How to Pick the Right Outdoor Sauna
Redwood Outdoors outdoor saunas seat two to eight people, from the compact Duo up to the eight-person Grove. The right size for you is the one that fits your usual group on an ordinary evening and still leaves clearance on all sides once it's in the yard.
Key Takeaways
- Redwood Outdoors outdoor sauna footprints range from roughly 22 to 62 square feet, so measure your space before narrowing the list.
- Three shapes are available: barrel, cube, and cabin-style. Barrels use the least space per person; cube and cabin-style models offer more headroom.
- Every Redwood Outdoors sauna is built from Canadian Thermowood, hemlock that has been heat-treated for rot resistance and dimensional stability.
- Leave at least 12 inches of clearance on all sides, plus room for an electrician to reach the 240V heater connection.
Choosing a sauna is a lot like choosing a dining table: the first question is how many seats you need. The answer shapes everything that follows, from where it sits in the yard to how easily it becomes part of your weekly routine. This guide covers the outdoor lineup. Redwood Outdoors also builds three indoor models sized for interior spaces: the Alcove, Haven, and Retreat.
How many people will use your sauna at the same time?
Think about your typical Tuesday, not your biggest party. A couple who saunas together most evenings and hosts friends now and then is shopping for something different than a household that fills the benches five or six at a time. The sauna that fits your ordinary week is the one you'll actually use.
Redwood Outdoors lists capacity as a maximum, because bench layout and how people sit affect how many adults fit comfortably. The Cabin, for example, seats up to four. A good approach: pick a model whose maximum sits a little above your usual group, so there is room when guests join.
For one or two, the Duo is built for exactly that. Three or four fit comfortably in the Cabin or the Vista. For five or more, look at the Summit, the 8-person Barrel, the Noctra, or the Garden. The Grove is among the largest in the lineup, with a barrier-free ramp entry that makes the sauna easy for everyone to enjoy.
How much yard space does each Redwood Outdoors sauna need?
Below are exterior dimensions for every outdoor model. These are the sauna itself. Add at least 12 inches on each side for airflow, maintenance, and heater clearance.
| Seats up to | Footprint (L × W) | Height | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duo | 2 | 5'2¾" × 4'2¾" | 6'10¾" | 910 lbs |
| Cove | 3 | 6'9⅞" × 5'4½" | 6'10½" | 1,000 lbs |
| Cabin | 4 | 6'6" × 5'7" | 7'8½" | 1,150 lbs |
| Barrel (6-person) | 6 | 5'11" × 6'¾" | 6'4½" | 900 lbs |
| Barrel w/ Porch | 6 | 7'8½" × 6'¾" | 6'4½" | 1,150 lbs |
| Extra-Wide Barrel | 6 | 5'11¾" × 7'¾" | 7'4½" | 1,190 lbs |
| Extra-Wide Barrel w/ Porch | 6 | 7'8¾" × 7'¾" | 7'4½" | 1,520 lbs |
| Vista | 6 | 5'11" × 6'¾" | 6'4½" | 900 lbs |
| Summit | 6 | 5'9½" × 6'10" | 6'10¾" | 1,100 lbs |
| Horizon w/ Porch | 6 | 7'8½" × 6'¾" | 6'4½" | 1,150 lbs |
| Barrel (8-person) | 8 | 7'8½" × 6'¾" | 6'4½" | 1,150 lbs |
| Noctra | 8 | 7'5¾" × 6'3½" | 7'1¾" | 1,521 lbs |
| Garden | 8 | 7'5" × 7'5" | 7'3¼" | 1,380 lbs |
| Grove | 8 | 7'10⅛" × 7'10⅛" | 7'10⅞" | 1,543 lbs |
Models and dimensions current as of September 2026. Visit the Redwood Outdoors sauna collection for the latest lineup and specifications.
Every sauna needs a flat, level base. Concrete pads, pavers, and compacted gravel all work. Barrel saunas rest on cradles that spread the weight along the bottom; cube and cabin-style models sit flat on the ground.
What outdoor sauna shapes are available?
Redwood Outdoors builds outdoor saunas in three shapes. The difference is in the walls and roofline, which affects the headroom inside, how much ground the sauna covers, and how it looks once it's in place.
Barrel saunas have the round profile of a traditional Finnish outdoor sauna. The curved ceiling follows the natural path of rising heat, so warm air circulates back down toward the benches instead of collecting in the corners of a flat roof. The barrel also uses the least ground space per person, which makes it an efficient way to seat a group outdoors.
