Opening early 2027 in Snohomish, WA
A cozy cedar sauna, two cold plunges, an outdoor shower, and a fire to sit around, tucked behind a cottage in the Morgantown neighborhood.
Heat about 190°F Ten minutes on the cedar bench. Ladle water on the stones and let the löyly roll down.
Eight guests fit comfortably in the cedar sauna, heated by a Harvia stove.
Book a private session, join a social one, or come to a women-only session.
Come as you are. No performance, no comparison. Just heat, cold, breath, and time that belongs to you.
The products on our shelves come from makers nearby, and we partner with Snohomish-area businesses wherever we can.
Sauna at the Cottage is a women-owned backyard wellness space in Snohomish. Our mission is simple: help people relax, unwind, and let the mind wander.
We wanted a place where you can fully be yourself, where nobody is thinking about what anyone looks like in a swimsuit, where you can sit in the heat and the quiet and reconnect with your mind and your body, and where, if you want it, you’ll find real connection with the people sharing the bench beside you.
Nine stops, in the order most people find them.
Explore the site plan
An eight-person, wood-lined sauna with step-free access and adjustable temperature for private sessions. Turn it up for a proper Finnish sweat or keep it gentle for your first time.
Two plunges for the cold-water contrast that makes a sauna session chef’s kiss. Booking privately? We can warm them into hot tubs, or set them to milder temperatures.
Rinse off under the trees between rounds, and before you head home. Towels are provided to sit on; bring one to dry off.
A private spot to change, hang your things, and get back into dry clothes when you’re done.
A proper bathroom on site. No porta-potties here.
Water and tea, always on. Hydration is the secret to a great session, so sip between rounds.
A sheltered lounge for the in-between: wrap up in a towel, watch the steam, and let your heart rate settle. Rain or shine.
Pull up a stump, warm your hands, and let the conversation (or silence) wander.
A small bar stocked with local products so you can rinse off, refresh, and leave feeling like your best self.
Heat
Ten slow minutes on the cedar bench.
Plunge
Two minutes of cold. Breathe through it.
Rest
Warm back up by the fire. Then again.
Start with a warm shower. Then heat, a quick rinse, the cold, and a pause. Most people go around two or three times. The line is the temperature around you.
Sauna bathing and cold-water immersion have been studied for decades, much of it in Finland, where the sauna is a way of life. Here’s what the peer-reviewed evidence shows, body part by body part.
Regular sauna bathing is associated with about 46% lower risk of developing high blood pressure. Zaccardi F, et al. Am J Hypertens 2017
Frequent sauna use is associated with markedly lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Four to seven sessions a week, compared with one, was linked to 63% lower sudden cardiac death and 40% lower all-cause mortality over about 21 years.
Laukkanen T, et al. JAMA Intern Med 2015Cold immersion sharply raises metabolic rate (about +350% at 14 °C) and stimulates the cardiovascular system.
Šrámek P, et al. Eur J Appl Physiol 2000A single whole-body heat session produced a sustained drop in depression scores in a small randomized trial, still measurable six weeks later. Janssen CW, et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2016
Frequent sauna use is associated with roughly 61% lower stroke risk in a 15-year follow-up of men and women.
Laukkanen T, et al. Age Ageing 2017A brief cold plunge (5 minutes at about 20 °C) boosted positive mood and reduced nervousness and distress in a controlled study.
Yankouskaya A, et al. Biology 2023Regular sauna use roughly halved common-cold episodes in a small six-month trial. Ernst E, et al. Ann Med 1990
Frequent sauna use is associated with fewer respiratory illnesses, including about 37% lower pneumonia risk.
Kunutsor SK, et al. Eur J Epidemiol 2017Daily cold-water exposure was associated with 29% fewer sick days from work in a 3,018-person randomized trial.
Buijze GA, et al. PLoS One 2016A 30-minute sauna lowers blood pressure into the recovery window and helps with arterial stiffness. Lee E, et al. J Hum Hypertens 2018
83.5% of regular sauna users report improved sleep, and 5 to 15 sessions a month were linked to higher mental well-being.
Hussain JN, et al. Complement Ther Med 2019A short cold plunge reduced nervousness and distress in a study with 39 respondents, and increased feelings of being proud and inspired.
Yankouskaya A, et al. Biology 2023All across the world, for centuries, people have practiced hot and cold bathing to relax, build connection, and celebrate life’s milestones together.
Learn the sauna vocabulary →
Snohomish, 2027
2,000+ years
Finland
From earth-pit and turf saunas to the chimneyless smoke sauna, the Finnish sauna was where families brewed beer, cured meat, gave birth and prepared the dead: a “church of nature.” Today 3.3 million saunas serve 5.5 million people, UNESCO inscribed the tradition in 2020, and Finnish researchers produced much of the modern evidence for sauna’s health benefits.
UNESCOAncient, and living
Lakota, North America
Many Native nations keep sweat-lodge ceremonies. The Lakota Inípi (“to live again”) is one of their Seven Sacred Rites: a willow dome enclosing stones heated in a sacred fire, with water, prayer and song purifying body and spirit. It is a living religious practice, not a spa; we name it here with respect for the cultures that hold it.
