Outdoor and Lakeside Saunas in the US
35 outdoor saunas in 13 US cities: wood-fired saunas on the beach, on lake shores, in parks and in sauna villages. Each listing shows what the cold dip is, from a lake or the ocean to a cold plunge tub, and the price per session.
| City | Places |
|---|---|
| Minneapolis | 7 |
| Seattle | 5 |
| San Francisco | 4 |
| Milwaukee | 4 |
| Portland | 3 |
| Salt Lake City | 3 |
| Chicago | 2 |
| Philadelphia | 2 |
| New York City | 1 |
| Denver | 1 |
| Boston | 1 |
| Tampa | 1 |
| Detroit | 1 |
Outdoor saunas in Minneapolis
-
612 Sauna Cooperative
The member-owned co-op behind the Forge, a cedar-lined mobile sauna with a Kuuma wood stove, which spends each season in residence at Twin Cities parks such as Theodore Wirth Park and Silverwood Park.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaSession $38
-
FoxFire Breathworks Sauna at Lake Nokomis
A small wood-fired sauna on the shore of Lake Nokomis run by a breathwork studio, with hosted 80-minute sessions and winter plunges in the lake.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaCold plunge180°FNo plungeSession $30
-
Little Ember Co. Cedar Lake Sauna
Two wood-fired mobile saunas parked at Point Beach on Cedar Lake for the winter season, with hosted community sessions and a dip in the lake to cool down.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaCold plungeSession $35
-
Sauna Camp
Excelsior
A winter sauna village at Camp Fire Minnesota on Lake Minnewashta with more than ten wood-fired cedar saunas, warming huts, bonfires and plunges through holes cut in the ice.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaCold plunge -
Saunable at Schulze Lake
Eagan
A Finnish wood-burning mobile sauna on the beach at Schulze Lake in Lebanon Hills Regional Park, with hosted 75-minute sessions, a fire pit and plunges in the lake.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaCold plungeSession $38
-
Stonegrove Saunas at Staring Lake Park
Eden Prairie
A mobile community sauna set up in Staring Lake Park in Eden Prairie, with shared one-hour sessions for up to eight people.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaSession $30
Outdoor saunas in Seattle
-
Bywater Sauna Alki Beach
Wood-fired barrel saunas parked on the Alki Beach boardwalk, just west of the Alki Beach Bathhouse, with Puget Sound a few steps away for a cold dip between rounds.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaCold plungeSession $35
-
Bywater Sauna Golden Gardens
Wood-fired barrel saunas parked on the south beach at Golden Gardens Park, near the picnic pavilion, with Puget Sound a few steps away for a cold dip between rounds.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaCold plungeSession $35
-
Good Day Sauna
A mobile cedar sauna with an iki wood-fired stove, parked at Lincoln Park in West Seattle with a big window toward the water and Puget Sound for a cold plunge.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaCold plungeSession $35
-
Seattle Sauna
A double wood-fired cedar sauna floating in a houseboat community on Lake Union, with a rooftop deck facing the skyline and guided 90-minute social sessions for up to ten people.
Floating saunaTraditional saunaOutdoor saunaSession $49
-
Von Sauna
Kirkland
A wood-fired sauna on a barge in the Carillon Point marina in Kirkland, with lake views through the windows and Lake Washington itself as the cold plunge.
Floating saunaTraditional saunaOutdoor saunaCold plunge195°F39°FSession $40
Outdoor saunas in San Francisco
-
Alchemy Springs
An urban sauna garden in Lower Nob Hill built around a 40-person communal sauna with immersive sound and lighting, with cold plunge tubs, open-air showers, thermal benches and a fire pit.
BathhouseOutdoor saunaContrast therapyCold plunge -
Dogpatch Paddle & Kayak Sauna
A four-person cedar barrel sauna on the waterfront at Crane Cove Park in Dogpatch, run by the local kayak and paddleboard shop, with a cold plunge add-on and bay views between rounds.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaContrast therapyCold plunge200°F36°FSession $25
-
Fjord
Sausalito
Two wood-fired saunas built into steel shipping containers on a floating dock on the Sausalito waterfront, where the cold plunge is a ladder down into San Francisco Bay.
