Sauna Mania

This Finnish tradition is red hot in northern Michigan

By Anna Faller | Jan. 27, 2024

We’ve all noticed them by now—parked along local beaches or tucked away in parking lots, surrounded by people in swimsuits and towels, even when there’s snow on the ground.

You guessed it: We’re talking about mobile saunas, and they’re appearing all over northern Michigan.

The sauna experience has long been touted for its numerous health and wellness benefits, like improved sleep, stress management, and relaxation. On the physical end, effects range from cardiovascular improvements like decreased blood pressure and heart rate to weight loss and quelling inflammation. Plus, it’s a cozy place to hang out when the temperatures drop into the single digits.

For the latest on winter’s hottest pastime, Northern Express sat down with three local mobile sauna owners—Dr. Daniel Sarya of MI Sauna, Blake Begin of Begin Adventures Barrel Sauna Rentals, and Crystal Mason of Fox & Flame Sauna—to talk health benefits, sauna hype, and a few tips and tricks to stand the heat.

MI Sauna

For Dr. Daniel Sarya of MI Sauna, the rejuvenating effect of a sauna is more than a health trend—it’s a way of life.

A Michigan native with Nordic heritage, Sarya grew up participating in the traditional sauna culture of Finland. It was upon coming home from one of these trips that he realized American saunas were missing the mark. “Everyone [here] is always in a hurry,” he says. “I realized we needed to take a step back and appreciate what we have in nature and in ourselves.”

Thus, his mission to make the Finnish experience accessible at home was born, and a business on wheels, MI Sauna, was the answer. “The only way you can grow what you love is to share it,” Sarya notes. “This was a vision we wanted to share.”

Opened in 2020, MI Sauna is stationed at Traverse City State Park beach. The space, which Sarya built with his family, can comfortably fit up to eight people seated. Inside, it comprises a compact changing space stocked with towels and storage hooks and a multi-level, bench-style sauna surrounding a wood stove stacked with stones.

The build, says Sarya, is meant to mimic the traditional Finnish sauna experience, which is a highly ritualistic practice focused on cleaning the body from inside out. Touchstones include low moisture and sizzling heat (about 185-220 degrees), punctuated by sacred löyly, or cleansing steam, made by dousing the stones with water.

If you’re unfamiliar with traditional sauna, the basic premise revolves around alternating cycles of hot and cold therapy for a host of physiological and mental health benefits.

Participants start in a heated sauna, which is usually a wood-lined room, where temperatures soar to upwards of 200 degrees. Sweating encourages the body to flush out impurities, like heavy metals, while increased blood flow from sauna heat promotes cell turnover for a healthful complexion. (That’s why your skin’s so smooth when you’re done!).

Once you’ve gotten sufficiently sweaty, the next step is to cool back off by exposing your body to a shock of cold. Options here range from icy showers to snow angels to dunking in frigid waters. Sarya says a cold plunge, especially when coupled with breathwork, also helps regulate the limbic system—your “fight, flight, or freeze” response—making our bodies more resilient to stress.

To warm up, you head back into the sauna, and the cycle starts again. To get a taste for the full experience, at least three rounds is a good place to start—“That’s when you start to relax,” notes Sarya—though longer or shorter stints also work, depending on what feels good for you.

As for the people you meet in the sauna? “We get clients from all walks of life,” says Sarya, from fitness junkies to hospital staff, and even those seeking new winter activities. On the rental end, special occasions are popular (think: bachelorette parties and family gatherings), as are private sessions for those who are still getting comfortable with sauna practice.

They are, however, all united by a common quest for better health.

“The data is becoming enumerated, and you can see it and feel it when you experience sauna,” says Sarya. “I think people are learning to appreciate health and wellness and want to find ways back to that.”

MI Sauna is located at Traverse City State Park Beach. Rental rate is $35 per seat for an 80-minute session, and discounted 10-session punch cards are also available. Walk-ins are accepted when available, but reservations are strongly recommended. michigansaunas.com

Begin Adventure Sauna

Founded by Michigan power-pair Danielle and Blake Begin, Begin Adventures Barrel Sauna Rentals is about sweating it out wherever you are.

It all began in the mid-2010s, when Blake, fresh from a day of snowmobiling, was invited to warm up inside a friend’s sauna. “I couldn’t get out of the darn thing,” he says with a laugh. “I just had so much fun, and I thought, how cool would it be if I could take one to other people so they could have the same experience?”

Begin Adventures was launched in December 2022. The service offers a two-sauna fleet—which can accommodate four and six people, respectively—for private short- and long-term rental. The hallmark of the Begins’ services, though, is each sauna’s permanent trailer mount, by which they deliver their saunas to clients and retrieve them at the end of each booking.

The saunas are custom-built by The Sauna Guys out of Pelkie, Michigan, and feature cedar planking and a rounded “barrel” construction, which promotes even air flow and heat diffusion.

Each sauna comes equipped with a wood-burning stove, which Blake teaches users to operate, as well as enough wood to last the rental and a few other tools for peak relaxation. Inside, each space has three seating levels, as well as two windows for taking in views. The larger build even has a small porch!

For Blake, though, the core of sauna experience is all about cultivating joy in the community. “The overarching theme here is excitement,” he adds. “In this day and age, doing something that makes other people happy is really satisfying.”

Find Begin Sauna Adventures Barrel Sauna Rentals at 10699 Picket Hinge in Traverse City. Rental rates begin at $300 (4-person sauna) and $450 (6-person sauna), with a 2-day minimum reservation required. beginadventures.com

Fox & Flame Sauna

Fox & Flame Sauna owners Crystal Mason and Joe Buteyn have long been sauna-obsessed. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the Upper Peninsula and saw how it could connect a person to family, place, and nature,” Mason notes. Add to that the practice’s proven health benefits and a past cancer diagnosis, and that passion quickly blossomed into a business.

“Joe and I wanted to create something beautiful,” she adds, “and a space for others to find bliss in their day.”

Opened in spring 2022, Fox & Flame Sauna offers public and private sessions on a pop-up basis. The concept was born in 2019, when Buteyn, a veteran craftsman, started sketching designs. From there, they completed an entrepreneurship course through Cedar + Stone Sauna in Duluth, which, says Mason, further incited their mission to create quality saunas in northern Michigan.

Since then, their wood-fired sauna services have popped up all around the region, including Northport’s 3RDandRose, as well as Nature Michigan Retreat in Maple City.

“There’s a natural acceptance in the sauna that’s unique for each of us,” Mason says. “I love bearing witness to those moments and creating a space for our community to come together.”

Now tucked along the western arm of Grand Traverse Bay at the Delamar Hotel, Fox & Flame Sauna offers guided 75-minute sessions for up to six people. Inside, two benches provide wood stove access, while an outside lounge area and a variety of cold-plunge options are also available.

“Resting and listening to our bodies is important in every step of the process,” Mason adds.

If three mobile saunas in one geographic area sounds like a lot, think again. (There are even others out there we couldn’t fit in this story!) Mason says the sauna community in northern Michigan has been on the steady incline for the last few years. Since the onset of COVID, all three businesses have noted an uptick in local sauna demand, with MI Sauna booking at least a month out and the whole Begin fleet reserved for most weekends.

“The excitement for sauna has exploded. We love being part of it,” Mason says.

Fox & Flame Sauna’s latest pop-up location is The Delamar Hotel in Traverse City (615 E. Front St.). The space is available for private rental (up to 6 people) for $130, and weekly public sauna sessions are $35 per seat. foxandflamesauna.com