WHY GO: “Nestled in the Allegheny Mountains of Western Virginia, Bath County offers rich history, picturesque villages, and breathtaking views.” Yes, I know this sounds like an exaggeration from a tourist brochure, but I can guarantee that those words hardly touch how beautiful it is in this hard to get to but easy to love slice of VA.
(Looking for more weekend ideas in Virginia with your honey? Check out our Best Romantic Getaways in Virginia post.)
Named for the mineral rich warm and hot pools of crystal-clear water, Bath County, population 4,000, has been attracting scores of people since the mid-1700’s. These hardy folks dared make the tough trek over the mountains to rejuvenate and recreate in the only Virginia county without a traffic light. Even now.
In 1875, the railroad ran a line over the mountains to Hot Springs VA, sparking a tourism boom, and bringing a “who’s who” of visitors to the famous Homestead Resort, which first opened in 1766. (Interestingly, in 1975, 100 years after they were installed, the rails were removed, as road conditions improved significantly).
Warning: Bath County VA is not a “scene” in the fast-living, nightclubbing, see-and-be-seen sense. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, look elsewhere.
This remote part of Virginia is meant for “slow travel:” the kind where you can Zen out and float in warm mineral waters for an hour. The kind where you can hike through pristine forests with glorious mountain views. The kind where you can listen to chamber music while dining on a gourmet meal; discover an incredible restaurant in an old gristmill; discuss the meaning of life with a cider-maker-philosopher and sip his creations; or stay in a unique luxury inn with a gourmet breakfast delivered to your door.
The Omni Homestead Resort might still be the lifeforce of the area, but now, the surrounding population is stretching out, pursuing other things. What exactly? Read on…
Things to Do in Bath County VA: Warm Springs, Hot Springs Virginia
PHOTO OP/HIKE: Dan Ingalls Overlook and Warm Springs Mountain Preserve
From the Dan Ingalls Overlook – your perch atop Warm Springs Mountain – nature unspools endlessly before you (as does the ribbon of road that got you up here).
This was once the location of the toll-road gate from the 1880’s -1910’s when the twisty road between Warm Spring VA and Hot Springs VA was perilous. According to some locals, quite a few visitors in carriages died on the downhills when their brakes failed.
Part of the old road is now a hiking trail, so if you have time, take a walk. Or just get out of your car at the Overlook and take in the intoxicating scenery.
DO: Soak in Historic Warm Springs Pools
Thomas Jefferson traveled one and a half days to soak in these 98-degree mineral pools – first opened to the public in 1761 – in order to sooth his aching arthritis. Considered the “Oldest Covered Spa in the USA,” (others may be older but were not enclosed), Historic Warm Spring Pools were called “healing waters” due to the high concentration of magnesium sulfate, iron, silica, and boron – known to relax and soothe the body.
To this day, the Warm Spring Pools maintain a remarkably consistent flow and body-temperature year-round, unaffected by seasonal changes.
The pools were enclosed in 1886, around the time that the railroad was bringing more and more travelers to Bath County for the cool mountain air and the hot springs. In the early 1900’s, FDR would visit to assuage his polio symptoms.
Back then, visitors, who’d have to either take the narrow-gauge train or traverse the mountain roads by horse and carriage, would bring food and secure a changing room for a whole day (rather than the hour allotted nowadays). In the Women’s Bath, changing rooms had a back door so that guests could picnic outside.
Now, after an extensive restoration, these two domed structures are on the National Historic Register, and still in operation 7 days a week all year long. Book an hour, bring your bathing suit, and you’ll receive a towel and a noodle to float around with.
My experience: Whatever stresses I came in with melted away. That’s in small part because there were only two other people in the water, as it was a weekday. I heard that on weekends there can be 25-35 folks taking the waters. Just be aware.
VISIT/MUSIC/EAT/STAY: Garth Newel Music Center
No, Garth Newel was not a person, though it sounds like it could have been. Garth Newel is actually a bucolic 114-acre Chamber Music Concert venue presenting over 30 concerts each year.
The name means “New Home” in Welch – and it was new in 1924, when Yale Professor/ prominent artist, William Sergeant Kendall, and his art-student wife, Christine Herter Kendall, moved to this country estate, raised Arabian Horses, and built the Manor House (now a 9-room lodge), and a large barn to ride in.
After William died in the late 1930’s, Christine first donated the land to the Girl Scouts of America, but they were unable to maintain it. Another opportunity arose in the form of a cellist and violinist from the famous Rowe String Quartet: Luca and Arlene Di Cecco.
The couple established a chamber music study program on the property in 1973 and began giving concerts. Herter-Kendall paid to restore and convert the dirt-floor horse-riding ring into a burnished concert hall, and the rest is lovely history.
Now, Garth Newel includes a mile-long walking trail, a manor house, two barns, several cottages, sweeping lawns, hills, and woods, providing an astonishing backdrop to the Chamber Music concerts performed here year-round.
The Music Center’s house band, The Garth Newel Piano Quartet, selects other classical musicians to play here, and performances include either a buffet dinner, or, on Saturday nights, a 4-course plated gourmet meal.
Arlene Di Cecco felt early on that, “People make an effort to come all this way here, so the least we can do is feed them!” Initially, she did all the cooking. Now, there’s a resident chef.
Patrons generally come from Charlottesville, Richmond, wider Virginia, WV, Georgia, and even far from the South, and from other countries.
Luckily, the Manor House serves as a moderately priced 9-room lodging with plenty of old-world character. There’s a Grand piano in the library (yes, visiting musicians play for other guests sometimes), and lots of seating by the fireplace in the Great Room.
