The Bay Area
The best saunas in the Bay Area
Last reviewed June 2026
The Bay Area runs a wider span of sauna formats than any other region in the US. There is a three-storey Russian banya that fuses four bathing traditions, and a Japanese bathhouse quietly running since the 1970s.
Then there is the new West Coast wave of outdoor wood-fired saunas built right on the water. Some of them float, and all of them plunge straight into the bay. These five are the ones worth planning around.
- 1
Archimedes Banya
Four traditions, three storeys · San Francisco
A three-storey Russian-led banya on the Bayview waterfront. It fuses Russian parilka, Turkish hammam, German sauna and Roman bathing into one heat-cold-rest circuit, with venik platza treatments. A rooftop deck over the bay, a restaurant and a bar make it as much a social hangout as a wellness facility.
- 2
Good Hot
Five wood-fired huts, plunge in the bay · Richmond
A deconstructed bathhouse of five private wood-fired saunas on the Point San Pablo coastline. Cold-plunging is done directly in San Francisco Bay, with outdoor showers to rinse. Rented privately in 90-minute blocks, and the project explicitly subsidises low-income QTBIPOC visitors.
- 3
Fjord
Floating saunas on Richardson Bay · Sausalito
Two floating Finnish-style saunas anchored in Sausalito's Richardson Bay marina, each holding six at around 190°F. Plunging is off the deck into a marked-off zone of the bay, with freshwater showers onshore. Booked as shared 90-minute sessions or private two-hour buyouts.
- 4
Kabuki Springs & Spa
A 50-year Japanese sento · San Francisco
A half-century-old Japanese-style bathhouse in Japantown built around a sento ritual. That means a seated-shower wash, a 104°F hot bath, a 55°F cold plunge, a cedar dry sauna and a herbal steam room. Gender-segregated most days, with co-ed swimsuit days at the start of the week.
- 5
Alchemy Springs
A preview garden before the 2026 bathhouse · San Francisco
A preview Sauna Garden in lower Nob Hill, running ahead of the full Alchemy Springs bathhouse due in 2026. The current two-hour guided sessions cover sauna, an outdoor cold plunge, garden seating, thermal benches and a tea bar. Small-scale and ritual-focused for now.
That's the shortlist. See every curated sauna in the Bay Area in the full The Bay Area guide.