Last updated October 13, 2026. Written by the Ebb & Ember team. Yes, we run one of the saunas on this list. We have tried to be fair anyway, and we tell you where our bias is.

Ebb & Ember floating sauna viewed from a covered cedar deck with two teal kayaks in the foreground on the Columbia River — Ebb & Ember on the Columbia, June 2026.

Portland has gone from two or three saunas to more than a dozen in about four years. Finnish-style cedar rooms, a hotel thermal spa, infrared suites, a wood-fired barrel that shows up at the park on weekends, and one that floats on the Columbia River. Nobody had written them all down in one place, so here they are.

How we judged them

Heat. Real sauna heat is 160 to 195 F with löyly (steam off the rocks). Infrared is a different thing: 120 to 140 F, you sweat, but it is not a sauna in the Finnish sense. Both are on this list, labeled.
Cold. A sauna without a cold plunge is half the experience. We note what each place has: a plunge tub, a cold shower, or a river.
Social or private. Some places are a community room you share with strangers. Some are a suite you rent. A few do both.
Price. Listed where the business publishes it. Where we could only find a third-party number we say so and when it was published.

The quick comparison

Sauna	Where	Heat	Cold plunge	Social or private	Drop-in price
Ebb & Ember	Columbia River, 173 NE Bridgeton Rd	Gas-fired cedar sauna, 160 to 195 F	The Columbia River off the deck, or the Downpour: 20 seconds of continuous cold water from overhead	Both: social seats or the whole boat	Social passes from $40
Knot Springs	Inner NE, on the Willamette	Cedar dry sauna + steam room	Yes, one tub, about 47 F	Social, members first	Around $69 for 2 hrs (Portland Monthly, Nov 2025)
Löyly	NE MLK and SE 21st	Electric Finnish cedar; steam at SE	No, cold showers and buckets	Social, private rental up to 8	Around $30 to $40 for 2 hrs (Willamette Week, Mar 2026)
Cascada	Alberta Arts	Two dry saunas + marble steam room	Yes, plunge pool and ice fountain	Social, 21+	Day pass from $100
Common Ground Wellness	NE 33rd	Dry cedar, outdoor courtyard	No, outdoor cold shower	Social, clothing optional	$18 for 30 min up to $48 for 2 hrs
SaunaGlo	Milwaukie	Nordic sauna, holds about 18	Yes, cedar barrel plunge	Social, family friendly, private rental	Around $19 to $29 (Portland Monthly, Nov 2025)
Everett House	NE Portland	Electric social sauna, silent sauna, steam	Yes, plunge plus cold tubs	Social side and silent side, clothing optional	Around $18 for 30 min (Portland Monthly, Nov 2025)
Pure Sweat Sauna Studio	N Williams	Infrared suites	Yes, in contrast suites	Private suites only	Around $60 to $125 (Portland Monthly, Nov 2025)
Root Whole Body	Slabtown, NW	Cedar community sauna + infrared booth	No, hydrotherapy soak	Both	Around $25 to $49 (Portland Monthly, Nov 2025)
Guss	Sellwood Riverfront Park, most weekends	Wood-fired mobile barrel, about 12	The Willamette River	Social, private groups, women-only sessions	Around $30 (Axios, Dec 2025)

The saunas, one by one

Ebb & Ember (that's us)

A cedar sauna built on a boat and docked on the Columbia at the north edge of the city. The windows face the river and the cold plunge is the river itself. If you are not ready for that, there is the Downpour: pull the cord and cold water pours over you from overhead for a full 20 seconds. Not a bucket splash, a steady downpour. Rooftop deck for cooling off between rounds. Sessions are 1 hour 45 minutes, daily 6am to 10pm. You can book a seat in a social session (up to 8 people) or take the whole boat for up to 10. Bias disclosure: we think the river plunge is the best cold in Portland. Honest downside: it is a boat in a working marina, so there is no lifeguard, parking is tight on peak nights, and there is one bathroom. Book a session.

Warm cedar entry of the Ebb & Ember floating sauna looking out toward the river — Cedar entry, river out the door.

Cedar cold-rinse shower area at Ebb & Ember floating sauna against a blue sky — The Downpour. Twenty seconds of cold, one cord.

