WELLNESS IN THE WILD

Spa aficionado MARY BEMIS takes the [cold] plunge at Mohonk Mountain House.

- MARY BEMIS

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, while watching Netflix, I saw a futuristic version of heaven on earth and recognized it immediately. The show was the hit series Upload, and the virtual “heaven” was Mohonk Mountain House, the very real Victorian-era resort located in the Hudson Valley, 90 minutes north of New York City. Recently, I learned that the spa at this earthly paradise had been refreshed, and I was curious—how do you improve upon a natural paradise?

Nature has always played muse to Mohonk. The resort was founded in 1869 by Albert K. Smiley, a devout Quaker with an immense appreciation and respect for nature and an unparalleled conscience for social justice. The resort has been offering guests guided nature walks for the last 154 years. The property is still run and owned by the family’s fifth generation and has managed to stay true to Albert’s original mission: to provide opportunities for recreation and renewal of body, mind, and spirit in a beautiful natural setting. Less than three percent of family businesses in the United States succeed to a fourth generation of family involvement, so having a natural paradise is a good place to start.