Avila Beach sits on top of natural mineral springs. It's one of the few beach towns in California where you can follow a day on the sand with a soak in a hillside hot tub. Here's how to do it right.
The signature experience. Sycamore's private open-air hot tubs are terraced up a wooded hillside along Avila Beach Drive, each fed by naturally heated mineral water and screened from the others by oak trees. You book by the hour.
At the Highway 101 end of Avila Beach Drive, Avila Hot Springs is the casual, family-friendly option: a large warm mineral pool alongside a freshwater swimming pool. Day passes are inexpensive, kids are welcome, and no reservation is needed for general soaking. Less romantic than Sycamore, much easier with children.
The hot springs pair naturally with everything else in town: a morning on Avila's sheltered, south-facing beach, lunch on the promenade, the Bob Jones Trail by bike, wine tasting at the walkable downtown tasting rooms, then a soak as the sun drops.
Our Avila Beach vacation rentals are 1-2 blocks from the beach and a short drive (or bike ride up the Bob Jones Trail) from both springs. Browse all 13 properties. If you're planning a couples trip, ask us which ones have the best sunset views.