That black trailer parked at Owen Beach? It’s a sauna. We took a look inside
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Svette Sauna opened at Owen Beach in 2025, with daily social and drop‑in steam sessions.
- Patrons alternate 180°F sauna stints with 54°F Puget Sound plunges for hot‑cold therapy.
- Reservations, drop‑ins, punch cards and private rentals available online.
It was drizzling Saturday morning as a dozen people sat inside a small sauna in the parking lot of Owen Beach, inside Point Defiance Park in Tacoma.
The camaraderie made the 180-degree temperatures more bearable as sweat rolled down bodies like rain. Patrons, many of whom were strangers, talked and joked with each other before plunging together into Puget Sound and returning to the sauna, revitalized by the hot-cold contrast. Three seals swam over to the plungers, and a rainbow revealed itself as patrons toweled off at the end of the session.
Inspired by Scandinavian sauna culture, owners Hayley Bostrom and Leon Sung set up Svette Sauna in June at 5605 Owen Beach Road. Five days a week from 7 a.m. to 8:45 p.m., the sauna is full of people dropping in for a 20-minute steam or a 75-minute social session.
It’s easy to miss — the sauna is the shape of a black trailer and is parked by the restrooms. After two years of planning, Bostrom and Sung received a commercial permit from Parks Tacoma to build a small wellness community right on the Sound.
“The idea is a social sauna. Come alone, make a friend. Hot-cold contrast therapy is a very special thing for us,” Bostrom said. “Every culture has this. Japan has onsen, Korea has bath house[s], and it’s not something that we really have in the U.S. that’s mainstream yet. And this is kind of the perfect location to combine both the heat and the cold.”
Two years ago Bostrom and Sung went on vacation in Norway and were moved by the community people found in saunas, Sung said.
“There’s just something socially lubricating about sweating together, getting really cold together,” he said. “Pretty soon, the sauna is filled with laughter.”
The Tacoma couple, who are in their early 30s, were both ready for a career change. At the time Sung was planning to leave the Army after 14 years and Bostrom had left her job in corporate America after 13 years.
“It was July 2023. We were sitting in a sauna on the Norwegian fjord. And we looked at each other and were like, ‘This is it,’” Sung said. “We kind of felt like it was time to go on a venture that was values-based and was our own thing that we could build together before kids.”
Bostrom said saunaing has provided benefits to her with her hormone regulation. It took longer for Sung to get into it, but he found it helped him relax and recover from injuries.
“It’s great for seasonal depression, reduces cortisol and stress. And as somebody who was in the corporate world, I looked to saunas kind of as my reprieve and my safe space,” Bostrom said. “Especially if you’re doing the hot-cold contrast therapy, you’re getting dopamine from the cold plunge. And then when you’re with strangers in the sauna, there’s oxytocin happening. And so it’s all the feel-good chemicals.”
What to expect
Most people start out with 20 minutes of intense 180-degree heat in the sauna before wading into the Sound (which is about 54 degrees right now) for about two-and-a-half to four minutes. Then, Bostrom recommends patrons return to the sauna for about 20 minutes before doing another plunge. Some people like ending their session hot or cold, and both ways provide benefits, she said.
Patrons are required to wear clothing (often swimsuits) and bring two towels — one to sit on in the sauna and another to dry off afterward. Bring water, swim shoes and a change of clothes as well. An hour glass on the wall tracks the passage of time, but some people use a stop watch, Bostrom said.
The hot-cold session is unguided by design, but there will be a staff member there to answer questions and coach people if they need help.
“Be in tune with your body and listen to what your body needs,” Sung said. “Everybody is different, and everybody has different comfort levels. So we really emphasize, like, go at your own pace, listen to your body, and reap whatever benefits that you feel.”
If you go
Sign up for 75-minute reservations online in advance. Twenty-minute drop in sessions are available on a first come, first served basis.
The sauna is open Wednesday through Sunday with morning and evening blocks. Single 75-minute sessions are $35 during peak times and $25 during non-peak times (9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday). Drop-in rates (up to 20 minutes) are $12, first come, first served. Private sauna rentals (75 minutes, up to 15 people) are $450 during peak times and $330 during non-peak times.
Svette Sauna offers punch cards for discounted rates ($160 for five peak sessions and one free matinée session, and $300 for 10 peak sessions and three matinee sessions).
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