For those who love classical music in a unique and spectacular mountain setting, this multi-faceted institution is a rare find and should be on your radar.
TASTE: Troddenvale at Oakley Farm
Troddenvale at Oakley Farm crafts small-batch “minimal-intervention” ciders from estate grown apples. It’s rare in the beverage industry to grow, make, and sell a product from one place. Most do one, some do two. Troddenvale does all three.
Troddenvale’s owner, Will Hodges, grew up here. He met his wife, Cornelia, (who hails from Nashville), in Mendoza where they were both working at Argentinian wineries. Throughout his early life, Will had a series of jobs – at one point running a flyfishing guide service – before realizing that “there’s no place like home.” Literally.
Will grew up on Oakley Farm, one of the first farms in Bath County that supplied food products for The Homestead. The Hodges purchased the farm from Will’s grandparents in 2018, hoping to connect “people with place” in the form of cider.
Will was fixated on apples because of their history. The nation’s early settlers planted apple trees to make hard cider, which was then healthier to drink than water. Before the Industrial Age, said Will, there were hundreds of apple varieties. No more.
In some way, the Hodges want to get back to the diversity of flavors and textures the country’s Founding Fathers (who drank a lot of cider) enjoyed. “There’s lots of tourism in Bath County, but not much made here,” Will says.
So, the Hodges planted 2,000 dwarf apple trees of 20 different varieties, which, Will says, take just 2-4 years from root to fruit. They produce as much as taller apple trees, but are easier to pick.
The modern craft-cider industry in the US is very young, just harking back to the 1990’s. Many people still confuse the New England roadside-stand type of apple cider, which Hodges calls “apple juice,” with the alcoholic version.
So, the Hodges are here to inform. “The majority of apple growers just care about the fruit, not the beverage. As a result, most people have a simplistic view of cider. They liken it to beer.”
Have a sip or two of Troddenvale’s small-craft cider and taste the difference.
Tastings take place in a lovingly restored 1920’s stable with orchard views. Troddenvale turns out about 1,000 cases of ciders of about 20 different types a year, distributed to over a dozen US States.
Using variations of apples, Will strives to create different flavor profiles, which you can try as well as buy. I opted for the House Cider, with tiny bubbles that tickled my tongue; and Dollop of Damson – a blend of white American hybrid grapes, apples and Damson Plums. It’s as close to a rosé as a cider can get, and very good.
The tasting room also serves as an “improvised indoor farmer’s market” called Food Lore. Although the Hodges source wines and some products from all over the world, their real goal is to create community and to connect it to local agrarian producers.
Where to Eat in Bath County VA
EAT: The Waterwheel Restaurant at Gristmill Square, Warm Springs
Owned by and part of The Inn @ Gristmill Square, the Waterwheel Restaurant is, by most accounts, “exceptional,” “superb,” “fabulous” and many more superlatives. Although set within a weathered barn, the ambience is surprisingly sweet and cozy, with remnants of the water-powered mill that produced stone ground flour, serving as decorative objects: Reminders of what operated here until the gristmill closed in 1971.
EAT: Milk House Market
Want adorable with your fresh salads and sandwiches? Milk House Market (named for the decommissioned dairy above it) is a tiny yet tremendously good breakfast, lunch, and dinner spot.
It’s a local “gem” and hangout according to a neighbor who comes here often. By night, it’s a bar, with pizza, linguini, crab cakes, and risotto on the menu. Think that’s quirky? You’ll also find bottles of wine, pairs of socks, and other sundries to purchase.
EAT: Jefferson’s Taproom at the Omni Homestead
The Homestead has many restaurants around its massive property, but Jefferson’s Taproom is the most relaxed, welcoming space, as a bar should be. The menu consists of elevated pub fare with a local twist, featuring shareable appetizers, burgers, wood-fired pizzas, and seasonal specials. I ordered the excellent Cascade Cobb Salad, topped with tasty smoked turkey, a deviled egg, and candied pecans: and polished it off.
Where to Stay in Bath County VA
STAY: Inn at Gristmill Square, Warm Springs
While this little remote enclave of buildings in Warm Springs VA may initially appear to be doll-and doily-cutesy, fear not. Collectively they hide the very upscale accommodations at the Inn at Gristmill Square. Even better, these rooms are located within a few steps of one of the best dining establishments in Virginia: The Waterwheel Restaurant. We loved this inn, a Maven Favorite – so you can read more in our review of The Inn at Gristmill Square.
STAY: Omni Homestead Resort
Before there was Omni, there was The Homestead Resort. Way before. Established in 1766, Thomas Jefferson was a frequent visitor.
Touting the region as one with a “Northern Climate, and Southern Hospitality,” The Homestead was booming. Mid-1800’s, in the summer, when metro areas sweltered, it was cool up in the mountains.
Before Sysco and US Foods, and being so far removed from any source of food, the resort relied on locals to grow and catch food products. The hotel hired animal trappers and kept 10,000 laying hens. There was a piggery. In fact, the whole valley was devoted to this one resort, as Bath County was built completely around The Homestead.
The original wooden structure burned down in 1901, and this “new” brick version went up in 1902. You can learn the history of the Homestead through murals (painted in 1997) that encircle a small room right off the main lobby.
All 483 Guest Rooms, much of the main hotel, and the Historic 1761 Warm Springs Pools went through a $150 million renovation in 2023, bringing more attention to Bath County and The Omni Homestead. Golfers and equestrians will love it here; and with so much going on every day, it’s a perfect resort for families.
