Smokin’ hot in Hayward: 9 women a gatherin’

August 30, 2026, by Jen Veralle

A mid-week getaway to Big Round Lake in Hayward, WI, at the peak of summer season in a haze of the Boundary Waters wildfires, brought nine women together to forge female camaraderie at its finest.

Hailing from the Twin Cities area, we are an eclectic group, sharing one main passion: sauna. Five of the nine are roomies from Sauna Days 2026, and another two circled in by proximity and fellow Sauna Days attendees, and yet two more, drawn in for their spirited connection to sauna. The idea of a summer sauna gathering sparked during May 2026’s Sauna Days at Larsmont Cottages on Lake Superior. And, thanks to Kada Goalen and her family’s generosity to forgo a weekend on this property and environs, we set the location. Another must-have: a sauna onsite, which we quickly got to work securing.

Sauna Days, in its 7th year, has a magic about it that inspires connection through conversations in sauna, and learnings and innovation in talks delivered by speakers who are globally quite a get. The pairing sets the stage to collaborate – which is exactly what our crew couldn’t get enough of over a weekend – thus the Sauna Days Summer Edition for Women (a self-proclaimed working name only).

I had personally experienced this magic before. My inaugural visit to Sauna Days May 2024 included a talk on the org I had founded, Sauna and Sobriety; and during my second visit May 2025 I put my Revivery-method sauna guiding skills into action. By the time it was time to plan for Sauna Days May 2026, I took my unofficial role as ambassador to heart and invited in some first-timers, who were without hesitation, immediate yeses. 

The conversations we began over that May weekend shaped the Sauna Days Summer Edition for Women. We wanted to build on our connection to-date and invite more women in to immerse in top priorities: play, sauna, creativity, and collaboration. Outcomes thus far include the launch of the Wild Rise brand and upcoming October 2026 retreat at Wild Rice Retreat, focused on sauna experiences and rituals for women by Jen Veralle (Wild Rise and All of Its Expressions); a sauna and art backyard party in St. Paul in September by Jessie Brunotte of Bliss Mobile Wellness and Kada, muralist; and event and activation visioning at the stunning new AllsWell Spa opening in Minneapolis in August by Emileigh Barnes. 

Non-business outcomes from the getaway were weighted as equally important and necessary by the group. Scrolling through the group text thread, Smokin’ Hot — appropriately named for the nod to sauna, women, as well as the three-days of smoke and haze – the playfulness and collaboration of our group is well documented in word, photo, and video.

Now that you’re insanely curious about this collection, here are the women of the Summer Edition:

During the three-day immersive experience, we experienced a creation station led by Kada where we adorned Dori’s prototype sauna hat designs with the Wild Rise emblem and so many optional bells, buttons, and patterns. Others created collages with modern takes on the feminine, and homages to painted rocks. Maggie Kirkword, Explore North Node, guided us in psilocybin conversation and inquiry, while sipping on some very special tea. The meals we teamed up to make were nourishing and raved about from grilled peaches to bratwurst to ricotta pasta.

Following the getaway, I sent a prompt to the women, with an opportunity to reflect and share. Overall, we appreciated the time to connect on a deeper level, sparked the seeds for more collaboration, confirmed that summer sauna sessions are indeed valued and unique in their own right. Here are some of the sentiments:

Smokin’ Hot Takeaways:

“Sauna brought us together, but what I’ll remember most is the sense of ease. There was no need to perform—just genuine support, curiosity, care for one another, and deep nourishment. Sauna creates the conditions for all of this to unfold naturally, and from that comes the possibility to build something much bigger together.” -Dori

“I experienced a kind of collective chemistry that is difficult to manufacture. The sauna and the lake, the carved-out time midweek were the elements created the conditions for ideas to find each other. What struck me wasn’t how accomplished everyone was (well that was impressive too!) how generously these women shared what they knew. Because of that, the gathering ended but the momentum didn’t.” – Jessie

“I am in awe to discover the schedules and fullness of the demands of women in their careers and with family. And yet somehow, we all carved out three days to be together and refill our cups. Remarkable and a testament to a commitment to self-care. In addition to sauna, we fixed a flat tire, operated a flamethrower, ran into town for a select few mandatory virtuals to keep business moving, created art, tattooed our arms, laughed deeply, and made nourishing meals.” – Jen

