8 great places to sauna and cold plunge in Minnesota this winter

As temperatures drop and the lakes start to ice over, many Minnesotans are headed to the beach.

It’s sauna season, after all.

As interest in saunas has heated up across Minnesota in recent years, new public saunas have opened statewide, embracing the wellness trend inspired by ancient practices.

Suddenly, there’s a sauna for every vibe — at a sprawling urban spa and swanky downtown hotel rooftops to serene northern Minnesota escapes or the solitary steam in your backyard delivered by one of the growing number of mobile sauna businesses.

Many of those options offer tubs or pools with ice-cold water to plunge into after sweating in upwards of 180-degree heat, cycling between the hot and cold temps. But the Land of 10,000 Lakes also has something special: natural cold plunges galore.

“There’s nothing like that fresh water,” said Glenn Auerbach of Minneapolis, who’s written an e-book on building a sauna and founded the online Sauna Times. “It just exudes the spirit of sauna — being close to nature.”

He calls Minnesota the epicenter of the national sauna revival, thanks in part to the “land of ... 10,000 cold plunges.”

The polar plunge can take your breath away, but avid sauna-goers swear by the benefits of the exhilarating cycles of extreme cold and heat, tapping into meditation and breathwork techniques to endure any discomfort. While there’s limited research on the benefits, those who sauna and cold plunge regularly say it improves cardiovascular health and mental health.

From the North Shore to the metro, here are eight public saunas with lake access — where you can steam, shiver and plunge into the cold water to your heart’s content (or at least until your time runs out).

Cedar and Stone Nordic Sauna, Pier B Resort, 800 W. Railroad St.

The scene: Cedar and Stone, started in 2019, has a public sauna near Canal Park on the Lake Superior harbor. The company also opened a floating sauna on a stationary barge in 2023. The public sauna costs $53 per person for 75 minutes while the public floating sauna is $107 for 90 minutes in the winter.

How to book: cedarandstonesauna.com

Saunable, Schulze Lake Beach, Lebanon Hills Regional Park, 860 Cliff Road.

The scene: Hike the winding trails of Dakota County’s largest park, dotted with lakes, portages and towering trees. Then relax in a wood-fired sauna next to the beach, with windows showcasing the wooded views. Ed and Colleen Kranz brought their mobile sauna, Saunable, to the park last winter, and it will be set up again next to the beach until the end of April. Just steps away from the sauna, visitors can wade into Schulze Lake until the lake freezes, and an ice hole may be added in the winter. Cost: $38 for 75-minute public sessions.

How to book: saunable.com

Sauna Camp, Camp Fire Minnesota, 3300 Tanadoona Drive.

The scene: Along the shores of Lake Minnewashta, you can sweat in one of Sauna Camp’s seven or eight wood-fired saunas, including a 24-person cedar-barrel sauna that the owners say is the largest in the country. Danny and Sophie Strauss set up the sauna village last winter at Camp Fire’s 103 acres, and returned this season. Wade into the west metro lake or when it’s frozen, jump in a hole sawed out of the ice. Public sauna sessions cost $53 per person for two hours. An eight-person private floating sauna is also available until Dec. 1 for $540.

How to book: saunacamps.com

Sisu and Löyly, 110 2nd Av. E.

The scene: For a superior cold plunge, look no further than Lake Superior. In Grand Marais, Katie Usem and her family renovated a 216-square-foot fish house next to their house, overlooking the largest freshwater lake in the world. The bright red building has two saunas with electric stoves, and is named for the Finnish concept for grit or tenacity (pronounced SEE-soo) and the Finnish word for steam that rises when water is poured on the stove’s stones (pronounced LOW-loo). Inside the sauna, you can hear the sound of seagulls overhead and watch the waves. A 90-minute private session is $86 and a public hourlong session is about $20. Visitors can take a short trek to the rocky beach nearby to dip in the frigid Great Lake. Usem added a mobile sauna and floating sauna in the summer, but the Grand Marais saunas are so busy that she’s planning to add another sauna as well as hot and cold pools in 2026.

