Editor's Note

Oregon’s Nordic Roots Are Most Visible in the Winter

Oregon’s love for saunas and skiing can be tied to its Finnish and Scandinavian immigrants.

Fact Check

What Is Contrast Therapy and Does It Work?

Advocates say alternating between hot saunas and cold plunges can have major wellness benefits. The research is a little more complicated.

11/05/2024 By Erin Ross Illustrations by Derek Abella

Heating Up

Meet the new sauna evangelists changing the way we shvitz.

Sauna 101

Should you go electric? Wood-burning? What the heck is infrared? And how do you avoid the spa faux pas?

Warming Up

The Portland spa enlisted fragrance design studio Maak Lab to develop custom oil blends for its steam room and sauna rocks.

Heat Seeking

Shvitz in a “wine barrel,” cold plunge in a river, or soak up the steam from a bubbling hot spring.

Getting Steamy

The city has lost almost all of its gay bathhouses, but the LGBTQ+ community still finds solace in the sauna.

10/28/2024 By Byron Beck Illustrations by Derek Abella

Hot Spots

Bask in fir-scented steam, lounge near the hearth in a 200-degree cabin, or blast Mitski in your own private suite at one of these Portland spas.

Fix-It Guide: Garden Amenities

Call it sweat equity.

03/26/2019 By Marty Patail