“What I noticed the most is true connection. As humans—especially now in our fast-paced, electronic, screen-based world—we lack this. I felt seen, heard, and loved. It’s so basic: connecting over shared meals, time spent near nature, and especially time in the sauna. Laughing, exfoliating, sharing ideas, reflecting…  As a woman, I feel like this retreat created a space to connect in a way that felt deeply rooted in my ancestral blood. Women caring for themselves and each other.” – Liina

“We arrived as nine women who shared a love of sauna and an openness to creative possibility — and not much else was guaranteed. What unfolded had an ease to it that is hard to put into words. Sharing meals, diving into intimate life stories, creating around a table together, caring for each other physically and emotionally with a gentleness we rarely extend to ourselves in daily life. These are brilliant, wildly creative women — and I just want to spend more time with all of them.

I arrived curious and a little skeptical about sitting in a 200-degree hot room with the air temp in the 90’s.  But somewhere between spraying each other with the garden hose like kids and floating weightless in the lake between rounds, I stopped comparing it to winter and let summer be its own thing. The contrast of the 200-degree sauna and a 75-degree lake worked faster than I expected. My body knew exactly what to do.” —Belén

Smokin’ Hot Inspiration:

“I was inspired to recognize of the power of the collective. Each of us is contributing to sauna culture in our own way, but together our impact is exponentially greater. The same force that makes sauna so special—bringing people together—was alive throughout the retreat. We weren’t just sharing ideas; we were strengthening one another’s ability to invite more people into the magical experience of sauna.” – Dori

“As a solopreneur, it can be a challenge to move ideas forward. Being around these women in this sauna and lake setting – truly away – gave me the confidence to boldly declare some ventures in the sauna space that feel expansive, visionary, and uncertain but awaiting. Launched the Substack Elements of Elsewhere, shared more on Wild Rise: Rituals of Renewal retreat I’m first-time hosting, and set things in motion for experiencing sauna culture in Norway and building on it. Powerful!” – Jen

“I loved seeing all these women show up without masks on (literally and figuratively– sans makeup and sans societal masks), proud of who they are and what they’re working on, yet open and welcoming to new ideas. The fearless, feminine power was palpable.” – Liina 

“This experience left me with a new relationship to summer sauna and an unexpected craving for slowness. The contrast between hot and cold mirrored the contrast between my busy summer schedule and stepping into intentional space. Both require you to be present. Both regulate something in you. The pace of the days, the ease of them, the depth of what gets created when brilliant women share space and time and meals and vulnerability together — it all left me wanting to carry that back with me. More slowness. More intentional space for creativity. More time with women who remind you what’s possible when women come together.” —Belén

Smokin’ Hot Favorite Moments:

Post-sauna night swim… and laughing my ass off about the melted glasses! – Dori
(inside info, while making pasta on the stove-top, we melted a pair of readers that we initially thought were Dori’s prescription glasses)

Adirondack chairs aligned on the deck, overlooking Big Round Lake and beckoning relaxation. – Jen

My favorite memory wasn’t in the sauna. It was taking turns blasting each other with the garden hose, laughing like kids, before wandering back into the sauna for another round. – Jessie

Operating the flamethrower. – Liina
(I mean jeez, Beau of Wisconsin Surf and Sauna, that’s a lot flame power to wield)

Not having any signal on my phone or any Wi-Fi and the unintentional digital detox. – Belén

Smokin’ Hot Aha’s:

So necessary. – Dori

If I had to survive smoke and wildfires, no more capable crew I’d rather be with than these women. – Jen

Summer changes the tempo. It creates an unhurried space where ideas have room. -Jessie

Summer sauna creates enough unhurried time for connection to catch up. -Jessie

I’ve found that summer sauna resets my body’s thermostat. I can handle the heat better after a sauna. – Liina

Getting hot in the summer heat actually does cool you down. – Belén

Smokin’ Hot Insights:

Pure nourishment. – Dori

Mid-week works for women, a hot take for going into the weekend following absolutely chill. – Jen

There was an unspoken permission to play, create, and be vulnerable simultaneously. What a lovely combination. – Jessie

The shared experience bonds us together. – Liina

We already know how to show up for each other, the sauna just gives us a container. – Belén