American aufguss happens at the big urban bathhouses, on a posted schedule. A guide works the room with towel and scent, and the round ends at the cold plunge.
Brooklyn leads it, with the rest scattered from New York to Seattle. A pool comes as standard, so the ceremony sits inside a longer visit.
In the United States, 18 of the curated saunas fit this cut. See the full the United States country guide for every venue, or keep scrolling for just the aufguss saunas.
Every aufguss sauna in United States
Archimedes Banya
$$$San Francisco, United States
A three-storey Russian-led banya on the Bayview waterfront, fusing Russian parilka, Turkish hammam, German sauna and Roman bathing into one circuit. Sessions revolve around heat-cold-rest cycles with venik platza treatments. A rooftop deck over the bay, a restaurant and a bar make it as much a social hangout as a wellness facility.
Bathhouse — Atlantic Ave
$$Brooklyn, United States
The third Bathhouse location, on Atlantic Ave in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Same thermal-circuit format as the Williamsburg flagship: hot pools, cold plunges, sauna, steam rooms, hammam and daily aufguss, sized for a neighbourhood crowd. Industrial Brooklyn aesthetic carries through.
Bathhouse — Flatiron
$$New York, United States
The Manhattan sibling of Bathhouse Williamsburg, a smaller-format outpost on West 22nd Street in the Flatiron district. Same Bathhouse menu of hot pools, cold plunges, sauna, steam rooms, hammam and daily aufguss, scaled to a tighter footprint. Same moody industrial design language as the flagship.
Bathhouse — Williamsburg
$$Brooklyn, United States
The original 2019 Bathhouse, and the biggest of the three NYC locations. Eight thermal pools, one of the largest stadium-seating saunas in the city, steam rooms, a hammam and a restaurant. Daily aufguss rituals, low-lit design, industrial Williamsburg aesthetic.
Eastend
$$Chicago, United States
A modern West Loop wellness club centred on a 40-person Finnish sauna, with four cold plunges and an infrared cabin. The format leans toward contrast therapy and movement classes rather than a traditional bathhouse circuit. Sessions are reservation-based through the day.
Loyly — Northeast
$$Portland, United States
A Portland Finnish sauna and bodywork studio on NE MLK Boulevard, pairing a dry sauna with a steam room. The signature visit is a self-guided two-hour public sauna. Treatment add-ons like a foot soak, salt scrub or face mask bundle into the sauna package.
Loyly — Southeast
$$Portland, United States
A Finnish sauna in inner southeast Portland, booked as a two-hour visit. The visit takes in the sauna, showers, lockers and a lounge, with a towel and robe provided. Massage, facials and foot treatments run alongside it, and monthly ritual days add aufguss, whisking and guided aromatherapy.
Othership — Flatiron
$$$New York, United States
Othership's first US bathhouse is on West 20th Street in Flatiron. Sessions run as guided classes or quieter free-flow visits, moving between a large cedar sauna, eight ice baths and a fireside tea lounge. Swimsuits are worn throughout, and the changing stalls are not split by gender.
Othership — Williamsburg
$$$Brooklyn, United States
Othership's Brooklyn bathhouse is on Kent Avenue in north Williamsburg. Tiered cedar benches face a brick-clad stove in the sauna, and the cold side is a set of shared plunge pools. Sessions are booked as guided classes or self-led free flow, and swimsuits are worn throughout.
Placerville Sauna
$$Placerville, United States
Placerville Sauna is an outdoor sauna and cold plunge yard on Mother Lode Drive. Its 18-person sauna was milled from a 220-year-old cedar from nearby Apple Hill, with a spruce barrel sauna and a 700-gallon plunge alongside. Guides lead three-round Aufguss sessions, and Open Sits run at your own pace.
Rove Sauna
$$Scarborough, United States
ROVE Sauna is a wood-fired community sauna built on a trailer, parked at Black Point Surf Shop in Scarborough near Higgins and Scarborough beaches. Shared sessions run three rounds, with a host pouring oil-scented water and fanning the room. Between rounds, guests cool off under a cold-water bucket and rest in chairs outside.
Saunaday
$$$Madison, United States
Saunaday is a communal bathhouse in downtown Madison, a block from Lake Monona. A two-hour ritual moves through cedar salt-scrub showers, a steam room, two Finnish saunas and a cold plunge pool. Private suites, hinoki soaking tubs and an infrared cabin are booked separately, and a sauna master leads aufguss sessions.
SaunaGlo
$$Milwaukie, United States
SaunaGlo is a community sauna on SE Jefferson Street in downtown Milwaukie, near the Willamette River. Its wooden Nordic sauna holds up to 18 people, and a riser lift lets wheelchair users reach the upper bench. Between rounds there is a barrel cold plunge and a bucket shower, and swimwear is required.
Saunawelt European Sauna House
$$Webster, United States
A European-style sauna house with a hemlock Finnish sauna, an Alpine herbal Brechelbad and an aromatherapy steam room. Cooling is a chain-pull bucket shower or a cool mist room, with lounges indoors and out. Aufguss and women-only sessions run on a published calendar, and swimwear is worn throughout.
Symmetry Sauna Studio
$$Coeur D'Alene, United States
Symmetry's flagship studio sits on East Lakeshore Drive in Coeur d'Alene, between Tubbs Hill and Sanders Beach. Seven private sauna suites, one of them infrared, sit beside a communal sauna with lake views and a shared cold plunge pool. Guided Aufguss sessions run in the communal sauna each week.
Timbre Thermal Retreat
$$Revere, United States
A small Sunday-only thermal program operating from the Gibson Point complex on the Revere waterfront, with a Finnish sauna, individual cold plunges, and a thermal pool. Each 75-minute session is guided and includes Aufguss-style ritual elements.
ViGO
$$Palm Springs, United States
ViGO is a sauna and cold plunge club in the courtyard of The Flannery Exchange in Palm Springs. Guided hour-long classes run three rounds of heat, plunge and rest, with an Aufguss master fanning the steam. Swimsuits are required, and groups can book the whole studio.
World Spa
$$$Brooklyn, United States
A 50,000 sq ft Brooklyn megabath that bills itself as the largest banya in the US. The setup spans Eastern European banyas, Finnish saunas, Moroccan and Turkish hammams, a Himalayan salt room, a snow room and an onsen circuit. You move between rituals, then collapse on a chaise by the fireplace lounge.