Editor’s note: This article was published in Grand Traverse Scene magazine’s Summer I 2026 issue. Pick up a free copy at area hotels, visitor’s centers, chambers of commerce or at the Record-Eagle building at 1764 Forest Ridge Drive in Traverse City. Click here to read GT Scene in its entirety online.
Your new happy place could be a phone call away.
The health and social benefits of the region’s sauna culture are driving new options for enjoying the ancient practice. Sauna bathing is known to soothe and invigorate the mind and body through alternate exposure to heat and cold.
From saunas on wheels delivered on demand to pop-up tent saunas ready for beachside experiences to permanent public installations, sauna’s growing popularity provides a range of choices.
“It’s a growing culture,” said Vlad Borza, owner of Sleeping Bear Saunas. “We’re mixing in the public space. It was generally relegated to backyards but is becoming more open and engaging.”
Summer is the perfect time to experience sauna joys, Borza said. His company rents sauna tents for two to eight people suited for couples, family/friend gatherings or larger sauna parties. Customers pick up the desired sized tent at the company’s Traverse City location. The pop-ups can be set up anywhere, including public beaches where campfires are permitted. Shoreside sites allow for a splash in the lake to cool down. Prices for 24-hour rentals start at $100. Rentals include all you need for the sauna experience.
“Sauna is a way to embrace the environment,” Borza said. “We have such beautiful water and beautiful settings. Walk to the lake. Take time to enjoy the access in our area. It’s hard to see why it shouldn’t be a practice everyone is allowed to do.”
Later this summer Borza plans to launch a floating pontoon sauna on a lake in Leelanau County.
Another popular sauna business is Blake Begin of Begin Adventures that has delivered mobile saunas to customers since 2020. Begin Adventures rents a four-person and a six-person Western red cedar barrel sauna on wheels. Both were constructed in the Upper Peninsula where Michigan’s sauna culture was initiated by Finnish settlers.
“I was a novice in the sauna world,” Begin said. “When I started, I had no idea about this sauna craze.”
Blake’s mobile saunas are popular for couples’ weekends and with cottagers on local lakes which provide plunge sites. Prices start at $300 for a two-day minimum rental. Instructions for use are provided.
Nick Olson is another sauna operator who owns Hearth Sauna. His business is located between ELEV8 Climbing and Fitness and the TART Trail near downtown Traverse City. Proximity to the venues creates an opportunity to mix exercise with sauna relaxation. The cedar-lined unit provides a traditional Nordic experience with its wood-fired stove from Finland and 450 pounds of sauna stones to create an enveloping heat. (Traditional saunas are typically heated between 150 degrees and 195 degrees Fahrenheit.) A one-person “crystal clear” plunge bath is kept at 40 degrees. Alternating heat and cold is known as contrast bathing.
Every new customer is welcomed by a guide who walks the user through the process. The sauna accommodates up to 14 people to support a social environment. “We get everyone from kids (accompanied by parents) to people in their 70s and 80s,” Olson said.
Prices are $35 for a 70-minute session. Membership deals are available.
Many seek saunas for the relaxation and health benefits but return for the social pleasures he said. Olson plans to establish a second location later this summer to enhance the experience with outdoor space expanding both social opportunities and quiet relaxation experiences.
Those who prefer indoor sauna experiences also find diverse public options. Choices include Grand Traverse Bay YMCA with its poolside sauna. Grand Traverse Bay YMCA West offers saunas in both the men’s and women’s locker rooms. Adult, youth, senior and family memberships are available.
Yen Yoga & Fitness, situated within Delamar Hotel on Front Street, offers a premium membership ($199) which provides access to the hotel’s sauna and indoor pool.
A sauna may be your brand-new happy place, but the sauna ritual is a decades old Midwest phenomenon. According to PURE Michigan, the Upper Midwest is considered the country’s Sauna Belt, and Northern Michigan is a leading player.
Benzie County is home to Nippa, the oldest sauna stove manufacturer in North America and the second oldest globally. Last April, Traverse City was the site of the state’s second annual Sauna Fest. The event attracted 350 people from across Michigan.
Cleveland Clinic, a hospital and leader in research, education and health information, reports a long list of benefits saunas provide, from stress reduction to chronic pain improvements to lower risks for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The clinic also credits the practice with improving lung function for those with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), managing psoriasis flare-ups and improving immune system function.
Joshua Sisco, of Traverse City, is a long-time sauna enthusiast. “My wife and I both find it great for the lungs and getting toxins out. I can breathe easier,” he said. “We feel a million times better after being in the sauna. There’s a little more pep in my step.”
The Siscos live along the Boardman River where rented barrel saunas are complemented with a cold river plunge. This summer they plan to build their own unit.
Dive in. Explore the region’s burgeoning sauna culture and you might discover your new summer happy place.