The winters in Portland can be harsh. Not in the romantic sense of an old-fashioned tale with vast drifts of snow and frozen rivers, but rather in the dull, rainy, gray sky, wet-socks way.
Lewis and Clark detested Oregon for a reason.
Long before white people were on the world, one strategy to fight the gloomy winters was to warm up your body.Sweat lodges were used for both religious and recreational sweating in Chinook cultures.
An increasing number of people in the Portland region are learning about such leisure and spiritual advantages for themselves. Additionally, a growing number of new spas attest to the practice’s increasing appeal.
I therefore went to three of those new locations to kick off 2025. The first is a chic new hotel-spa-restaurant complex on one of Portland’s trendiest avenues. Another is a cozy Finnish sauna in Milwaukie’s downtown. And lastly, Vancouver’s outdoor forest-spa-wonderland.
SaunaGlo
Inside Milwaukie’s SaunaGlo.Acker Lizzy/The Oregonian
Milwaukie, 1915 S.E. Jefferson St., 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. A day pass costs $19 on Sunday at sunnaglo.com.
I genuinely adore my neighborhood, but every year or so I consider moving to Milwaukie at least once.
The newest establishment to raise this query is SaunaGlo, located across the street from Wunderland in charming downtown Milwaukie.
In addition to being spanking new (having opened in December), this place is incredibly cozy, warm, and friendly.
A large, frank, and gorgeous hot sauna, a cold plunge, a cold shower, and a cold bucket dump—all of which I was far too afraid to try—are available for $19.
Kids are welcome here, unlike most spas in the area, especially those with saunas. While their parents perspired in the sauna during my visit, two children played with Legos in the sunlit hangout area. One of them, who couldn’t have been older than ten, entered the sauna by himself at one time.
As parents themselves, SaunaGlo’s owners, Katie and Michael Calcagno, place a strong focus on community—a community that includes children. They host various family-oriented events and, once more, present a strong case for relocating to at least this one area.
Given the price, this is among the least expensive sauna alternatives available. Additionally, because the locker room is small and communal, you cannot simply take off your clothes wherever you want, and you must bring your own towels (one for drying and one for sitting in the sauna).
But really, when your main purpose is to work out with pals, who needs a large, opulent changing room or towel service? And SaunaGlo is ideal for that.
Milwaukie is home to SaunaGlo.Acker Lizzy/The Oregonian
Connect Wellness
Vancouver’s Connect Wellness.Acker Lizzy/The Oregonian
Vancouver, 4301 N.E. 59th Ave. Hours vary based on the type of session; check out connectwellness.biz; two hours cost $40.
Guys, if you have visited Connect Wellness since it opened three years ago, I have a grievance: why didn’t you inform me about it? Every every story I write ends with my email address.
Were you attempting to be silent? If so, I apologize and understand, but I’m here to yell loud and clear: Go to Connect Wellness!
When you locate Connect Wellness in a Vancouver residential area, you will discover the following: A soaking pool, cold plunge tubs, and saunas are scattered around an open, outdoor fairyland.
It has an atmosphere that is most similar to my favorite spa, Everett House in Portland. Even I have to confess that the freestanding wood-fired saunas here are far nicer than those at Everett House, and there is more outside area.
A changing room in a shipping container with a pellet burner and a quiet woodfired sauna in a trailer with a lovely view are examples of the eclectic aesthetic. A yurt for entertainment.An Airbnb on-site. Cold plunges in wooden barrels, plastic containers, and clawfoot tubs. The list might be endless. Even a separate private area is available for rental.
Stone paver paths through green grass and wooden walkways connect the different spaces, giving the whole thing an almost mystical quality.
I liked the saunas but especially enjoyed sitting in the warm pool with steam rising up, reading a book. I could have easily stayed beyond my allotted two hours.
Connect Wellness is definitely worth a trip to Washington.
Note: Reservations are required, and there are times when clothing is optional, but when I went it was a swimsuit situation. Check the website to find out all of the many things they offer.
Private spa area at Connect Wellness in Vancouver.Acker Lizzy/The Oregonian
Cascada
The sanctuary at Cascada in Northeast Portland.Acker Lizzy/The Oregonian
1150 N.E. Alberta St., 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday (last soaking appointment begins at 7 p.m.),cascada.me, $100 for three hours.
For several years, a massive construction project has taken up a block along Northeast Alberta Street between Northeast 11th and 12th avenues, across from the Radio Room. And while the construction isn t completely over,the underground hot springs heralded on billboardsacross town is finally open to the public.
Cascada, pronounced not like you ve probably been saying it, by adding an ah sound to the English word cascade, is the Spanish word for waterfall, pronounced kas-kah-da.
And there are definitely waterfalls here, or at least fountains that mimic waterfalls and don t require any hiking to get to.
The pool area is comprised of a beautiful, open conservatory, with daybeds and a warm pool for lazily lounging. Here, you are free to talk to friends and drink water and herbal tea, which is provided.
Below the conservatory is the sanctuary, an underground collection of four pools of varying temperatures and a sauna and steam room.
No talking is allowed in the sanctuary area, which is one of the few things I would change about Cascada as much as I love a silent sauna or a silent area, making the majority of the space silent ends up being a bummer if you and a friend or partner spent $100 per person and wanted to hang out.
My advice to management? Make some hours, or the sauna, silent. But not the heart of the thing, all the time.
Beyond that though, the facilities, which have been open since late last year, are immaculate. The water in each one of the pools, which range from cold plunge to hot, is clear and clean.
I m not a cold plunger but I would happily float around in the mineral pool, which is slightly cool with a wall of water fountain and entrancing light reflecting on the ceiling, for an hour. Especially if I was allowed to gossip with a friend while doing so.
The sauna is large and warm, though visitors may get confused by the water buckets and the signs that tell visitors not to put water on the rocks. The steam room, by some miracle of science, runs quietly while maintaining a lot of steam.
And I would love to visit the conservatory on a rainy day, or better yet, a snowy one, and drink tea and soak in 82-degree water.
Towels are provided, along with branded sandals, and a wristband that unlocks and locks your locker. All the showers have nice-smelling body and hair products.
If you want to hang out before or after your visit, Alberta Street Coffee is open in the lobby, and there are plenty of places to sit and read, or scroll through your phone, while you wait for a friend.
A night at the hotel portion of Cascada will run you about $300 on the low end and does not include a visit to the pools, but you do get a discount on a pass if you stay the night.
Watch out, Knot Springs. Cascada is coming for you.
Alberta Street Coffee in Cascada in Northeast Portland.Lizzy Acker/The Oregonian
Lizzy Ackercovers life and culture and writesthe advice column Why Tho?Reach her at 503-221-8052,[email protected].
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