Ryan Gosling…scratch that, when the massage therapist is Ryan Gosling. For some, a secluded holistic spa experience or meditative yoga retreat is the ticket, while for others, it’s a family friendly getaway in the heart of a popular beach setting. And for a more thrill-seeking crowd, there are spa getaways that cater to the adventuresome and fitness devotees alike.

Adventure spa getaways offer a new approach for fitness lovers to explore a number of daring endeavors (think extreme mountain biking and abseiling a 120-foot gorge) without ever leaving the resort grounds. These getaways set the stage for you, whether you’re a novice or a pro athlete, to get moving, get healthy and reach your fitness goals.

Think how easy it will be to achieve the 30 minutes of moderate-intensity daily exercise recommended by the Surgeon General by snorkeling among sting rays or zip lining 300 feet above ground at up to 60 miles per hour!

So when you’re booking your plans for SpaFinder’s upcoming 2012 Wellness Week, we encourage you to consider these following properties: They’re just some of the spas that tackle electrifying fitness fun and soothing spa treatments simultaneously — and in high doses.

Ready, set, spa adventure!

Maruba Resort Jungle Spa – Maskall Village, Belize: Hike a mile or two in the dense rainforest or arrange snorkeling jaunts at Belize’s barrier reef or the area’s Shark Ray Alley, where nurse sharks and sting rays congregate.

Red Mountain Resort – Ivins, Utah: This resort has one of the most extensive hiking programs in the U.S.; 30-plus hiking trails for all levels lead through a stunning landscape of red and white Navajo sandstone rock, lava caves, desert animal life, and Native American petroglyphs.

Salish Lodge & Spa – Snoqualmie, Washington: Rev your engines — the lodge currently partners with its neighbor DirtFish Rally School to offer rally driving.

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa – Farmington, Pennsylvania: The Adventure Center features an off-road driving academy featuring Jeep Rubicons®, a suspended ropes course, a 50-foot climbing wall and 1,060-foot Fatbird Flyer Zip Line.

BodyHoliday at LeSport – Cariblue Beach St. Lucia: Land sports and watersports of every kind are offered — and the BodyHoliday’s Soft Adventure Programme offers rappelling (or hiking) down a 120-foot gorge onto the sand bank of the River Doree.

Essex Resort and Spa – Essex, Vermont: On-site activities include the Northern Lights Rock and Ice outdoor adventure center, featuring dual 450-foot zip wires. The Four-Diamond retreat is certified as an Orvis-endorsed fly-fishing lodge as well.

Topnotch Resort and Spa – Stowe, Vermont: Rental equipment — along with tips and lessons — for all sorts of activities ranging from mountain biking, cycling, in-line skating, fly fishing and skiing is available at the resort’s Nordic Barn Recreational Center.

Double Eagle Resort & Spa, Inc – June Lake, California: From horseback riding and rock climbing to mountain biking and back country Jeep adventures, the resort is a Mecca for sports and outdoor fans.