For people in Minnesota, the sauna is a link to the past and a way to form new bonds.
Feb. 17, 2024Jumping in a hole in a frozen lake during a subzero Minnesota winter evening is brutal.
On the banks of Lake Minnewashta in Excelsior, just outside Minneapolis, the answer lies in a dimly lit, wood-burning barrel-shaped sauna a few feet away.
Minnesotans have begun partaking in a version of this ritual in droves as a tradition imported by the state’s Nordic settlers in the late 1800s has gone mainstream.
While cold plunging is not obligatory — and some opt out — most of the new sauna venues encourage even mild forms of cold exposure, like dumping a bucket of cold water on your head.
Locations:
Minnesota, Lake Minnewashta, Excelsior, Minneapolis, Midwest