How to book: sisuandloyly.com

Little Ember Co., Cedar Lake Point Beach, 2101 Cedar Lake Pkwy.

The scene: Little Ember Co., a mobile sauna business, is hosting wood-fired sauna sessions this winter at Cedar Lake, where visitors can take a cold plunge in the city’s Chain of Lakes. Cost: $35 for public 75-minute sessions.

How to book: littleemberco.com

FoxFire Breathworks, Lake Nokomis, 4860 E. Lake Nokomis Pkwy.

The scene: Nick Fox, who says he’s Minnesota’s first certified instructor in Wim Hof’s techniques (the Dutch motivational speaker who promotes cold therapy), coaches people on breathwork during ice baths or cold plunges. For the second year, he’s set up his sauna this season on the shores of Lake Nokomis, near the Nokomis Community Center ($30 for 80-minute public sessions). An ice hole will be maintained nearby by a group of ice dippers that Fox is part of. He plunges at least once a week into Nokomis — the colder the water, the better.

“I don’t swim that much in the summer. I swim a lot in the winter,” Fox said, jokingly referring to himself as an “ice doula,” guiding other ice-water bathers in how to breathe and tolerate the frigid temps. “Anyone can do it. Our bodies are capable ... our minds just get in the way.”

He touts the sauna and cold therapy for improving his mental and physical health. “It’s a passive way to get a cardiovascular workout,” he added. “You just feel so alive.”

How to book: foxfirebreathworks.com

City of Minnetonka’s “Sauna in the Parks,” Shady Oak Beach, 5200 Shady Oak Road.

The scene: The city’s “Sauna in the Parks” program has a wood-fired sauna set up this season on Shady Oak Beach until April ($25 for 90-minute sessions). Shady Oak Lake is aerated with a bubbler, so sauna guests can cold plunge all winter long.

How to book: minnetonkamn.gov/saunaintheparks

612 Sauna, Silverwood Park, 2500 County Road E.

The scene: 612 Sauna, a Minneapolis co-op that kickstarted the sauna movement locally in 2016, is stationed at Silverwood Park until Dec. 1 for cold plunges in Silver Lake ($45 for 90-minute public sauna sessions). After moving to Theodore Wirth Regional Park in December, 612 Sauna will return to lakefront sauna sessions in Minneapolis in March and April at Lake Nokomis and at Cedar Lake in April and May.

How to book: 612saunasociety.com

While sweating in a hot room is an ancient tradition in many different cultures, many local saunas take their inspiration from the wood-fired Finnish tradition (pronounced SOW-nah).

Wear a swimsuit and bring two towels — one to sit on inside the sauna and one for outside or afterward. Many saunas require visitors to sit on a towel inside the sauna. Bring a water bottle and stay hydrated. Don’t eat too much beforehand; treat it like you’re going to a light workout. Some people also bring sandals and a robe to wear outside. Wear wool socks or boots if you’re walking across a frozen lake to take a polar plunge into an ice hole. Wearing wool hats and gloves also helps. Avoid wearing jewelry or anything metal that will heat up inside the sauna.

Most saunas are heated by electric or wood-fired stoves to 180 to 200 degrees. There’s no standard length of time you need to sit inside a sauna, though most people may sit for 10 to 20 minutes. Listen to your body. It’s cooler on the lower bench. Then cool off outside or take a cold plunge. Repeat the hot-cold cycle. Many saunas offer bonfires outside to relax around between sauna sessions. Public saunas are social, so you’ll usually be joining strangers, although many saunas allow private rentals for a higher price. Some saunas offer essential oils to add to the water that’s tossed on the stove’s rocks, emitting steam that smells like citrus, eucalyptus or other natural aromas. Others lean into mindfulness, offering sessions with sound bowls or silence.