Backyard Boston

5 Necco St, Boston, MA

Backyard is a community-first strength and conditioning gym on the ground floor of 5 Necco Street in Fort Point, built by three Boston fitness instructors (Laura Witkowski, Rob Velasquez and Lauren Rich) under the motto "GRIT meets PLAY." Alongside the turf, racks and class floor, the 5 Necco space holds a recovery area with an infrared sauna, a cold plunge tub kept around 50-59°F, Normatec compression boots and Hypervolt guns, and the gym sells the heat and the cold to the public without a membership: a sauna session is $35, a cold plunge is $25, and a sauna-plus-plunge pairing is $50, with 4- and 10-session packs bringing the per-visit cost down. It suits anyone in the Seaport or South Boston who wants a quick, inexpensive contrast hit rather than a spa afternoon: a plunge window is about 15 minutes and a sauna block about 30, so a full round fits inside an hour. Sessions are booked through the Backyard app (built on Arketa) or at the front desk, and the gym's own advice is "just show up." Members get the recovery suite as a complimentary perk, so expect to share the space with post-class regulars. Bring a swimsuit or workout clothes; locker rooms have showers, hair dryers and free towels, lockers are self-lock day lockers that are emptied nightly, and parking is free and validated in the Necco Street Garage during off-peak hours. Hours run 5 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and 7 AM to 1 PM on weekends. The gym is a genuine neighborhood institution rather than a wellness brand: 150 Google reviews averaging 4.9 talk about owners who learn your name, and the programming runs from Hyrox prep to a Mom's Strength pre- and postpartum series. The recovery room is the easy way in if you do not want to commit to a class.

Quick facts

Type: Gym/Fitness Recovery
Heat: Infrared sauna
Cold: Cold plunge tub
Temperatures: Cold plunge 50–59°F
Drop-in price: $35 per session
Booking: Walk-in + Reservation
Session style: Open access
Gender: Co-ed
Clothing: Clothing required

Hours

Monday: 05:00–20:00
Tuesday: 05:00–20:00
Wednesday: 05:00–20:00
Thursday: 05:00–20:00
Friday: 05:00–20:00
Saturday: 07:00–13:00
Sunday: 07:00–13:00

Book on the facility's site

Last updated November 2026.