A new wood-fired sauna business wants to give people a reason to get outside and sweat at Wauwatosa’s Hart Park this winter.
Wisconsin-based Heat Haven Sauna Park is partnering with Discover Wauwatosa, the city’s tourism organization, to host 75-minute sauna sessions and wellness events from Nov. 21 to mid-April, according to a news release.
The sauna park will be located in a grassy space to the south of the Muellner Building and consist of at least two wood-fired barrel saunas, cooling off stations and a community fire pit. Along with the social sauna sessions, the business will host fitness and wellness classes taught by local instructors and offer food and drink concessions.
“Discover Wauwatosa is excited to partner with Heat Haven to utilize this space in a new and fun way that supports community interaction, and adds foot traffic that benefits local businesses,” Beth Gleesing, Discover Wauwatosa tourism specialist, said in the release.
The sauna business will launch at Hart Park months after historic August flooding damaged and closed much of the 52-acre park, which is located on a floodplain.
The city has been working to restore and reopen the park and its buildings since the floods and received a $1 million donation from the Tosa Foundation to aid in recovery efforts.
Most recently, the Senior Center reopened at the Muellner Building on Oct. 13, and more work will continue on the building over the coming months, according to the city’s website.
The sauna park gives the city an opportunity to bring some revenue back into the park after the loss of revenue from a fall season of no public or sports events at the building and nearby stadium, Gleesing told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Gleesing anticipates it’ll bring in visitors and locals alike.
What is Heat Haven Sauna Park?
Jesse Hieb and Ryan Bingham co-founded Wisconsin-based Heat Haven to make a public sauna accessible, mobile and local for Wisconsinites and to give people a reason to get outside, connect and recharge in the cold months, according to the website.
Every 75-minute session is meant to provide people with contrast therapy, a process of spending time in the heat of the sauna before cooling down outdoors and doing the hot-cold cycle all over again. That process provides health benefits like improved circulation, body recovery and eased stress, according to Heat Haven.
What does a session at Heat Haven Sauna Park look like?
Community sweat sessions at Heat Haven last 75 minutes and cost $30, according to the website. Visitors typically spend about 10 to 15 minutes in the sauna before stepping outside to let their body temperatures reset and possibly do a cold plunge.
Visitors are asked to wear a swimsuit or workout clothes they would sweat in, and bring a towel, flip-flops and a water bottle.
Wellness events are a part of the sauna sessions at Hart Park
Movement and wellness classes will be a big part of Heat Haven Sauna Park’s plans for Hart Park.
The group plans to partner with yoga teachers, Pilates instructors, tai chi guides, fitness coaches and other Wauwatosa practitioners, according to the release.
Events on the calendar so far include a Saturday morning flow and sauna Nov. 22 from 9 to 11 a.m., with sign-up capped at 24 people, and Ladies Night – Move, Groove and Sauna that evening from 4 to 7 p.m.
How can I book a session at Heat Haven Sauna Park in Wauwatosa’s Hart Park?
Book a session with Heat Haven Sauna Park on the business website.
Bridget Fogarty covers Brookfield, Wauwatosa and Elm Grove for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be contacted atbfogarty@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Heat Haven will bring wood-fired saunas and fitness to Wauwatosa’s Hart Park this winter
Reporting by Bridget Fogarty, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
