Drop-in saunas, banyas and bathhouses in Washington — which sessions are clothing-optional, what it costs, and what to expect if it is your first time.
3 spots have been written up by hand. A further 7 are on the map from public data but nobody has confirmed them yet.
Someone has actually been to each of these. Where we are unsure, the spot page says so.
South Lake Union, Seattle · Seattle
Getting there. Russian-style banya: parilka sauna, steam room, and plunge pools near the Space Needle. Day pass ~$50. Swimsuit.
Rules on the ground. Private facility with its own rules.
If it is your first time. Pricier day-pass, but the full hot/cold banya ritual done right. Go on an off-peak weekday.
Capitol Hill, Seattle · Seattle
Getting there. Gender-inclusive cedar sauna, herbal steam, hot tub and cold-plunge on Capitol Hill. Private reservations for small groups.
Rules on the ground. Private facility with its own rules.
If it is your first time. Long-running inclusive spot — good if you want a private, low-key first sauna with friends.
Fremont / Northlake, Seattle · Seattle
Getting there. Clothing-optional coed sauna + cold-plunge circuit on Seattle's Northlake waterfront. Session-based; reserve ahead.
Rules on the ground. Private facility with its own rules.
If it is your first time. Rare genuinely clothing-optional coed sauna circuit in Seattle. Book a slot — small and popular.
These come from OpenStreetMap. They are real places at real coordinates, but nobody has been to them for us yet, so there is no write-up — no parking notes, no word on whether the road is open, no clothing policy. We label them exactly that way rather than pretending otherwise.
If you go to one, you can be the first person to confirm it, and you stay credited on that spot permanently.
Washington's indecent exposure statute, RCW 9A.88.010, requires an open and obscene exposure that the person knows is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm. Nudity by itself is not the offence — the statute is aimed at conduct directed at someone, and it explicitly exempts breastfeeding. Washington courts have read it narrowly for that reason.
This is not a green light, and please do not read it as one. A state statute is only the first of several rules that apply where you are standing. Counties and cities pass their own ordinances, and the land manager — the Forest Service, the BLM, State Parks, a county parks department, a private owner — sets its own rules on top of the law and can enforce them regardless of what the statute says. A place can be perfectly lawful under state law and still get you a citation from a ranger.
What we do on each spot page is tell you what is actually known about that specific place: who manages it, whether nudity is customary or designated there, and what people who have been report. Where we do not know, we say we do not know. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice.
Statute: RCW 9A.88.010. Last reviewed August 2026. If you think anything here is out of date, tell us — we would rather be corrected than wrong.
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