Dive into Zen on a floating sauna

On this winter morning, the water is an invigorating 4C. Sauna attendant Reilly Harper says spending a minute submerged is ideal, but I barely count to 10 before my feet start throbbing and I make a beeline indoors. 

My whole body feels tingly and alive from this lakeside hydrotherapy circuit, whose benefits range from improving circulation and reducing muscle tension, to alleviating stress and boosting mood. 

Floating saunas like this one combine wellness with nature—it’s a more immersive experience when you’re sweating with a view, or plunging directly into a lake or ocean. 

It’s no wonder so many have opened their doors in B.C. over the past few years.

Floating saunas in BC

Ready to take the plunge? From the Okanagan to Vancouver Island, here are four floating saunas to check out.

Löyly Floating Sauna, Kelowna

Located lakeside at Kelowna’s Downtown Marina, this seasonal sauna experience combines Scandinavian heat with Canadian cold. 

Löyly (pronounced “low-lou”) is a Finnish word for the steam that rises when water is poured over rocks inside a wet sauna. It’s the brainchild of co-founders Jessi and Nick Rastas, who have Nordic roots and first tried a floating sauna on a trip to Tasmania.

“We both felt this deep sense of calm and remember looking at each other and saying, ‘Why doesn’t Kelowna have this?’" says Jessi.

Sauna sessions at Löyly last 70 minutes and include access to the sauna, cold plunge, solarium, change rooms, cubbies and filtered water. The floating sauna is open through March.

The cosy wood-fired sauna has room for eight wellness seekers. 

“It’s intentionally small, which allows for a more personal experience that’s deeply connected to the landscape,” says co-founder Andy Platt, who says that spending time on the water reduces mental noise and forces people to slow down and be present.

Private three-hour sauna sessions include the ride to and from the floating facility, and use of the sauna, deck and chairs, and ladder in and out of the giant plunge pool (Howe Sound) that ranges between 7C and 10C in winter.

The coolest part? It’s all contained on a restored and repurposed WWII barge in the city’s bustling Inner Harbour.

“It’s like a boutique hydrotherapy spa,” says HAVN’s Dee Schaeffer. “It’s a creative and fun way of approaching health and wellness.”

The facility caps out at 38 guests, and spa-goers can book in for three-hour regular sessions or two-hour nighttime sessions. There’s a lounge, wellness café and change rooms on-site, and robes and towels are included in the price.  

Accessed by a 30-minute boat ride, the wood-fired cedar sauna is located on a floating dock, along with a fire pit and seating area, and kayaks and paddle boards for exploration.

“Seals and otters occasionally swim past the dock, and more often than not, the only sounds are water lapping against the sauna and birds overhead,” says Mariana Tellez with Tofino Resort + Marina, which operates the sauna.

You don’t have to be a guest of the resort to book a four-hour sauna experience in winter, or a five-hour summer experience.