(gentle guitar music) - We are sitting right now at Takka Portage, which is located in Hancock, Michigan.

Sauna-ing is just part of the Finnish heritage in this area, and like many Nordic areas where it is a harsh winter and a way to warm up.

Jason, one of the owners, his family is Finnish and he grew up taking sauna baths at camp like many locals did around here.

- It's just part of, like, growing up around here, I mean, we love to be in the lake and we love to do things around the lake, but it's not always warm here, so it's nice to just be able to, like, hang out in the sauna, get a sweat on, and obviously, like, we reap the benefits of all the health benefits of sauna-ing when we do it, so it just feels good.

- [Jamie] The benefits of a sauna are numerous, from stress relief and detoxification to improved sleep and circulation, but at Takka, there's another benefit, the social connection that comes from sharing the experience.

- At Takka Portage, we have both a social and a private sauna sessions, so a social is you would be sauna-ing with other like-minded people, you might know them, but it's just bringing people together in the sauna.

- The culture of sauna in Finland is always been centric around the community sauna.

In Finland, they have just, like, locations like this where everybody will come and gather, and it's a really normal thing for them to do, so the fact that we do social saunas here is just a little bit more of an authentic taste of what sauna-ing in the place where it originated is really like, and it kind of just introduces, like, a way to connect with people without alcohol involved, which is really fun.

(water splashing) - It's just a way to connect, so a part of being in a sauna is to disconnect, and then, you also get to reconnect, it's just a way to connect with others.

There's not a lot of opportunities that we have that aren't alcohol-based that you get to connect with people, and with the sauna, everything just happens, so whether you want to sit in peace, you get to do that, or if you want to talk to the person next to you, you might get the opportunity to do that as well.

- [Jamie] Megan described it as a curated experience.

From the moment that you arrive, the goal is to provide something truly one-of-a-kind, an authentic sauna journey that she and the staff thoughtfully guide each visitor through.

- I think that the view is definitely a benefit, a lot of times... Some of our first guests are a little apprehensive because when you think of a sauna, you're thinking of the gym sauna or a hotel one where it is closed in and you get a little claustrophobic, and with the big glass windows and the view, you just don't have that here, but definitely, a part of the attraction is definitely the view.

Most people like to do about four-to-five cycles of hot to cold, so you like to sit in the sauna for 10 to 15 minutes for... Is what most people want to enjoy or to get some health benefits out of it, then to do a cool feature, so whether that cool feature be just sit outside and lower your body temperature, or if it is getting the cold plunge and really reduce it quicker or use a shower just to reduce your body temperature, and then, you can get back in the sauna.

At the end of the day, we like to tell people, "Do what feels comfortable to you, maybe push yourself a little bit, but we're here to relax and not necessarily get the max benefits from it, but to get some benefits."

- [Jamie] And if it ends up being just a memorable stop during your visit to the Keweenaw Peninsula, that's perfectly fine too.

- The view of the bridge is so gorgeous and this has been an area that's been underutilized for how beautiful and, like, perfect it is for these types of things, so I think the location is perfect and just, like, what it's all about is so, so awesome.

(relaxed guitar music)