Knot Springs

The polished one. A members-first club on the east bank with soaking pools, a very hot cedar sauna, a steam room with custom scent blends and a single cold plunge that sits around 47 F. Skyline view, towels and robes handled, the whole thing feels like a hotel spa. The tradeoff is the crowd and the price. If you want a quiet, cheap sweat, this is not it. If you want a date night that feels like an occasion, it is.

Löyly

Two locations, NE MLK and SE 21st, and the closest thing Portland has to a classic Finnish public sauna. Electric cedar rooms, a steam room at the SE spot, timed reservations you can usually get same day, swimsuits required. No cold plunge, which is the one real gap: you cool off with a cold shower or a bucket. Massage and facial add-ons if you want them. The best value sauna in the city for a regular habit.

Cascada Thermal Springs + Hotel

The luxury end. Two dry saunas, an Italian marble steam room that runs 110 to 120 F, mineral soaking pools, a cold plunge and an ice fountain, all inside a hotel on Alberta. 21 and over. A day pass starts at $100 and you will want the full three hours to make it worth it. Go for an anniversary, not a Tuesday.

Common Ground Wellness

Old-school Portland. A dry cedar sauna, a courtyard soaking pool, clothing optional in the pool and sauna, prices from $18 for 30 minutes. No plunge, just an outdoor cold shower. It is not fancy and that is the point. If you have been going to saunas in this city since before it was a trend, you already know this place.

SaunaGlo

Technically Milwaukie, ten minutes south. A big Nordic sauna that holds around 18, a cedar barrel cold plunge, a dump bucket, and a family-friendly, walk-ins-welcome attitude that is rare here. Cheapest real sauna plus real plunge combination on this list by a wide margin. Worth the drive if you are south of Division.

Everett House

A converted Craftsman in NE with two personalities: a social side where people talk, and a silent side where they do not. Electric sauna, steam room, a circulating cold plunge and outdoor tubs, clothing optional. If silence is the thing you are after, this is the only place in town that guarantees it.

Pure Sweat Sauna Studio

Infrared, not Finnish. Six private suites on N Williams, some with a cold plunge for contrast therapy. You get the room to yourself, which some people love. The heat is gentler (infrared tops out well below a real sauna), so if you want löyly, keep scrolling. If you want privacy and a sweat on a lunch break, it works.

Root Whole Body

A wellness complex in Slabtown with a community cedar sauna in 30-minute slots, a private infrared booth and hydrotherapy soaks. No cold plunge. More of a spa menu item than a destination sauna, but a solid option on the west side where choices are thin.

Guss

A wood-fired barrel sauna on a trailer that parks at Sellwood Riverfront Park most weekends (and a few other spots monthly). You sweat, you walk into the Willamette, you repeat. About 12 people per hour-long session, advance sign-up required, with women-only sessions on the calendar. It is the only other river-plunge sauna in Portland and the most purely Finnish experience on this list. The catch is that it is weekends only and weather dependent.

Best for...

First timers: Löyly. Cheap, easy to book, nothing intimidating.
Cold plunge people: Ebb & Ember or Guss if you want a river. Knot Springs or SaunaGlo if you want a tub. Ebb & Ember if you want to stand under the Downpour.
Date night: Knot Springs or Cascada. Or the whole boat at Ebb & Ember if you want it to yourselves.
Groups and birthdays: Ebb & Ember private (up to 10), SaunaGlo private rental, Löyly private rental (up to 8).
Silence: Everett House's silent side.
Budget habit: Common Ground or SaunaGlo.
Privacy: Pure Sweat.
The view: Ebb & Ember (river at water level) or Knot Springs (skyline).

Exterior of the Ebb & Ember black floating sauna on a dock under a clear blue sky — The dock at 173 NE Bridgeton Rd. No lifeguard, read the sign.

Not on this list, and why

Bear Banya (SE 96th) is a Russian banya ritual business with packages from $290 per person, not a drop-in sauna. Connect Wellness in Vancouver, WA has wood-fired saunas and very cold plunges but we could not confirm current hours or prices. Sosta House is a sauna at a wine-country B&B, not a Portland sauna. If you run a sauna in Portland and we missed you, email sauna@ebbandember.com and we will add you.

Prices change. Check each business before you go. We update this page each season.