Cube saunas, the Duo and the Summit, have straight sides with rounded corners, sitting visually between the barrel's full curve and the cabin's clean edges. The Duo is the most compact model in the lineup; the Summit seats six.
Cabin-style saunas, the Cove, Cabin, Garden, Noctra, and Grove, have flat walls, clean corners, and the most headroom in the lineup. The Noctra matches the Garden's capacity in a narrower, black-stained shell. The Grove is the tallest and largest at 7'10⅞", with an ADA-accessible ramp entry.
What else should you consider when choosing a sauna?
Once capacity, footprint, and shape have narrowed the list, a few details separate the models still in the running. Each one shapes how a session actually feels.
Bench levels. Heat rises, so a two-level bench gives everyone a choice: sit high for the full intensity, or stay low for something gentler. On the larger models the upper bench is deep enough to lie back on. Two levels come standard on the Extra-Wide Barrels, Cabin, Summit, Garden, Noctra, and Grove. Single-level saunas, the 6-person Barrel, 8-person Barrel, and Vista, put everyone at the same height, which makes conversation easy and leaves the whole bench free to stretch out on when you're alone.
Views and natural light. If you're placing your sauna somewhere with a view worth sitting with, whether that's afternoon light through the trees or snow falling past the glass, a large window makes a real difference. The Vista and Horizon are built around panoramic glass, and the Garden and Grove carry large glass fronts of their own. Models with more solid wall hold the quiet, inward feeling of a traditional Finnish sauna, and offer more privacy if the yard sits close to a neighbor's fence.
A built-in porch. A porch turns the step out of the sauna into part of the ritual: somewhere to sit between rounds instead of heading back inside. The Barrel, Extra-Wide Barrel, and Horizon each come in a porch version. In winter especially, having that landing a few feet from the door changes how the whole session feels.
Room to grow. If two models both fit and you're torn, go with the larger one. Stepping up a size usually costs 16 to 18 inches in each direction, and you feel that space every session.
What wood are Redwood Outdoors saunas made from?
Every Redwood Outdoors sauna is built from Canadian Thermowood, hemlock that has been heat-treated to change the structure of the wood itself. The process makes it more stable, more resistant to rot and fungi, and better insulating, so it handles rain, snow, and years of heat cycles without warping or splitting. Redwood Outdoors runs its own global supply chain and in-house product design team, so every model is shaped from first sketch to the kit that arrives at your door.
Redwood Outdoors mills, kilns, and cuts the hemlock at its own lumber mill, staying involved at every step of production. Most of our saunas carry FSC® certification (chain of custody FSC-C210325), meaning the wood comes from forests managed to the environmental and social standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council. For a deeper look at how wood choice affects sauna performance, see Choosing the Right Wood for a Better Sauna.
FAQs
Do all Redwood Outdoors saunas use the same heaters?
Every model supports Harvia or Homecraft electric heaters from 6 to 10.5 kW, all requiring a 240V hardwired connection by a licensed electrician. Smaller saunas like the Duo pair well with a 6 kW Harvia KIP. Larger models like the Garden can run an 8 kW Harvia Spirit or 10.5 kW Harvia Virta.
How close can a sauna sit to a fence or wall?
Plan on at least 12 inches of open space on every side. That gap lets air circulate around the exterior, gives you access for cleaning and maintenance, and leaves the electrician room to reach the heater connection.
Can I put a Redwood Outdoors sauna on a deck?
Yes, as long as the deck can carry the weight. Outdoor models run from 910 lbs for the Duo up to 1,543 lbs for the Grove, so check what your deck was built to hold.
How do you assemble an outdoor sauna?
Most Redwood Outdoors saunas go together in a single afternoon with two people, using a drill, a hammer, a rubber mallet, and a level. Barrel and cube saunas interlock on pre-drilled cradles; Löyly Collection saunas use a screw-together frame. See How Easy Is It to Build a Sauna for a full walkthrough.
The best sauna is the one that suits your yard and the way you'll use it most weeks, not just the big ones. Browse the full Redwood Outdoors sauna collection to compare layouts, heater options, and interior photos, or visit a showroom in Seattle, Los Angeles, or Salt Lake City to step inside one yourself.
Sources
[1] Forest Stewardship Council — FSC® certification standards (fsc.org).