Floating saunaTraditional saunaOutdoor saunaCold plunge190°FNo plungeSession $45
-
Good Hot
Richmond
A cluster of small, private cedar saunas on the beach at Point San Pablo in Richmond, where you book a sauna for your group and cool off in the bay a few steps away.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaCold plungeCo-ed175°FNo plungeSession $110
Outdoor saunas in Milwaukee
-
Heat Haven Sauna Park at Blüm Coffee Garden
Greenfield
Heat Haven's second seasonal sauna park, set up at Blüm Coffee Garden in Greenfield, with wood-fired barrel saunas, fire pits and a cold-shower chillotine, plus weekly trivia and music bingo sauna nights.
Traditional saunaOutdoor sauna190°FNo plungeSession $35
-
Heat Haven Sauna Park at Hoyt Park
Wauwatosa
A seasonal outdoor sauna park in Wauwatosa's Hoyt Park with three handcrafted wood-fired cedar barrel saunas, fire pits and a cold-shower chillotine for cooling off between rounds.
Traditional saunaOutdoor sauna190°FNo plungeSession $35
-
Hot Spell Sauna at Grant Park
South Milwaukee
A Nordic-inspired sauna run from Wulff Lodge in South Milwaukee's Grant Park, with two wood-fired saunas set among trees above the Seven Bridges Trail and cold showers between rounds.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaSession $37
-
Tuli Sauna & Plunge
Belleville
A wood-fired Finnish-style sauna on the banks of the Sugar River at Seven Acre Dairy Co. in Paoli, with big windows over the water and the river itself as the cold plunge.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaCold plungeSession $39
Outdoor saunas in Portland
-
Common Ground Wellness Cooperative
A worker-member cooperative in Northeast Portland with a clothing-optional saltwater hot pool, a dry cedar sauna and an outdoor cold shower set in a planted open-air courtyard.
BathhouseOutdoor saunaCo-edSession $18
-
Ebb & Ember Floating Saunas
Portland's first floating sauna, a propane-heated sauna on a float at Elevated Tides Marina on the Columbia River, with big windows on the water and a rooftop platform for jumping into the river.
Floating saunaOutdoor saunaCold plunge190°F40°FSession $49
-
Guss Mobile Sauna
A wood-fired mobile sauna that parks beside the Willamette, usually at Sellwood Riverfront Park, so bathers can go straight from the heat into the river.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaCold plungeSession $30
Outdoor saunas in Salt Lake City
-
SoHo Saunas
Midway
An outdoor sauna garden at Soldier Hollow in Midway inspired by Japanese onsen, with two barrel saunas, a mineral-water soak and a cold plunge facing the Wasatch peaks.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaContrast therapyCold plunge190°F50°FSession $43
-
Utah Lake Sauna
Provo
A self-serve lakeside sauna cabin in Utah Lake State Park in Provo, with a Himalayan salt wall, an outdoor cold plunge and shower, and room for eight.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaContrast therapyCold plunge190°F38°F -
Wasatch Mountain Sauna
Midway
A self-serve Nordic cedar sauna cabin inside Wasatch Mountain State Park in Midway, with outdoor cold plunges and a shower surrounded by mountain scenery.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaContrast therapyCold plunge200°F38°F
Outdoor saunas in Chicago
-
Fire and Ice Sauna Experience
Two mobile wood-fired saunas run by Thunder Domes at North Avenue Beach each winter, the Chicago Park District's first winter sauna concession on the lakefront.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaSession $30
-
Oak St. Sauna
A seasonal wood-fired sauna in a converted shipping container at Oak Street Beach, with a cold plunge filled with Lake Michigan water and views of the Gold Coast skyline.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaContrast therapyCold plunge200°FNo plungeSession $45
Outdoor saunas in Philadelphia
-
Fiorst at the Schuylkill Center
A glass-walled, wood-fired Nordic sauna with a cold plunge at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Roxborough, run by the mobile sauna company Fiorst and overlooking fields and woods.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaContrast therapyCold plunge190°FNo plungeSession $75
-
Fiorst Riverside
Conshohocken
A private wood-fired sauna and cold plunge on the bank of the Schuylkill River in Conshohocken, booked by groups of up to eight through the mobile sauna company Fiorst.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaContrast therapyCold plungeSession $300
Outdoor saunas in New York City
-
cityWell Brooklyn
Brooklyn
A small Gowanus spa with a backyard cedar sauna, a cold plunge, a heated soaking tub and an aromatherapy steam room, used in 90-minute community or private hydrotherapy sessions.