Akta Lakota Museum216 CE
Ancient Rome
Roman thermae made bathing mass civic leisure. The Baths of Caracalla held about 1,600 bathers moving through the caldarium (hot), tepidarium (warm) and frigidarium (cold), an early, codified hot-and-cold circuit, with pools, libraries and gardens where every class socialised and did business.
Britannica720 CE
Japan
Hot-spring bathing is documented for some 1,300 years, with emperors making healing stays and temples offering free steam baths. Edo’s first pay bathhouse opened in 1591; by 1810 the city had over 500. Out of it came hadaka no tsukiai, “naked companionship”: the idea that rank dissolves in the bath.
Nippon.com960–1279
China
Bathing shows up on oracle bones over 3,000 years ago, and Han and Tang officials received “bathing leave.” Under the Song, public bathhouses became one of the world’s earliest widespread, affordable social-bathing cultures, and the poet Su Shi wrote verses thanking his back-scrubber.
The World of Chinesec. 1113
Russia & Ukraine
The Primary Chronicle, compiled in Kyiv around 1113, describes wooden bathhouses where people heated the room fiercely, lashed themselves with leafy branches and doused in cold water: the banya’s core of steam, venik and contrast cold, still done with snow or ice-holes.
Wikipedia14th century to today
Mexico & Guatemala
Aztec and Maya communities built low, domed steam baths: a fire heated one wall red-hot, bathers threw water on it and whisked themselves with herbs. The temazcal served healing, childbirth recovery, brides and warriors. A 14th-century temazcal was unearthed in Mexico City in 2020.
Archaeology14th century to today
Morocco
Moroccan hammams sit beside neighbourhood mosques; Fez’s Hammam al-Mokhfiya dates to the 14th century. Most Moroccans still go about once a week with family or friends: black beldi soap, a vigorous kessa-glove scrub, ghassoul clay, and neighbours scrubbing each other’s backs while catching up.
Morocco World News1427
Korea
Joseon records from 1427 describe the hanjeungmak, a stone-kiln sauna often run by Buddhist monks for the sick and later for pleasure. In the 1990s the jjimjilbang emerged: 24-hour baths, sauna rooms, sleeping halls and food, where social hierarchies relax.
Academia16th century
Iran
Persian bathhouses paired bathing with tea, conversation and ceremony. Kashan’s Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse shows the classic plan, a cool domed changing hall leading to the hot room, and part of it now serves as a tea house, echoing its old role as a community hub.
WikipediaTwo short episodes · about 6 minutes each
The science
What decades of research say about sauna and cold plunges for your heart, brain, immune system and sleep, plus how to do it safely.
The history
From Finnish smoke saunas and Roman baths to Japanese onsen and Korean jjimjilbang: how people around the world have gathered in the heat.
Still wondering about something? Email hello@sauna-cottage.com.
Anyone who is overworked, stressed out, and needs a respite. So, basically everyone. You don’t need to be a “sauna person.” You just need a couple of hours to unwind.
Please check with your doctor first if you’re pregnant, have a heart condition or high blood pressure, or take medication that affects your circulation. When in doubt, keep sessions short, skip the cold plunge, and drink plenty of water.
Moving between heat and cold has been studied for decades, much of it in Finland. Regular sauna use is associated with a healthier heart and blood pressure, a lower risk of dementia and stroke, fewer colds, and better sleep. A short cold plunge has been shown to boost mood and reduce nervousness and distress.
These are wellness practices, not treatments, and the big Finnish studies show associations, not proof of cause. See the research, or listen to the episode:
People have gathered in the heat for thousands of years. In Finland, the sauna goes back more than 2,000 years, from earth-pit saunas to the smoke sauna. Romans moved between hot, warm and cold rooms, Japan has bathed in hot springs for some 1,300 years, and from Russian banyas to Korean jjimjilbangs, bathing has always been a way to relax and connect.
Explore the traditions map, or listen to the episode:
We’re in the last phase of permitting and hope to open in early 2027. Prices will be competitive with similar spaces in the area.
A water bottle (we have fill-up stations, and water for sale if you forget), a towel to dry off after your shower, a swimsuit, and sandals or flip-flops if you like. The whole space is walkable barefoot.
We provide a towel to sit on in the sauna. You can also rent a robe and shower towel package for $20.
A towel and robe package, skincare products, and light refreshments.
Please cancel at least 24 hours in advance, or you’ll be charged for your session. If something comes up, email us and we’ll work with you.
We’re near Trails End Taphouse in Snohomish, WA. You’ll get the exact address when you book.
The cottage out front is our private home and isn’t open to guests. The sauna, plunges, showers, changing room and bathroom are all in the backyard, reached by the path from parking.
There are several parking spots right outside the house. Bringing a large group? Park on Maple Ave between 9th and 10th St, about a three-minute walk away.
Building the backyard, testing the plunges, and everything in between. Come along on Instagram.
Pre-booking opens soon, and early bookings get 10% off. Send us a note and we’ll let you know the day it opens.