What started as a handful of pop-up saunas has grown into one of Bellingham’s most welcoming cold-season gathering spots. Hot Spot Sauna Club, founded by Joe Wynne, now brings the heat straight to the shore of Lake Whatcom.
Wynne’s path began in January, when he set up pop-up saunas for the Fire and Story festival and at Stone’s Throw Brewery. The response was enough to convince him there was a real appetite for communal sauna culture in the area. Later in 2025, he opened his sauna at Lookout Arts Quarry.
From the Quarry to the Park
With the Quarry location established, Wynne had a new idea: put a mobile sauna in a public park. It took hours of filling out applications, but the effort paid off. He was awarded a contract to set up at Bloedel Donovan Park, and in late February of 2026 the mobile sauna officially arrived on the water.
The park setting gives sauna-goers something special, the classic hot-and-cold ritual with Lake Whatcom just steps away for the cold plunge.
A Growing Community
Hot Spot Sauna Club has quickly drawn a loyal following of Bellingham sauna enthusiasts who come for the warmth, the water, and the sense of community that builds up around a shared ritual.
Read the full extended story behind Hot Spot Sauna Club in this month’s web exclusive.
Photograph by Sophia Jellinghaus
