June 10, 2012
Vermont's New Life Hiking Spa Opens for 35th Season
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Killington, Vermont - For 35 seasons, New Life Hiking Spa has welcomed people from around the globe to the Green Mountains of Vermont for hiking spa vacations. Each year, New Life opens for the season in mid-May and remains open until the last weekend in September. Founded by Jimmy LeSage, M.S., in 1978, New Life has become one of North America's most recognized spa vacations.
"I came up with the idea of New Life after attending a six week yoga retreat in Val Morin, Canada in 1977", states Mr. LeSage. He went on to say, "I had been living and working in Vermont for a few years after graduating with a degree in education from Florida State University and took the opportunity to use a ski hotel in the summers for my idea in 1978."
The first twelve years of New Life Hiking Spa were spent in Stratton Mountain, Vermont and the program consisted of hiking, yoga, aerobics and healthy food. In 1990, he moved New Life to the newly opened Inn of the Six Mountains in Killington, Vermont where it remains today.
In the early 90's Mr. LeSage also received his Master's Degree in Counseling and studied nutrition at Harvard University, which he uses for lectures and individual counseling sessions for guests wanting to learn how to deal with stress and obtaining or maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
SpaFinders, which is the world's largest resource for the spa industry, has selected New Life Hiking Spa as one of the 25 Pioneer Spas, which have shaped the spa industry as we know it today. New Life is consistently picked as one of the top ten spas in the world by SpaFinder's Reader's Choice Awards for hiking, solo travel, weight loss, affordability and fitness classes. In addition, in 2011, Jimmy LeSage, M.S. was chosen as one of the world's top ten best spa managers.
In recent years, New Life Hiking Spa has been recognized as a top destination for weight loss and a healthy vacation. Since 2005, New Life has been selected as a top ten fitness vacation by MSNBC, and a top weight loss spa by Shape Magazine and Health Magazine.
"In the past decade, there has been a major focus on healthy vacations and weight loss spas due to America's expanding waistlines and reality TV programs that focus on losing weight. We have always been about health, hiking, whole foods and stress reduction since we opened our doors in 1978, but now there is a major focus in the media on the subject", said Mr. LeSage.
For the 19 weeks a year New Life Hiking Spa is open, approximately 600 guests from all over the world come to visit New Life in the Green Mountains of Vermont. New Life Hiking Spa averages approximately 40 guests per week and employs an average of 35 people each season. Massage therapists, chefs, office staff, hike leaders and fitness instructors make New Life a caring and comfortable vacation where guests at any fitness level feel at ease coming alone or with a friend or partner.
Currently, New Life is in the summer edition of Yankee Magazine's Travel Guide to New England and NewsMax Magazine, both on newsstands now. New Life Hiking Spa was chosen in Yankee Magazine as the 2012 Editor's Choice for "Best Place to Rejuvenate" and in NewsMax Magazine for "Best Singles Vacations." Reservations are now being accepted for the 2012 season.
Guests at New Life Hiking Spa experience rejuvenation with an all-inclusive spa vacation. New Life offers mini-getaways of three to four days, healthy "Jump Start" packages of 5-10 days and an 11 night or longer Weight Loss Retreat.
Prices range from $249-$219 per night and include a private room with a private bath, three nutritious meals per day, healthy snacks, guided hikes along the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail (three levels offered per day), yoga classes, fitness classes, water aerobics in a heated indoor pool, cooking demos, healthy eating lectures, and one massage is included for every three night stay. The 2012 season will run from May 17th through September 30th.
More information can be found online at New Life Hiking Spa's Website: http://www.newlifehikingspa.com or http://www.WeightLossSpa.com
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
