Kitson Hot Springs near Oakridge has had a couple of modern-day incarnations, first as a hotel and bathhouse resort, then, for nearly 50 years, as a Boy Scout camp.
Now, it’s heading into its third version under new owners Mark and LeeYen Anderson, a Coburg-area couple who bought the 159-acre forested spread earlier this year for $2.1 million from the Boy Scouts.
Their goal: to create a retreat-type location at the hot springs along Hills Creek, with tents, yurts and the like, for wellness-related group events. The Andersons are limited by the property’s zoning: it’s F-1 or “unimpacted forestland.” County rules allow some camping-related uses with conditions. Mark Anderson tells Eugene Weekly he’s preparing a formal application to the county to allow a retreat.
An Oregon native, Anderson, 63, is semi-retired from a career as a senior executive developing wind and solar power facilities in North and South America and Japan. His wife, LeeYen Anderson, is a wellness teacher and spiritual retreat facilitator, and a big driver behind the plans for the Kitson site.
“We’re still in the early stages of understanding what we can and can’t do on the property,” Mark Anderson tells EW. He wants a small-scale “wellness retreat center” where visitors “experience the nature that is there, and learn about themselves.”
The location is remarkable: Water, up to 109 degrees, bubbles up from hot springs above the basalt-lined Hills Creek, which runs into Hills Creek Reservoir.
The sprawling concrete foundation of what was once a three-story hot-water bathhouse perches on the hot springs overlooking the creek. The 159 acres includes forests, plus clearings dotted with old wooden Adirondack three-sided shelters. The spa’s hotel, caretaker’s house and swimming pool were demolished long ago. The property is surrounded by federally owned forests.
The property was donated to the Boy Scouts Pacific Crest Council in 1977, news reports say. But declining membership reduced usage of the site. The Scouts put it up for sale in 2024.
No federal money
The city of Oakridge last year tried to secure federal money to buy the place, says City Manager James Cleavenger. But that effort fizzled.
Cleavenger feared a logging company would buy the land. He says he is thrilled the Andersons stepped up.
They closed on the purchase in April.
Mark Anderson says he won’t log the property, aside from what’s needed for fire safety and forest health. The tract has a lot of small dead timber, he says.
Public utility electric lines run up to the property, but vandals stripped the on-site electrical system, including a pumping and water storage system, Anderson says.
On F-1 land, clearcutting is, of course, allowed. The county code also allows “youth camps,” including a building for cooking, and a “private park and private campground,” with tents, travel trailers, yurts and RVs.
Anderson says his lawyer and consultant are preparing to apply for a conditional use permit, which may take up to a year to secure.
“We would love to get some low-impact, very small sleeping facilities and maybe a central kitchen,” he says.
He’s not sure what to do with the bathhouse foundation. People who have visited the site post online that it is a haven for bats.
Beyond the county use permit, Anderson’s timeline is uncertain.
Limited groups
Access via the main entrance is barred by a locked gate. However, two public Forest Service roads cross the property on rights of way.
Anderson says facilities he and his wife develop would be available to limited-size groups for educational, nature, wellness and other purposes. They want the public to enjoy the property, “but there’s just no way you can open it to the public and say anyone who wants to come, come in,” he says, noting liability and other issues with general access.
The property is three miles from the east end of Oakridge and two miles from the Hills Creek Dam. The reservoir is a popular boating and fishing spot. The hot springs are about a half-mile up Hills Creek.
Anderson says he remains active as a board member of his former longtime employer, Tokyo-based Green Power Investment Corp., a major developer of wind and solar facilities. He says he’s also an advisor to NTT, the Japanese telecommunications giant, which bought Green Power in 2023.
After a long stint in Japan, Anderson says he and his family moved to Lane County a year ago. He was born in Baker City, attended Monroe Middle School in Eugene, and graduated from Eugene’s Sheldon High School.
LeeYen Anderson was born in Malaysia, and works as a “soul coherence guide,” using life coaching, aromatherapy, yoga and other wellness practices to help students, according to her biography.
Bricks $ Mortar is a column anchored by Christian Wihtol, who worked as an editor and writer at The Register-Guard in Eugene 1990-2018, much of the time focused on real estate, economic development and business. Reach him at Christian@EugeneWeekly.com.