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Inside a Wild Haus sauna voyage on Lake Union

How a Wild Haus sauna voyage works on Lake Union: the Ballard-built boats, the wood fire, the rooftop deck and the route past Gas Works.

<h6>Seattle Fitness Magazine · 28 Sep 2026</h6><ul><li><strong>2</strong>sauna boats</li><li><strong>≤6</strong>guests per voyage</li><li><strong>$150</strong>weekend communal seat</li></ul><h2>Two boats built in Ballard</h2> <p><b>Wild Haus runs two wood-fired sauna boats from a dock at 10 E Allison Street in Eastlake, on Lake Union.</b></p><p>Both were built in Ballard. &quot;These boats are just under 30 feet, and we built them over in Ballard in the Ship Canal yards,&quot; co-founder Walker Howard told KING 5 in March 2025. Each boat carries a two-tier sauna, an upper bench and a lower one, with a rooftop deck above it.</p><p>The company&#x27;s FAQ gives the heat as a range, 104 to 200 degrees, &quot;depending on how sweaty you&#x27;re looking to get,&quot; and Howard put the working temperature at 180 to 200. Wild Haus bills its fleet as Seattle&#x27;s only captained sauna boats.</p> <h2>A lap of Lake Union</h2> <p><b>A licensed captain meets each group at the dock and runs the whole trip.</b></p><p>Communal voyages stay on Lake Union. Describing the route to KING 5, Howard mentioned passing Gas Works Park and said the boat may &quot;dabble up underneath the Fremont Bridge or maybe go over to Portage Bay.&quot; Private trips can also go out to Lake Washington, weather permitting. The cooling off happens two ways. There is a cold bucket shower on board, and there is the lake.</p><p>David Gladish, writing about his own trip for Seattle magazine&#x27;s January/February 2026 issue, described the captain, Leroy, cutting the engine so the boat drifted &quot;while we jumped off the second story deck into the water.&quot; He went in early September, when, he wrote, the water &quot;wasn&#x27;t so much a cold plunge as the perfect temperature for swimming.&quot; Weekends are the busy days; Gladish reported about 10 trips a day then.</p> <h2>What a trip involves</h2> <p><b>There are two formats.</b></p><p>A private voyage takes up to six people from one group, for 90 minutes or 2.5 hours. A communal voyage also holds six, for 90 minutes, and puts people from different groups on the same boat. A communal 90-minute voyage costs $125 to $150 a person and a private 2.5-hour sailing for up to six costs $975 to $1,200, depending on the day; bookings are made through Wild Haus&#x27;s website.</p><p>There is no bathroom on the boat, though the company says there is one steps from the dock. Guests must be 13 or older, with a parent or legal guardian present who has signed a waiver for the child. Bookings are nonrefundable, but the company will reschedule once with at least seven days&#x27; notice. Parking is on the street.</p> <h2>Warming up the freeze</h2> <p><b>Wild Haus opened in January 2025.</b></p><p>Its own site tells the founding as &quot;7 Seattle friends and a swede,&quot; working with Jonatan, whom it calls &quot;the pioneer of Norway and Sweden&#x27;s first floating sauna projects.&quot;</p><p>Co-founder Emma Griffith gave the idea a Seattle frame when she spoke to Future Tides in June 2025: &quot;We kept saying we&#x27;re warming up the Seattle freeze.&quot; A communal voyage is a small version of that idea: up to six people who may not know each other, on one boat, for 90 minutes.</p> <h2>Across the lake in Kirkland</h2> <p><b>Wild Haus is not the only floating sauna in the area.</b></p><p>Future Tides reported in June 2025 that Von Sauna opened in Kirkland in January 2024, with two vessels moored to a public dock on Lake Washington, built in an L-shape with two tiers and room for 12. Its founder, David Jones, told Future Tides that &quot;Seattle shares a lot of similarities to Oslo.&quot;</p><p>The difference is that Wild Haus&#x27;s boats leave the dock, with a captain at the wheel; Future Tides described Von Sauna&#x27;s vessels as moored. Howard traced the format to Scandinavia on KING 5: &quot;Floating sauna culture has been popping up in Scandinavia for, I&#x27;d say, the last 10-15 years.&quot; Wild Haus&#x27;s Membership Club is not open yet; a sign-up block on its homepage, headed Locals Only, asks visitors to &quot;be the first to know&quot; when it does.</p>
Seattle Fitness Magazine · 28 Sep 2026
  • 2sauna boats
  • ≤6guests per voyage
  • $150weekend communal seat

