Oak St. Sauna

1001 N Lake Shore Dr (Oak Street Beach), Chicago, IL

Oak St. Sauna is a winter-only sauna on Oak Street Beach, under the Gold Coast skyline, where the cold plunge is Lake Michigan. Owner Paul Mokrzan tried for years to get a beach sauna permitted in New York and Washington before Chicago said yes, and the result is the city's most photogenic sweat: a hot box (200°F minimum, the site promises) with a window on the lake, a run across the sand, and a dunk in water that hovers near freezing by January. The season runs roughly November through March. The format is social by design. A Social Sauna Seat is $45 for a 75-minute session with up to nine people, and the calendar fills with themed nights: Transplant Night for people new to the city, a late EDM session, and a dating night run with the app 222 that reliably sells out. Private rentals take the whole sauna for two hours for $400 (up to ten people). Packs bring the per-visit price down (five for $190, ten for $350) and a 30-day unlimited pass is $200. Book ahead; sunset sessions go first. Know before you go: there is a changing room and lockers but no shower and no bathroom, so arrive ready to sweat. Bring a swimsuit, a towel (or buy one there), flip-flops and water. It is rustic and a little chaotic at peak times, and that is the point.