What is a gay sauna

For decades, gay saunas and bathhouses were the heart of the LGBTQ+ community, providing spaces for connection, exploration, and sexual freedom.

Whether it’s a rejuvenating stay at the Urban Cowboy Lodge or a rustic escape at Scribner’s Lodge, these destinations offer the chance to experience the best of what the Hudson Valley has to offer—without sacrificing privacy or comfort.

Embracing a New Wellness Era

The move from public spaces to private wellness experiences reflects a broader cultural shift in how we view LGBTQ+ sexuality and community.

The multi-story, upscale Chakran features a nice swimming pool, jacuzzi, gym, steam room, dry sauna, dark room, private cabins, café bar & restaurant that serves tasty Thai food. By focusing on private, bespoke experiences, Alluvion Vacations curates wellness getaways that honor both the desire for connection and the need for personal space.

Saunas today face even more challenges. In these spaces men had a safe venue to have sex— one that came with significantly less risk of being caught that other beats.

As gay communities became more visible in the post-war era, the 1950s saw dedicated gay saunas begin to open. One of the more common places men started to congregate were public saunas.

They were more than just venues for sex; they were underground community hubs where LGBTQ+ individuals could express their identities freely. Their popularity grew significantly, with saunas opening across the western world, to the point where in the 1970s there were over 200 saunas in cities across the US.

While the first saunas appeared primarily in the United States, Australia soon followed.

Aside from governments, many gay men also turned against saunas, blaming them for the growing epidemic, calling from within the community for them to be closed.

While these venues were officially allowed to reopen in the US following the end of the crisis, the position of saunas has never quite returned to that of earlier years. In 1492, authorities engaged in a purge against the “vice of sodomy”, convicting 44 men for homosexual relations, who they picked up in taverns, baths and casini (sheds and houses used for illicit sex). 

While smatterings of similar recordings exist in the following centuries, it wasn't until the late 19th Century that saunas became a standard place for gay sex to occur.

The late 19^th and early 20^th centuries were defined as an era when queer people began to gather more regularly in public spaces, and in turn, came to be defined under the banner of ‘homosexual’.

City authorities in the United States used the crisis as a way to shut saunas, closing popular venues in big gay cities such as  San Francisco and New York.