Two boats built in Ballard

Wild Haus runs two wood-fired sauna boats from a dock at 10 E Allison Street in Eastlake, on Lake Union.

Both were built in Ballard. "These boats are just under 30 feet, and we built them over in Ballard in the Ship Canal yards," co-founder Walker Howard told KING 5 in March 2025. Each boat carries a two-tier sauna, an upper bench and a lower one, with a rooftop deck above it.

The company's FAQ gives the heat as a range, 104 to 200 degrees, "depending on how sweaty you're looking to get," and Howard put the working temperature at 180 to 200. Wild Haus bills its fleet as Seattle's only captained sauna boats.

A lap of Lake Union

A licensed captain meets each group at the dock and runs the whole trip.

Communal voyages stay on Lake Union. Describing the route to KING 5, Howard mentioned passing Gas Works Park and said the boat may "dabble up underneath the Fremont Bridge or maybe go over to Portage Bay." Private trips can also go out to Lake Washington, weather permitting. The cooling off happens two ways. There is a cold bucket shower on board, and there is the lake.

David Gladish, writing about his own trip for Seattle magazine's January/February 2026 issue, described the captain, Leroy, cutting the engine so the boat drifted "while we jumped off the second story deck into the water." He went in early September, when, he wrote, the water "wasn't so much a cold plunge as the perfect temperature for swimming." Weekends are the busy days; Gladish reported about 10 trips a day then.

What a trip involves

There are two formats.

A private voyage takes up to six people from one group, for 90 minutes or 2.5 hours. A communal voyage also holds six, for 90 minutes, and puts people from different groups on the same boat. A communal 90-minute voyage costs $125 to $150 a person and a private 2.5-hour sailing for up to six costs $975 to $1,200, depending on the day; bookings are made through Wild Haus's website.

There is no bathroom on the boat, though the company says there is one steps from the dock. Guests must be 13 or older, with a parent or legal guardian present who has signed a waiver for the child. Bookings are nonrefundable, but the company will reschedule once with at least seven days' notice. Parking is on the street.

Warming up the freeze

Wild Haus opened in January 2025.

Its own site tells the founding as "7 Seattle friends and a swede," working with Jonatan, whom it calls "the pioneer of Norway and Sweden's first floating sauna projects."

Co-founder Emma Griffith gave the idea a Seattle frame when she spoke to Future Tides in June 2025: "We kept saying we're warming up the Seattle freeze." A communal voyage is a small version of that idea: up to six people who may not know each other, on one boat, for 90 minutes.

Across the lake in Kirkland

Wild Haus is not the only floating sauna in the area.

Future Tides reported in June 2025 that Von Sauna opened in Kirkland in January 2024, with two vessels moored to a public dock on Lake Washington, built in an L-shape with two tiers and room for 12. Its founder, David Jones, told Future Tides that "Seattle shares a lot of similarities to Oslo."

The difference is that Wild Haus's boats leave the dock, with a captain at the wheel; Future Tides described Von Sauna's vessels as moored. Howard traced the format to Scandinavia on KING 5: "Floating sauna culture has been popping up in Scandinavia for, I'd say, the last 10-15 years." Wild Haus's Membership Club is not open yet; a sign-up block on its homepage, headed Locals Only, asks visitors to "be the first to know" when it does.

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