6. Birdwing Spa, Litchfield, Minn.

The new mother nature takes over
Birdwing is a nature lover's feast: 300 acres ablaze with fall color and brown beavers by the waters of Star Lake on a migration route of white pelicans. Settle in and you'll be snug as an iridescent dragonfly in the vintage red barn. All 14 rooms are country fresh, many with lake views. Screeching owls provide your wake-up call while the owners, Richard and Elisabeth Carlson, a registered nurse, along with the fitness and pampering staff (the majority of whom have been here for years), provide customized service.

Fitness programs revolve around the outdoors and change with the seasons. Spring through fall, you can canoe/kayak or swim in the lake, enjoy guided picnic hikes through falling leaves or cycle the region's beautiful back roads, then drop by the spa for a talk on herbs or enjoy treatments like the Algae Body Wrap, reminiscent of the lake weed out your back door. In winter, when Jack Frost blankets the region with tons of snow, you can enjoy ice skating, Nordic skiing and snowshoeing across frozen lakes and 12 miles of groomed trails.

As for the fare, it doesn't get any fresher (you're in the Corn Belt, remember?). A registered dietitian works to design a personalized menu based on color-balanced spa cuisine. Every meal includes four -- green spinach, orange chicken, red potatoes, and a yellow-lemon parfait for dessert, for example. The body treatments are equally earthy: a Purifying Herbal Wrap of rosemary, ginger root and eucalyptus or aromatherapy with juniper or geranium. Or celebrate the new millennium with a Champagne Facial. Cheers!

Details: From $1,200 per person, double occupancy for a five-day Ultimate Birdwing Spa Escape. Includes meals, lodging, a daily treatment, unlimited classes. Call (320) 693-6064 or visit www.birdwingspa.com.