Helsinki beach to get public sauna for more than 40

A new public sauna capable of hosting more than 40 people at once is due to open at Aurinkolahti beach in Helsinki’s Vuosaari district later this year, Yle reports. The sauna is being built in Tampere and will be transported to Helsinki once complete.

Entrepreneur Kalle Valtokari said construction was well underway and the permits were awaiting final approval. He hopes to open the sauna to the public in November or December.

Valtokari, who is originally from Tampere, has run the Hyvän tuulen sauna business in eastern Helsinki for several years. It operates two sauna rafts that move around Vuosaari in summer and are moored at Puotila harbour in winter, where there is also an ice-swimming spot.

He said the new sauna would bring a touch of Tampere’s sauna culture to Helsinki. He wants it to be a welcoming public gathering place where people can run into friends and acquaintances. The sauna will mainly serve people who want to use the sauna and swim; private events are not planned.

The sauna will use electric heaters. Valtokari said they would be large and high-quality enough to provide a good sauna experience, challenging the idea that only a wood-fired sauna can produce proper steam.

The project is part of Helsinki’s response to growing demand for saunas and winter swimming. The city put five new sauna and winter-swimming locations out to tender in spring 2025: Aurinkolahti beach, Tapaninvainio beach, the Saukonpaasi breakwater in Jätkäsaari, Palettilampi beach and Meripuisto in Eira.

Valtokari’s company, Big Kapa Oy, was selected to develop the Aurinkolahti sauna. The other four locations went to Löylykontti, a company that operates saunas built in shipping containers around Espoo and Helsinki. The city has used Oma Stadi participatory budgeting funds to renovate Aurinkolahti’s winter-swimming pier, changing rooms and toilets.