Wilbur Hot Springs’ 1800-acre site is sacred land historically inhabited by the Patwin and Pomo tribes of Northern California. These indigenous groups tended the land for tens of thousands of years before European contact. With its mineral rich medicinal waters, the site has always been a location for healing and ceremony. From approximately 1840 to 1940, the tribes were forced off the land and mining activities (gold and mercury) dominated the area, culminating with over 1000 people living in the valley, including a post office, housing for visitors and the hot springs resorts. These activities resulted in a great deal of damage to the fragile ecosystem. After laying fallow, Wilbur Hot Springs was brought back to life with community and a Hot Springs hotel in the 1970s. Today, Wilbur Hot Springs is a hotel and spa, able to accommodate up to 80 guests with 20 full time staff, with about half of the staff living on site. All proceeds for Wilbur Hot Springs hotel business activities are reinvested back into the operations and its land stewardship activities, including the 1560-acre Nature Preserve under conservation easement. Our general Land Stewardship activities include Watershed Restoration, Native Plant Propagation, Invasive Species Control, as well as re-establishing the gathering of medicinal herbs by indigenous tribal folks, education of hot springs visitors, and more.