David and Jean Halonen

My parents built this outdoor wood sauna on Torch Lake in the summer of 2022 before constructing the house.

The log cabin style sauna was a family project, built by my Dad and my brothers, with expert help from son-in-law Brady Turner on key tasks such as pouring concrete, chimney build, plumbing, and trusses. My Dad visited at least 3 other saunas in the area of this construction style during the design and build, and sourced the wood locally from Simulas in Copper City.

One moment to highlight — as the sauna was nearing completion my parents were anticipating that they’d soon be in the sauna, taking in the serene view of the lake out the window — a lifelong goal. When this came to fruition and they looked out the window, they both could not see a darn thing without their glasses 😆.

The steam room seats 6-7 men. The changing room has a frost-proof faucet for year-round water supply. A nice feature requested by my mother is the concrete pathway down to the water, which is not only great for easy walking but also keeps dirt out of the sauna.

It takes an hour to heat. In the winter it’s heated once a week (Sunday afternoon cold plunge), and in the summer 5 times a week. As with many outdoor saunas on the water, there’s an endless stream of grandkids going in-and-out on a summer day.