Harbin Hot Springs is a non-profit hot spring retreat and workshop center at Harbin Springs in Lake County , Northern California . Named after Matthew Harbin , a pioneer who settled in the Lake County area . It is located about two hours northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area , in the United States . The facility was partially destroyed in the Valley Fire in September 2015 , and was temporarily closed ; as of September 2017 it was announced the resort would reopen in early spring 2018 . Circa spring 2019 it is partially reopened . The baths were commercially developed by settlers in the 1860s , when buildings were erected on the site . The region is prone to wildfires and , over the years , successive lodges have been rebuilt when they burned down . Harbin Hot Springs issued several postcards advertising the resort in the 1920s and 1930s . In the late 1960s and early 1970s , the property was run as a commune with the name Harbinger , " centered around a man named Don Hamrick , a charismatic fellow who wore business suits and combined science with spiritualism in his lectures/sermons " . In 1969 , Harbinger had about 120 people , but ultimately , the community did not thrive
Valley Fire
Valley Fire
Harbin Hot Springs