Sauna culture is on the rise here on Canada’s West Coast, with more permanent and pop-up locations opening each year. Oceanside has benefited from this boost in popularity and is home to a number of relaxing and rejuvenating sauna hot spots. So what makes saunas so popular and why is BC’s coast the perfect setting for this experience?
What a traditional Finnish sauna involves
Sauna culture can pull its inspiration from a variety of cultural traditions and countries all over the world. Here in Oceanside, we can get a taste of Finnish sauna traditions. The practice of sauna bathing includes sitting in a wooden room with high, dry heat made by wood or electric stoves, often accompanied by pouring water onto heated stones to create a more humid atmosphere. After the warming of the body and a good sweat, you then move into the cold.
The cold element can come in many forms, often seen as a tempered tub of cold water, but a dip in the nearby ocean, river, or lake brings you closer to the traditional roots of sauna bathing. After the cold plunge, you allow your body to come to a neutral temperature on its own instead of jumping right back into the sauna. This helps to prolong the benefits of the cold exposure.
There are countless benefits to be had from regular heat and cold exposure. Many studies list improvements to cardiovascular health, muscle recovery, reduction in inflammation, increased relaxation, and stress relief. No matter where you’re at in life, there is likely an advantage to slipping into a sauna.
A Finnish sauna owner sets up on Parksville’s shore
If you want to experience authentic sauna bathing close to home, Sea Edge Beachside Motel in downtown Parksville recently added a new location for The Finnish Sauna Co. Sauna Owner Valtteri Rantala has created a peaceful oasis on our shores that offers all the benefits of Finnish sauna bathing without having to leave the island.
Rantala is the CEO and founder of The Finnish Sauna Co. and one of three people responsible for the West Coast Sauna Summit, an annual event that started in 2025 which brings industry professionals together to talk about best practices and stewardship in sauna culture.
Rantala moved here from Finland in 2016. Growing up, the use of saunas was simply embedded in his culture. “As [you] grow up, everywhere you go, whether you live in an apartment or in a house or a cavern, there’s always access to public and private saunas,” he shared.
While saunas may be the norm in Finland and other Nordic and Slavic countries, their mainstream popularity is relatively new in Canada despite its ideal landscape. After moving here, Rantala felt there weren’t enough options. “There were a lot of medium [quality saunas but], not high quality offerings that would resonate being authentic, affordable, and kind of care about the roots.”
“Nature is not a backdrop. It’s the point”
Why the island’s coast suits nature-based bathing
Vancouver Island and the Oceanside community offer the perfect environment for an authentic Finnish sauna experience. Being surrounded by nature and actually incorporating it, adds an extra element to sauna bathing that is almost impossible to recreate in more urban areas.
While an urban sauna is still better than no sauna, Rantala emphasized that “when and where it’s possible, … nature-based bathing is the peak experience, the connection to the land, the connection with the elements that the weather is changing, the ocean, the river, or the lake, wherever you might be lucky to be located.” One of the main mottos of the West Coast Sauna Summit is “Nature is not a backdrop. It’s the point.”
The experience of a Finnish sauna is tied into nature as much as possible. You can feel the temperature and weather constantly changing, the wood, earth, and stones under your bare feet. As you plunge into the nearest body of water, you become one with your surroundings. In Finland, you aren’t counting the minutes of the cycles, you are adjusting to the environment and how you feel in the moment.
“This vulnerability opens you up, getting to know your fellow community members in a unique way”
The sauna as a community space
While the physical benefits of sauna bathing are widely known and discussed, the social benefits are ones felt within. Most saunas are offline spaces where you leave your phone and move through the motions at your own pace. If not in a private sauna, you’re sharing the space with people from all walks of life within your community.
Rantala describes it as a liberating experience due to the lack of uniforms and typical attire people adorn when you interact with them. This vulnerability opens you up, getting to know your fellow community members in a unique way.
Some sauna-bathe for the health benefits, some for the social aspect, and others to simply enjoy a relaxing moment for themselves. Whatever the reason, sauna bathing is a low-stress way to enjoy an evening by the water or surrounded by the trees. Places like The Finnish Sauna encourage us to connect with the roots of the earth and the roots of the Finnish culture while enjoying all the benefits sauna bathing has to offer.
