Winnipeg, Manitoba has a new community sauna as of August 2025. Saunic is everything I would hope community sauna could be.
Our host, Michelle, was spot on in hosting style. A combination of friendliness and know-how that I find ideal, albeit, rare in public sauna spaces in the United States outside of the 612 Sauna Society (of which I am a member) and Sisu + Löyly in Grand Marais. She greeted us with warmth and was extremely attentive when we were communicating with her throughout our time there. Michelle even listened close enough to make connections with us in a genuine way, which is gold in the service industry. She also shared a bit about her business and career in Event Planning, so our conversations were like talking to a fellow industry professional at a conference, even though one of us was in a bathing suit and the other was cozy in a Saunic-branded hoodie.
As this was a community sauna session, we were in sauna with three others - yes, just five of us! Our conversations in the sauna and out of the sauna were warm and filled with curiosity. We had the pleasure of sharing sauna with a couple from Winnipeg and a woman in the film industry from Toronto and in Winnipeg often for work. I left sauna feeling like I had been professionally developed through listening closely to what the fellow sauna guests shared about their life. The couple, it turns out, has been to Thief River Falls, where my partner is from, so we chatted a bit about that, giving them suggestions of where to visit next. They also offered up a few more suggestions for us while in Winnipeg, whether this time or next time - there will definitely be a next time! The other sauna guest was also very engaging and friendly. I could tell we had a lot in common as far as worldview and interests. An immediate friend. I hope we run into one another in Winnipeg, Toronto, Minneapolis, or a fourth space.
I can tell a lot of thought was put into how to design the outdoor sauna village. A tall privacy fence encapsulates this community space allowing for privacy. Although I find the more industrial location quite perfect, the fence gives saunagoers the ability to imagine you are somewhere else. Behind the fence, guests will encounter a check in desk, cubbies for storing your things while in sauna, four changing rooms, four cold-plunge tanks at varying temperatures, two cozy fireplaces with wooden lawn furniture and blankets, and two sauna units - one wood fired and one electric.
The sessions are generous with time giving guests 110 minutes to enjoy the sauna spaces, cozy yard, and cold plunge tanks. This stands in stark contrast to many public sauna offerings I have experienced before, in fact it is the longest I have ever seen aside from daylong passes at more expensive and upscale spas. I find longer sessions to be way more relaxing than a tight 1 hour session as it allows me to not worry about time at all, which is a true gift while doing sauna. It is very liberating and relaxing to not worry about time. There were no clocks on display anywhere in the sauna yard and I had a better sauna experience because of it.
Have you ever had poutine as a post-sauna snack? I have. It was delicious.
