The Bay Area
The best saunas in the Bay Area
Last reviewed June 2026
The Bay Area runs an unusually wide span of sauna formats for a single region. There's a three-storey Russian-led banya fusing four bathing traditions, a Japanese bathhouse that's been quietly running since the 1970s, and a new West Coast wave of outdoor wood-fired saunas built right on the water — some floating, all of them plunging straight into the bay.
It's the most format-diverse scene in the US, and 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 that 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 — 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, with cold-plunging done directly in San Francisco Bay and outdoor showers to rinse. Rented privately in 90-minute blocks; 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, with plunging off the deck into a marked-off zone of the bay and 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 — 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.