BathhouseOutdoor saunaCold plungeSession $45
Outdoor saunas in Denver
-
Garden Sauna
A small wood-fired sauna in a hidden garden in Capitol Hill, with cold plunge tubs, a patio and an outdoor deck, entered through the Rooted Heart Yoga door.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaContrast therapyCold plungeHeat45°FSession $33
Outdoor saunas in Boston
-
Moki Sauna Allston
An all-outdoor sauna village in the side yard of the Zone 3 innovation campus in Allston, with two traditional Nordic saunas, a large shared cold plunge and a changing tent with lockers.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaContrast therapyCold plungeCo-edSession $59
Outdoor saunas in Tampa
-
The Sauna Guys
A wood-fired outdoor sauna near Ybor City where two local friends run guided one-hour Nordic sessions that alternate between the hot sauna and a cold plunge under the trees.
Traditional saunaOutdoor saunaContrast therapyCold plunge
Outdoor saunas in Detroit
-
Islandview Sauna Club
An outdoor sauna club on a wooded lot on Detroit's east side with three wood-fired saunas, including a barrel sauna and two converted livestock trailers, plus outdoor cold plunges and a bonfire.
Outdoor saunaTraditional saunaContrast therapyCold plunge200°F38°FSession $25
Sauna by the water
The Nordic way to use a sauna is to heat up, walk out and get in cold water. A handful of American cities make that possible. Minneapolis has saunas by its city lakes, Seattle has them on Puget Sound beaches and floating on lakes, and the Bay Area has saunas on the water in Richmond, Sausalito and San Francisco. Utah Lake Sauna in Provo sits on the lake shore, and in the mountains above Salt Lake City, SoHo Saunas and Wasatch Mountain Sauna in Midway pair outdoor saunas with cold tubs. Around Milwaukee, Hot Spell Sauna in Grant Park and Heat Haven in Hoyt Park run wood-fired saunas, and Tuli Sauna & Plunge near Madison uses the Sugar River as its cold plunge.
Seasons
Many outdoor saunas run only part of the year, often from fall to spring, and some move between locations. We list the ones with a fixed spot and bookable sessions. Check the listing and the operator's site for this season's dates before you go.
Booking
Most outdoor saunas sell timed sessions for a small group, so book ahead and arrive on time. Bring a swimsuit, a towel, sandals and warm clothes for afterwards.
See also the floating saunas and wood-fired saunas pages, and our guide to going from the sauna to a cold plunge.
Frequently asked questions
Can you swim in the lake after the sauna?
At saunas by a lake, river or the ocean, the cold dip is usually the water itself. Each listing shows what the cold option is. Follow the operator's rules about where and when to go in.
Are outdoor saunas open in winter?
Many are open mainly in winter, since that is when the cold dip is most popular. Some close in summer. Check each listing and the operator's website for current dates.
Do I need to book an outdoor sauna?
Usually yes. Most outdoor saunas sell timed sessions for small groups.
Where can I do sauna and cold plunge in the US?
26 places we list have a cold plunge or cold pool next to the sauna, including cityWell Brooklyn, Alchemy Springs, Dogpatch Paddle & Kayak Sauna, Fjord and Good Hot.