Best saunas in Chicago

Chicago has 4 curated saunas across 4 distinct formats: 3 Finnish, 2 banya, 2 steam, and 1 infrared. Finnish leads the count, but the smaller cohorts are part of why the scene is worth taking seriously. Each format changes what the heat feels like and what you do between rounds.

Contrast options come in two shapes here. 3 of the 4 saunas have a dedicated cold plunge on site, and 1 sits directly on a lake. For most of the list, stepping from heat into cold is part of the design rather than a bonus.

On price, Chicago spreads across the range: 1 at budget-friendly ($) and 3 at mid-range ($$). The centre of gravity is the mid-range ($$) band.

Character-wise, the scene isn't monolithic. One venue stands on heritage, a historic building or tradition worth the trip on its own and one venue is an outdoor setup, which makes the walk between cabin and cold part of the ritual. The atmosphere you choose shapes the session as much as the heat format does.

A few places to start: Chicago Bath House, a 1906 Russian banya in Wicker Park, anchored by the Red Square hot room; FarWell Sauna, a wood-fired sauna on the sand at 57th Street Beach in Hyde Park, running a summer schedule of early-morning and evening shifts; and Chicago Sweatlodge, a Russian banya and Turkish bath on North Cicero Avenue, kept in the old Eastern European style: a hot dry room, a steam room and a cold plunge between them. That’s the on-ramp. The full ranking sits above.