Islandview Sauna Club Soft Opening
1000 Beaufait
Jan. 3, 2025
Detroit just got a major upgrade to its sauna scene.
It’s not officially open to the public quite yet, but consider this a friend hipping a friend to a truly-nothing-else-like-it destination within city limits that you’ll want to pay attention to as winter marches on.
Islandview Sauna Club is tucked away in a clump of woods off Beaufait. Downtown is an eight-minute drive away. Old factories-turned-art studios loom through the treeline. There’s a dispensary and a Wendy’s down the street. The busy Brewery Faison buzzes just across the street.
But when you step into this rustic sauna camp, it’s hard to not feel like you just teleported up north. And that’s the point.
I was recently invited to a friends-and-family opening to experience the beginning stages of Islandview Sauna Club. The plot is simple. A small fire burns when you walk in. Three wood-burning saunas ranging in size and heat level are arranged on the property. A basic cold plunge tub to start (a larger, communal one is in the works). A canvas tent as a makeshift lobby and changing room.
I adore a couple other famous spots around town (the Schvitz in Detroit and the legendary hippie hang Southfield Family Sauna); this one forces you to be outside. It’s an evolution of Detroit’s outdoorsy winter culture, which is lacking for those that don’t naturally have that outdoorsy predilection (cue up the Lemonheads’ anthem “The Outdoor Type”). The saunas here were built in Minneapolis after a research trip by the owners of Islandview, who spoke highly of their evolved sauna scene (admittedly, they’ve embraced their Nordic history).
This year, Islandview Sauna Club is keeping it simple to start (pay attention to their Instagram for updates), with tentative plans to open up to the public on Sundays and host private parties. As it grows, so with the hours and offerings.
It’s exciting to think about what’s to come and what can be built in a small tract of woods sandwiched in an industrial part of town, and a growing movement to move more outdoors in Detroit’s winter months.
