The Sauna Trail

Week 3: Chapter 7: A Spot for RelaxationChapter 8: A Setting for ProprietyChapter 9: An Aid to GroomingWeek 4:Chapter 10: A Room for HeatingChapter 11: A Project for Do-It-YourselfersChapter 12: A Variety of Designs

Bernhard Hillila's 1979 book The Sauna Is... Week 1: Chapter 1: A Part of My Heritage Chapter 2: A Bath That's Different Chapter 3: A Bathhouse with a History Week 2: Chapter 4: A Gift from the Finns Chapter 5: A Bath That's Enjoyable Chapter 6: A Means of Rejuvenation Sign Up: https://www.thesaunatrail.com/bookclub

Bernhard Hillila's 1979 book The Sauna Is...Chapter 1: A Part of My HeritageSign Up: https://www.thesaunatrail.com/bookclub

In this episode of The Sauna Trail, Hudson and Daniel join Risto to look at a few unique saunas in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They have a rich culture of sweat bathing, and most of the saunas are home-built and unique. LINKS Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail MUSIC Dirge of the Night by Tied...

In this episode of The Sauna Trail, we follow the journey of the red barrel sauna after the Rices moved to Michigan. Luke and Martha share how they took ownership of the sauna, made it a part of their family life, and eventually built their own upgraded barrel sauna in the U.P. We also visit Sky Sauna in Chicago and reflect on public sauna culture, family traditions, and the warmth of deep friends...

Welcome back to The Sauna Trail. In today's episode we tell the story of finally getting our own sauna! We shared this sauna with our dear friends Luke and Martha... who also created our theme music.

A quick update on what we've been up to.

We are doing a new mini-episode called a "Trail Report" where we share current happenings on the sauna trail and review new place. In this episode we review Sky Sauna in Chicago, which we visited January 2025.

Today on The Sauna Trail, we're diving deep into the story of community and connection that has come from our adventures in sauna culture. In this episode, we talk about our first face-to-face encounter with Jeff, an early member of the Wood-Burning Sauna Facebook group, whom we fondly call "Dr. Sauna." Jeff has been an inspiration in the sauna community with his passion for building and sharing s...

Episode 28 Today we travel Up North (in Minnesota) to use two unique saunas and jump through a hole in the ice! We also use an off the grid sauna cabin. And there are a few ACCIDENTS! along the way. 😯 Camp du Nord https://www.ymcanorth.org/adventure/l... Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook htt...

In this episode of The Sauna Trail, we explore the history of the Wood Burning Sauna Group, from its humble beginnings to a thriving community of sauna enthusiasts. You'll hear stories about unique sauna builds, including a special sauna in New Hampshire tied to a rich family history. We also share highlights from the group's calendar project, featuring beautiful saunas from around the world. Join...

We wrap up our episode series about our return to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This week we leave the Keweenaw and drive east to the central part of the Upper Peninsula near Republic Michigan which is in the Michigamme River Basin. We invited my family to join us in the U.P. again to see the beautiful and rocky region around Republic and, of course, to experience an excellent log sauna… My bro...

Back to the Yoopers Part II - Episode 25We continue our adventures in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan! We’ll be sharing about a second historical site we visited, a few more culinary gems we discovered, a beautiful walk we took at a nature sanctuary, and another sauna experience on the west side of the Keweenaw peninsula. Websitehttps://www.thesaunatrail.comInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thesa...

Today’s episode brings us back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan! We had gone the previous year for the first time and knew we had to go back. We had so many adventures that we made this into a three part series. We start by visiting Old Victoria Restoration and saunaing at Big Traverse Bay.... and we visit TONS of interesting places along the way. Websitehttps://www.thesaunatrail.comInstagramhtt...

We’re back… and we’re full of new and exciting stories to share with you all again. This week we recount our adventures in Canada, where we took sauna on a private island, jumped off a diving board, and tried making our own vihtas.  Link to the rental: https://www.vrbo.com/en-sg/p287369vb   Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.inst...

In this episode, we’re going to get super geeky and tell how Risto and Nahlah ended up traveling to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to do sauna research in their archives. We decided to go on this daddy-daughter adventure after Risto discovered the Matti Kaups archive while reading the book The Opposite of Cold . Join us this week as we recount our adventures in the Matti Kaups archive!...

Part two is out! Join us for the second episode of our adventures in Thunder Bay as we tour Kangas Sauna, try more finnish pancakes, and go sledding in our birthday suits. We’ll share pictures from our exploration, 360 degree immersive photos of the sauna at Stepstone, and, of course, more stories from Thunder Bay.  Finnish Pancake (Lettu) recipe: https://beta.locals.com/thesaunatrail/feed?post=55...

We’re crossing the border! In the first part of this two part series, we drive up to Thunder Bay, Canada. We share our memories of Thunder Bay and the sauna, discuss a brand new food we fall in love with, and laugh about troubles at the border. Join us in this new adventure on the sauna trail!  Finnish Pancake (Lettu) Recipe: https://beta.locals.com/thesaunatrail/feed?post=5587333   Tyndall Stone...

Should I use soap in a sauna? How much steam should I be putting on? Is a sauna in the summer at all relaxing? In this episode we share about how to use sauna. We talk about prepping for a sauna, getting into the hot room, relaxing in the cold, enjoying nature, and post sauna habits. Remember that not everyone does it the same way! We apologize for the poor audio. We had a technical error and only...

We’re traveling as far as we ever have on the sauna trail to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Today’s episode will have two parts. First, we’ll talk about our trip in general and the sauna we used, then in the second part we’ll share about our favorite band, The Innocence Mission. Their music has been our soundtrack on many sauna journeys. Join us as we discuss two of our favorite things – music and sauna...

Surprise! Today we’ll talk about our visit to a sauna we already featured in episode four “Kinda Rustic”, and share how it went from being “meh” to a favorite sauna that is near and dear to our hearts. Join us to hear the story of our conversion! Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www....

In this episode, we are joined by Angela Meredith to discuss the Scandinavian Christmas Bazaar in Cokato, Minnesota. We also pay a visit to what might be the oldest sauna in North America, and another at the Koinonia Retreat Center! Join us this week in our adventures in central Minnesota.  Scandinavian Bazaar Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CokatoScandinavianChristmas/info/   Music Dirge...

We have a VERY special guest joining us in this episode — the author David Salmela! He and his wife Anne agreed to come on our podcast and talk about their Finnish heritage, what sauna meant to them growing up, and some of their favorite sauna memories. Join us this week as we laugh over coffee, poetry, stories, and sauna! David Salmela author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01N8Y45XO/...

This episode marks our introduction to the wonderful world of sauna books! We’ll review the history of notable English language sauna books, give you an overview of the different categories of sauna books, highlight a few unique or odd ones, share some of our favorites, and even read some excerpts. If you’re someone who likes to go deep and get geeky, this episode is for you! Sauna Exists, Therefo...

This week we’ll be discussing one of our favorite parts of the sauna trail: community connections! We’ve met so many wonderful people over the years through sauna – both online and in-person. Join us this week as we detail how our trail connected us with so many others!  Wood-Burning Sauna Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WoodBurningSauna   Sauna Digest: https://saunadigest.com   NA...