The Sauna Habit: Vermont Embraces the Heat

In a climate this cold, the sauna makes intuitive sense, and Vermonters are embracing it with growing enthusiasm. Wrapped in a towel in a cedar-lined room, the heat pressing in, a sauna-goer feels the day's tension and the winter's chill melt away together.

The tradition runs deep in the northern cultures Vermont often resembles, and its appeal is both physical and social. The heat loosens muscles and clears the head; the ritual of sweating, cooling, and returning to the heat becomes a small meditation. Just as often, it's a place to talk, the warmth loosening conversation as much as tired shoulders.

Saunas are appearing everywhere — in spas, at gyms, in barrel form in backyards, and beside lakes for the brave who follow the heat with a cold plunge. Enthusiasts speak of the practice with near-evangelical warmth, crediting it with better sleep and clearer minds through the long dark months. Whether or not every claim holds up, the pleasure is undeniable. In a Vermont winter, few things feel as good as a room built entirely for warmth.