Traditional Saunas

A traditional sauna heats the room with an electric stove and a bed of rocks, and a ladle of water over those rocks raises the humidity whenever you want a burst of steam. This collection brings together Golden Designs and SunRay models, from one-person indoor cabins to six-person barrels and backyard barn buildings, framed in Canadian hemlock, Canadian red cedar or Pacific cedar and heated by electric stoves of up to 8 kW.

How to choose a traditional sauna

Indoor or outdoor. Indoor cabins fit a basement, garage or spare room. The SunRay Aston 1-person cabin pairs a 4.5 kW Harvia heater with Canadian hemlock and a side bench. The Golden Designs Copenhagen 3-person uses a 6.0 kW stove and Canadian red cedar, with star-pattern ceiling lights and a reading lamp. For the yard, barrels like the Arosa 4-person barrel in Pacific cedar and shingle-roof cabins like the SunRay Freeport 3-person outdoor model, built from aged Canadian hemlock with a 4.5 kW Harvia heater, are made for outdoor placement.

Group size and heat output. Bigger rooms carry bigger stoves. The Klosters 6-person barrel runs an 8 kW Harvia wall stove, and the Kaarina 6-person barn sauna pairs an 8.0 kW stove with a 78-inch-wide cedar interior plus an LED control panel with FM and Bluetooth.

One room, two heat types. If some household members prefer gentler heat, the Loviisa 3-person barn hybrid lets you choose the 8.0 kW traditional stove or full spectrum infrared each session. Golden Designs offers the same either-or setup on its Kaskinen, Gargellen and Carinthia models.

Electrical service. Plan the circuit before you order. The Arosa lists 240V/30 amp service wired directly to the stove, and the SunRay Eagle 2-person outdoor sauna calls for a dedicated 20-amp 240V supply. Have a licensed electrician confirm the run to your location.

Trainer's take: make the routine easy to repeat

A home sauna earns its space when you use it regularly, so put it where it is convenient and plan a spot to cool down between rounds. Drink water before and after. Start with short rounds at a moderate temperature, add steam gradually, and lengthen sessions only as they feel comfortable; step out right away if you feel lightheaded. After a hard training day, give yourself a few minutes to cool down before your first round. If you have a heart condition, are pregnant or take medication, talk with your doctor before starting.

Traditional sauna FAQ

Which is more practical for frequent use, a traditional sauna or an infrared sauna?

It comes down to the heat you enjoy. A traditional stove runs much hotter and lets you add humidity with water on the rocks; infrared runs cooler and dry. Golden Designs lists its hybrids at 170 to 185°F ideal on the stove versus 118 to 132°F on infrared. Our traditional vs infrared sauna guide compares the two in detail.

How hot do these saunas get?

Golden Designs lists an ideal range of either 170 to 185°F or 180 to 198°F depending on the model, with top temperatures between 190°F and 202°F. SunRay lists maximums of roughly 170 to 180°F.

Can I install one outdoors?

Only models built for it. Barrels, barn saunas and the SunRay shingle-roof cabins are designed for outdoor use; SunRay's indoor cabins are not.

What drives the cost of a home sauna?

Size, wood species, indoor versus outdoor construction and stove output all move the number, along with the electrical work. Our home sauna cost guide breaks it down.

Keep comparing with outdoor saunas, hybrid saunas and infrared saunas. Still deciding on a type? Start with Which Sauna Should I Get?