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
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
MUSIC
Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine
CONTENTS
00:00 Intro
01:50 First sauna
02:58 Second sauna: Is it a sauna?
03:39 Third sauna
05:33 Fourth sauna
05:57 Fifth sauna
06:20 Sixth sauna
06:43 Seventh sauna
07:33 Eighth sauna
08:02 Ninth sauna
08:49 Tenth sauna
10:16 Eleventh sauna
12:00 Twelfth sauna
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 friendships forged in löyly.
LINKS
Website
https://www.thesaunatrail.com
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
MUSIC
Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine
CONTENTS
00:00 What happened to the red barrel after the Rices moved
06:47 Luke and Martha get their own sauna
15:33 Sauna community in the U.P.
17:47 Thoughts on Sky Sauna in Chicago
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 sauna experiences, and he opened his home and his saunas—both wood-burning and electric—for us to enjoy.
We'll share highlights from our time together, including our first time using his wood-burning sauna and enjoying his lakeside electric sauna, as well as the memorable Phil Keaggy concert we attended in Wisconsin. Jeff’s knowledge and welcoming spirit truly embody the essence of sauna culture, where strangers can feel like family.
We also talk about the special customs we've learned along the way and the warmth of the sauna community, both online and in person. Join us as we explore these shared experiences and what it means to embrace sauna traditions together. And a big thank you to Jeff for his generous hospitality!
For more on Jeff’s journey, check out his article on Sauna Digest, and take a look at the photos in the links below.
Music
Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine
Website
https://www.thesaunatrail.com
Social Media
Instagram: /thesaunatrail
Facebook: /thesaunatrail
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:38 Jeff's Sauna Journey
11:03 Sauna with Strangers
13:33 Wood-Burning Sauna
15:48 Electric Sauna at the Lake
17:52 Things We Learned
19:11 Outro
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
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail
Locals
https://thesaunatrail.locals.com
CONTENT
00:00 Introduction
01:29 Off the grid sauna cabin on triangle lake
10:16 Camp du Nord
23:30 Accident!
37:42 Next episode
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 us for this journey into the heart of the sauna community! (Apologies for the audio issues...) ONLINE SAUNA GROUPS Wood-Burning Sauna - https://www.facebook.com/groups/WoodBurningSaunaSauna Sub-Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/Sauna/Wood-Fired Sauna - https://www.facebook.com/groups/803801150047727Sauna Design, Construction, Use - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023314014708398 CONTENT 00:00 Introduction 01:26 Why the group was called "Wood-Burning Sauna" 04:29 Connecting with and learning from members of the group 05:43 Highlights from the group 09:07 Sauna Calendar 10:09 Ted's sauna 13:24 Our favorite posts from the Wood-Burning Sauna group 25:26 Unique research in the group
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 brother and his family took us up on the offer! And they are joining us on the podcast! Welcome to Greg, Clarissa, Norah and Everett.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:49 Welcome to our guests
03:58 The drive to Republic (log sauna on the side of the road and Carla's Inn)
04:55 Dangerous Cave rental
07:19 Exploring the area, Big Bay, Logging roads, Marquette
08:38 Kayaking
18:34 Log Sauna Review
23:51 Greg and Clarissa's sauna journey and their home sauna
29:52 Outro
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/thesaunatrailFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrailLocalshttps://thesaunatrail.locals.comMusicDirge of the Night by Tied With TwineCHAPTERS00:00:00 Introduction00:01:11 Yooper Pasty and the Wood-burning Sauna Facebook group00:02:02 Hanka Homestead00:06:22 Freda, Apple Cider and the Octagonal Sauna00:09:21 Chutes and Ladder Park00:10:05 Smoked Fish00:10:40 Calumet Brewery Ruins00:12:15 Haven Falls Park00:13:01 Jampot Monks Baked Goods00:14:30 Copper Harbor & Hunter’s Point Park00:15:48 Black Creek Nature Sanctuary00:20:24 Cedar Bay Sauna00:26:15 Outro
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.comInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrailFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrailLocalshttps://thesaunatrail.locals.comMusicDirge of the Night by Tied With TwineCHAPTERS00:00:00 Introduction00:02:05 Review of Episode 23, Sauna on an Island00:04:37 Old Victoria Restoration Sauna00:08:38 Finnish Oven Pancakes00:10:00 The Wood'n Spoon00:13:26 Calumet & Mary Hoffman Hunt 00:16:00 Artis Bookstore00:18:38 Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock00:20:00 Louis Point & Kangas Sauna00:21:18 ILO Sauna Heaters in Dollar Bay00:22:09 Sights: Brockway Mountain, Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, Quincy Mine, Brunette Park, Risto's Hardware, Cliff Mine00:25:25 Massage00:27:53 Skoog Camp & Sauna
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
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail
Locals
https://thesaunatrail.locals.com
(00:00) Introduction
(03:51) Finding the vacation rental
(05:01) Adventures on the island
(18:03) Sauna notes and pictures
(28:36) Outro
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!
