Mention the word sauna and most Albertans think of luxury spa resorts where you pay a hundred dollars to relax for a few hours. There are treatment rooms for massages, infrared cabins to boost circulation and ice-cold plunge pools to reduce muscle soreness. The market for these sauna experiences is growing in North America and expected to reach US$340.9 million by 2030.
That’s modest by Nordic standards. And yet these resort packages are foreign to sauna’s traditional Finnish roots, muses Juho Pelkonen, the Finnish-born co-owner of Kamu Sauna with his wife, Becky Pelkonen, an Edmonton entrepreneur. “It’s nice to hang out at these multi-million- dollar Nordic spas, but they are a luxury product. They are something you do once a year,” says Juho. “It’s not how we typically sauna in Finland.”
To put it simply, the difference between a Finnish sauna and a Nordic spa is that the former is solely a steam experience, while the latter term applies to the experience plus massages, plunges, pedicures and so on. Because of its simplicity, Finns see the sauna as more of a routine bathing practice. “It’s your deep clean,” he explains. “You take time to clean both your body and your mind.”
The Pelkonens are on a mission to change the way Canadians think about saunas. Now based in Kimberley, B.C., but partnered with an Edmonton manufacturing company — and with many local clients — they want saunas to be universal and financially accessible to all, just like they are in Finland.
The pair met in Jyväskylä, Finland, two decades ago when Becky was studying as a University of Alberta exchange student. For Finns, sauna culture is deeply ingrained in daily routines in a way that North Americans find hard to grasp. Most of them have saunas in their homes or apartments, and public saunas where people converse with friends and strangers are as commonplace as neighbourhood hockey rinks in Canada. In the summertime, families retreat to their lakeside mökkis (cottages) to escape the hectic pace of city life. From their modest cottage saunas, a quick dip into a chilly lake is only steps away. In fact, Finland — a country of 5.6 million inhabitants — is reported to have an estimated three million saunas. There’s even a Finnish word for the steam produced from throwing water onto hot rocks — löyly — which originates from the ancient Finnic-Urgo word for spirit, life or soul.
Finns believe that each sauna has its own löyly. It’s no wonder why: In 2020, UNESCO added Finnish sauna culture to its list of intangible cultural heritage, an international list that identifies things that capture the essence of a place’s heritage, and in doing so protects three of the country’s public saunas through legislation.
To bring Finnish sauna culture to Western Canadian homes, the Pelkonens teamed up in 2023 with Edmonton-based Tmbr Group, which builds modular structures like garden studios and sheds, all using a similar design. Paul Auton, co-owner of Tmbr, had already been thinking about how to enter the growing sauna market, so when a family friend introduced him to Juho and Becky two years ago, it was serendipitous.
The beauty of a modular design is that it allows systems to be combined and expanded into a range of creative and endless structures. The smaller $24,000 outdoor model starts with an eight-foot by eight-foot sauna room but can be effortlessly built to double that size. West Coast Douglas Fir was chosen for its ability to withstand Alberta’s bitter cold and hold up well to humidity, thus preventing the growth of bacteria. Windows place at the top provide panoramic views of the outside while still offering privacy to those seated on the top bench.
Prior to Timbr’s partnership, Juho was building the saunas by himself on site. Now Kumu’s sauna production timeline has been reduced from six weeks to three weeks — and soon they may be able to turn them around even faster as Auton comes close to finalizing a flat-pack design. “This way,” says Auton, “the client can put them up if they have carpentry skills or they can hire someone local. All we have to do is build them and ship them out.” The end goal is to build one sauna consistently every two to three weeks.
Partnering with Tmbr has also allowed Juho to quit his full-time firefighting job so he and Becky can focus on marketing and educating the public about Finnish sauna culture. She does this partially by hosting affordable community sauna events and offering a mobile rental service, educating folks about how to incorporate saunas into their daily wellness routines and even use them as social spaces.
“The sauna is a place where we can have deep connection in terms of conversation and talks,” says Becky. “It’s not interrupted or impacted by outside distractions, and it’s an electronic-free space by design.”
Edmonton likes to think of itself as a winter city, yet when it comes to Nordic sauna experiences we’re lagging behind the rest of the country.
Alberta’s first Nordic spa, in Kananaskis, didn’t open until 2018 — almost 15 years after the first multi-million-dollar spa opened in the Outaouais region in western Quebec. Of course, la belle province’s population is twice as large and therein lies one of the biggest obstacles: the proximity and size of the nearby customer base. Success is highly dependent on a steady stream of costumers willing to pay $100 for a single visit over and over again.
But there are signs that Edmonton is finally warming up to the practice. This past July, after years of rumours of a spa resort opening in Edmonton, a piece of land in Brander Gardens was rezoned to welcome Scandinave Spa. It will be the Ontario-based company’s fifth spa in Canada and Edmonton’s first Nordic Spa resort when it opens in 2028. Until then, here are some affordable Finnish saunas you can experience within an hour drive of the city.
Strathcona County
These $30 pop-up sauna community events are as close as you’ll get to a Finnish spa community experience, as long as you don’t mind being in really close quarters with 17 other people. It’s a basic setup in a barrel sauna without all the expensive Nordic spa offerings. Rising Moon Glamping is open September through April.
Fort Saskatchewan
The big draw here is the mirrored sauna so you can look at the surrounding forest and not your sweaty sauna partner. Throw a couple of oud chips on the fire to transform the experience into sauna aromatherapy. Elk Island Retreat is open March through November. elkislandretreat.com
Wetaskiwin County
This floating sauna that sits on Twin Lake is one of the most isolated for sure. To get there, you have to kayak out but once you arrive, it’s pure bliss with access to paddle boards and even a yoga instructor, should you desire. With so much to do, you might forget that you booked a sauna. Glamp Good is open year-round.
Edmonton
It’s a sauna built inside a trailer so it’ll show up anywhere you want it. Book it for a party or community event. Bliss Mobile Sauna is open year-round.
