Open 7 days · Saunas 8am–8pm
Kangas Sauna
379 Oliver Road · Thunder Bay, Ontario · Finnish tradition since 1967
Come for the sauna, stay for the pancakes.
- Thunder Bay's last public sauna — open since 1967
- 16 private sauna suites, each with change room & shower
- Little House of Pancakes restaurant inside
Services offered
Private Finnish saunas and a full home-cooked pancake house under one roof — the same Thunder Bay tradition since 1967.
Private Finnish saunas
16 private sauna rooms — small, medium and large — each with its own change room, shower and (in medium and large) private washroom. Rentals are 1 hour 30 minutes.
Little House of Pancakes
A 50-seat restaurant inside the building, famous for giant Finnish pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. Open 8am–3pm every day.
Conference Sauna for groups
The largest room in the building, for up to 20 people, in a 4-hour rental for birthdays, teams and celebrations. $25/person, $225 minimum.
Grab N' Go fridge & freezers
Take home pancake batter, soups, borscht, quiches, cheesecakes and butter tarts from the lobby coolers, 8am–8pm daily.
Home-cooked from scratch
Bread from the Murillo bakery, potatoes from B&B Farms, wild Northern Ontario blueberries — no margarine in the building and nothing deep-fried.
Merch & gift cards
“Come for the Sauna, Stay for the Pancakes” and “On the Rocks” shirts plus gift cards, available at the front desk.
Fifty-eight years of steam, and the same pancakes.
A Thunder Bay institution: private Finnish saunas and a home-cooked pancake house under one roof — the last public sauna left in the city.
In the late 1800s hundreds of Finns came to Northwestern Ontario to work the logging camps, and Thunder Bay grew into one of the largest Finnish communities outside Finland. They lived in boarding houses without private baths, so the public sauna was never only about washing — it was social life.
Kangas Sauna opened in 1967, founded by Lily Kangas, in a building designed by Kalevi Kangas. It grew from serving Finnish bush workers into a complex of private sauna suites and a 50-seat restaurant under one roof — and today it is the only public sauna still standing in Thunder Bay.
Calley and Allan Onchulenko bought the business in 2003 and have modernized the building without breaking the tradition: local suppliers, fresh soups daily, roast turkey four to five times a week and Finnish pancakes served all day. Some families are on their fourth generation of visits.
— Calley & Allan OnchulenkoOwners since 2003
Serving since
Private saunas
Google rating
Restaurant seats
Location, hours & coverage
Find us
Kangas Sauna
379 Oliver Road
Thunder Bay, ON P7B 2G1
What we offer
Business hours
Sauna rentals are 1 hour 30 minutes and are booked by phone only. Winter season runs Sep 2 – Jun 9; the grill shuts off at 2:45pm. Hot tub is closed.
★ Call for rates
Saunas from $28.32 for one person up to $150 for six (plus HST) · kids from $10 · shower only $25 · towels $5.
Website & booking
Private Finnish saunas, Finnish pancakes and take-home baking — all at 379 Oliver Road.
Book your private sauna — and stay for the pancakes.
Call (807) 344-6761 to reserve a sauna suite, or just walk in for breakfast at the Little House of Pancakes.
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© 2026 Kangas Sauna · 379 Oliver Road · Thunder Bay, Ontario · Serving Thunder Bay since 1967
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