Finnish pancake (lettu) recipe: https://beta.locals.com/thesaunatrail/feed?post=5587333
Michael Nordskog & Aaron Hautala in a series of Youtube videos about The Opposite of Cold: https://youtu.be/li9bnmduyz0, https://youtu.be/E1LU9FdNzIQ, https://youtu.be/PyBeX_TKw5A
Al's Breakfast Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%27s_Breakfast
El Burrito Mercado website: https://elburritomercado.com
Music
Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine
Website
https://www.thesaunatrail.com
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail
Locals
https://thesaunatrail.locals.com
(00:00) Introduction
(02:28) Michael Nordskog's book The Opposite of Cold
(05:37) Who was Matti Kaups?
(8:21) Our trip to the archive
(10:22) Minneapolis adventures and Al's breakfast
(11:14) Interesting things we discovered in the archive
(17:51) Public saunas in North America circa 1920
(27:05) Outro and preview of future episodes
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=5587333
Kangas Sauna website:
Music
Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine
Website
https://www.thesaunatrail.com
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail
Locals
https://thesaunatrail.locals.com
(00:00) Introduction
(02:16) Introducing new people to sauna
(10:10) Touring Kangas Sauna
(14:30) Finnish pancake off
(17:33) Visiting a Finnish church
(18:57) Stepstone rental
(28:40) Sledding in our birthday suits
(33:11) Outro
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 Bed and Breakfast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070114934030
Stepstone Performance & Event Venue Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/p/Stepstone-Center-100049683296091/
Music
Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine
Website
https://www.thesaunatrail.com
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail
Locals
https://thesaunatrail.locals.com
(00:00) Introduction
(02:58) About Thunder Bay
(07:13) Too many oranges
(08:41) Visiting Thunder Bay
(13:31) Sauna at Tyndall Stone
(17:28) Finnish pancakes
(21:21) Outro
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 one microphone was recording, so we salvaged as much as possible…
Music
Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine
Website
https://www.thesaunatrail.com
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail
Locals
https://thesaunatrail.locals.com
(00:00) Introduction
(01:39) Why we sauna
(07:46) Why Finns sauna
(10:30) Pre-sauna prep
(13:26) Heating the sauna
(18:48) Prep while stove is heating
(21:57) Inside first round
(27:38) Sauna clown
(29:04) Leaving the sauna
(32:49) Outside first round
(38:22) The rest of the sauna session
(42:12) After sauna
(43:47) Favorite season to sauna
(45:20) Favorite time to sauna
(46:10) Final recommendations
(48:23) Outro
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!
The Innocence Mission Website: https://www.theinnocencemission.com
The Innocence Mission live on David Letterman: https://youtu.be/CKq6neLpszs
Article Risto and Julie were featured in: https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-roots-blues-2016-you-cant-go-wrong/article_64d6baf4-dcfb-11e5-a29e-5b101e1aba22.html
Music
Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine
Website
https://www.thesaunatrail.com
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail
Locals
https://thesaunatrail.locals.com
(00:00) Introduction
(01:32) The bucket list item
(05:41) The trip and the sauna
(11:47) The concert
(15:03) About the Innocence Mission
(18:03) Favorite albums
(21:22) Favorite songs
(36:35) Outro
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
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail
Locals
https://thesaunatrail.locals.com
(00:00) Introduction
(03:58) The Turtle Hollow sauna and rental
(10:36) Exploring Viroqua
(16:51) Going back to Turtle Hollow
(18:40) Photos and memories
(30:16) A rustic sauna in a beautiful setting
(34:33) Outro
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 of the Night by Tied With Twine
Website
https://www.thesaunatrail.com
https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail
https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail
Locals
https://thesaunatrail.locals.com
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:02:51) Finding the Scandinavian Christmas Bazaar
(00:08:55) The beginning of the bazaar
(00:12:51) The sauna raffle
(00:17:14) The Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church
(00:22:06) Angela’s sauna practice
(00:35:34) Cokato sauna tour
(00:38:25) The family camp on Elbow Lake
(00:46:03) Young Living essential oils
(00:51:04) Koinonia Retreat Center
(00:59:41) The oldest sauna in North America?!
(01:01:09) Outro