Last winter, three out of every four sauna sessions at Shady Oak Beach sold out. Between November 1 and March 29 the share rose to 84%. According to the city's own count, Friday evenings and all day Saturday and Sunday had "little to no availability" for the whole 2025-26 season. On Friday, Oct. 23, Sauna in the Parks reopens with a second sauna, which Minnetonka paid for without adding a dollar to its budget.
The money came from the beach's own lifeguard building. The posted schedule shows where the new capacity will go, and that matters more for getting a seat than the second sauna itself.
The building that paid for the sauna
Minnetonka's 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program set aside $180,000 this year for Shady Oak Beach, mostly to winterize the lifeguard building. That project came in $55,000 under budget. At the June 8, 2026 council meeting, Recreation Director Kelly O'Dea asked to move the leftover $55,000 to "the purchase an additional (2nd) sauna." The overall Shady Oak Beach allocation stayed the same. The council approved the amendment, and the city reported that the overall project budget did not go up.
That lifeguard building also serves as the sauna program's changing room. The council packet calls it "newly renovated" and says that, paired with the building, the program is "positioned to provide one of the best sauna experiences in the Twin Cities." This fall, sauna guests get an upgraded changing facility with improved heat and bathrooms, alongside the second sauna paid for with that building's leftover budget.
The city's financial case was simple. According to the packet, Sauna in the Parks brought in more than $120,000 over its first two years against about $70,000 in expenses. Staffing costs would stay the same with a second unit, so expanding would add "little increase in operational expenses." That two-year surplus of roughly $50,000 is close to the $55,000 that was reallocated for the purchase.
Full means about seven people
The 2025-26 season had 467 sessions and 3,454 visits. That works out to about 7.4 visitors per session. Public sessions top out at seven or eight people, so across the whole season the average session was close to full.
The city expects the second sauna to add 1,400 to 2,240 visits a year, which it calls "a modest projection." Against last season's 3,454, that would be 40 to 65 percent more people, not double. The city's announcement promises "twice the offerings, twice the cold plunges and twice the heat." Both statements can hold. The schedule shows how.
How the weekend grid splits
Starting Oct. 23, the program will run two Voyageur saunas named Horizon and Vista. Each has an IKI wood-fired stove, and guests share an outdoor bonfire. Their sessions are staggered by 45 minutes. On fall weekends, the two saunas serve different groups.
| Fall weekend session | Sauna | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:15 a.m.-12:40 p.m. | Vista | Public | Public |
| Noon-1:25 p.m. | Horizon | Public | Public |
| 12:45-2:10 p.m. | Vista | Public | Public |
| 1:30-2:55 p.m. | Horizon | Private | Private |
| 2:15-3:40 p.m. | Vista | Public | Public |
| 3-4:25 p.m. | Horizon | Private | Private |
| 3:45-5:10 p.m. | Vista | Public | Public |
| 4:30-5:55 p.m. | Horizon | Private | Private |
| 5:15-6:40 p.m. | Vista | Public | Public |
| 6-7:25 p.m. | Horizon | Private | Private |
| 6:45-8:10 p.m. | Vista | Public | Public |
Vista runs public sessions from late morning to evening. Horizon has one public slot each weekend day, at noon, and the rest of its afternoon and evening goes to private groups. Out of 22 weekend sessions, 14 are public and 8 are private. On Fridays this fall, all four sessions are public, starting at 4:30 p.m.
That split matches what the council was told about demand. Peak weekend times sold out, and the goal of the second sauna was "to meet the demand for peak day/time participants." Private bookings are one way to meet it. A group of up to 10 can reserve a session for $280. That works out to the same $28 per person as a public ticket, and a private session can hold two or three more people than a public one. If you organize sauna outings for a group of friends or a team, there are now dedicated weekend afternoon slots. If you book a single seat, the weekend picture looks much like last year's, with Vista's public sessions doing most of the work.
When the schedule loosens
The calendar changes on Nov. 18, when winter sessions start. The winter grid adds Wednesday and Thursday sessions from 4:30 p.m., opens Saturday mornings at 9:45 a.m., and adds holiday hours on Dec. 23, 28, 29, 30 and 31 and Jan. 1. The city's notices are slightly inconsistent about when the fall block ends. The Sept. 30 announcement lists fall sessions as Oct. 23 through Dec. 6, while the program page labels its fall table "through Nov. 15." Check the Sauna in the Parks page for your date before you plan around it.
Last season, the open seats were on weekday afternoons. The council packet says sessions with availability "were during off-peak times, Wednesday and Friday afternoons." Here is how to book this season:
- Register ahead of time through the city. Every session requires preregistration, and participants must be 18 or older.
- Plan on a 1-hour, 25-minute session at $28 per person.
- If you need to cancel, do it at least one week before your session to get a refund.
- If your schedule allows, try the weekday sessions that start Nov. 18. Last season, weekday afternoons were the times with open seats.
- The lake stays open to registered guests for an optional cold plunge in Shady Oak Lake.
From a one-week pilot to a two-sauna season
The program started small. In November 2023, the city announced a pilot at Shady Oak Beach that ran Dec. 27 through Jan. 2, with an optional plunge in Shady Oak Lake. Recreation Program Manager Jesse Izquierdo described it as a way to get people outdoors in winter and build community, and he noted that health and wellness activities were growing in popularity. After positive reviews from pilot participants, the city brought it back in September 2024 as an October-through-April season.
When the Star Tribune rounded up Minnesota's public lake-access saunas in November 2024, Minnetonka had one sauna and charged $25 for a 90-minute session. Two seasons later the price is $28, sessions run 1 hour 25 minutes, and a second sauna arrives with this season's opening. The equipment is local too. Voyageur Custom Saunas describes itself as a Chaska and Chanhassen design-build company. Mobile saunas are one of the categories of work on its site. The IKI stoves inside are handmade in Finland, according to the manufacturer's U.S. subsidiary.
Minnetonka isn't the only public body running saunas in parks. Ramsey County Parks runs mobile saunas at Tamarack Nature Center and White Bear Lake County Park, with both private and shared sessions. The 612 Sauna Cooperative has hosted community sauna in the Twin Cities since 2016. The same 2024 Star Tribune guide also listed seasonal options in Eagan, Excelsior, and at Cedar Lake, Lake Nokomis and Silverwood Park. In Minnetonka, the sauna is a city recreation program that took in more than its expenses over two years and expanded using money left over from another Shady Oak Beach project.
Opening day is Friday, Oct. 23, and Vista's first public weekend session starts the next morning at 11:15 a.m.
At Set Apart Realty, we care about the small parts of local life that make a winter in Minnetonka feel like home, like a Friday evening at Shady Oak Beach. If you're thinking about a move, a downsizing, or helping a family member through a transition, and you'd like someone who knows this community to walk alongside you, we'd be glad to talk. Contact Us.
