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

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail

Facebook

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