Outdoor Sauna Shower Guide: Do You Need One Next to Your Sauna?

An outdoor sauna shower is the rinse station next to your backyard sauna, used to cool off between rounds and wash off sweat before you head inside. You do not strictly need one, but most owners who skip it end up wishing they had planned for it. Here is how to decide, what it costs, and how to plumb and drain it without trouble.

The short answer

You do not need an outdoor sauna shower to use a sauna, but it is the single most useful add-on for a backyard setup. A cold rinse between rounds cools you faster than sitting in the air, keeps sweat off the benches, and saves you a walk through the house. The simplest option is a cold-only fixture on an exterior hose bib, which often runs $100 to $500 for the hardware. A freestanding shower with hot and cold water, a drain and a privacy screen usually lands between $1,500 and $4,000 installed, and custom builds with decking can pass $8,000. Plan the location when you plan the sauna pad, because running water and drainage later costs more. Check local rules on where shower water can drain, and use freeze-proof valves if you live where winter drops below 32°F.

Do you need a shower next to your outdoor sauna?

It depends on how you plan to use the sauna. Think about your typical session before you spend money on plumbing.

A shower makes sense if you:

• Do two or three heat rounds per session and want a cool-down between them.
• Use a traditional or barrel sauna at 160 to 195°F, where you sweat heavily.
• Want to keep benches and backrests cleaner. Rinsing before you sit down cuts the body oils that darken wood over time.
• Have kids, guests or a pool, and would rather keep wet, sweaty traffic out of the house.

You can probably skip it if you:

• Run a lower-temperature outdoor infrared cabin and do one round, then shower indoors.
• Already own a cold plunge that sits a few steps from the sauna door. The plunge does the cooling job, though a quick rinse before you get in keeps the plunge water cleaner.
• Place the sauna within about 30 feet of a back door and do not mind the walk.

What does an outdoor sauna shower cost?

Costs depend on three things: the fixture, the water supply (cold only or hot and cold), and where the water goes when it drains. The ranges below are estimates from current contractor and retail pricing and will vary by region.

Permits add cost in many towns, often around $250 each where they apply. If you are pricing the whole project, our outdoor sauna cost guide covers the pad, wiring and delivery, so you can see where a shower fits in the total budget.

Cold only or hot and cold?

For the sauna itself, cold water is the point. Finnish-style bathing alternates heat with a cool rinse, and a cold-only line is cheaper to run because it needs one pipe instead of two plus a mixing valve.

Hot water earns its keep in two cases. The first is washing: soap and cold water in October is not pleasant. The second is family use, since kids and guests are less likely to use a shower that only runs cold. If you want hot water, you have two practical options:

1. Tap your home's water heater. Run insulated hot and cold lines to a thermostatic or pressure-balanced valve. Longer runs mean a wait for hot water.
2. Install a small point-of-use heater. An electric tankless unit near the shower avoids a long hot line, but it needs its own circuit. Plan this with the electrician who is already wiring the sauna, and read our outdoor sauna electrical guide first so the panel has room for both.

Where should the shower go?

Place the shower within a few steps of the sauna door, on the side away from the heater vent and any electrical disconnect. You want to walk out, rinse and walk back in without crossing wet grass or a slick deck.

• Keep spray off the sauna walls. Leave about 3 to 6 feet between the shower head and the sauna, or add a screen. Constant splashing on the exterior wood speeds up graying and can soak the base of the walls.
• Use a surface that drains and grips. Gravel, pavers set on a sloped base, or a slatted hardwood deck all work. Avoid smooth sealed concrete, which gets slippery when wet.
• Slope water away from the sauna foundation. Water pooling under a sauna is the fastest path to rot. The outdoor sauna foundation guide explains how to grade the pad so runoff moves away.
• Think about privacy and sightlines from neighbors' windows before you pick the spot.

Still deciding where the sauna itself goes? The outdoor sauna placement planner helps you map the pad, shower and path together.

Where does outdoor shower water drain?

Water from a shower is classed as graywater in most states, and rules on where it can go vary widely. Some places let a rinse-only shower drain into a gravel bed or dry well. Others require a connection to the sewer or septic system, especially if people use soap. As Utah State University Extension notes in its overview of graywater systems, state and local regulations differ, so call your building department before you dig.

Three common setups:

• Gravel bed or dry well. Simple and cheap for a cold rinse with no soap. Size it to the soil; clay soils absorb slowly.
• Tie-in to the house drain. The most code-friendly option, and the one to use if you plan to wash with soap. Costs more because of trenching.
• Shared drain with a cold plunge. If you also own a plunge, one drain line can serve both. Our cold plunge plumbing guide covers drain sizing and draining the tub.

How to keep an outdoor shower working through winter

Winter is the best sauna season, and it is also when outdoor plumbing fails. If your area freezes, plan for it from day one:

• Use a frost-free valve or bury supply lines below your local frost line.
• Add a shutoff and drain-down valve inside the house so you can empty the outdoor lines before a hard freeze.
• Choose fixtures rated for outdoor use, such as brass or 316 stainless steel, which resist corrosion better than chrome-plated plastic.
• If you shut the shower down for winter, keep a bucket of water or a snowbank as the cold rinse. Many Nordic bathers prefer it.

Using the shower safely between sauna rounds

A cool rinse feels good, but a sudden temperature swing puts real stress on your heart and blood pressure. Harvard Health advises cooling down gradually after a sauna and drinking two to four glasses of cool water afterward, in its overview of saunas and your health. Start with lukewarm water on your legs and arms before moving to your chest. Skip alcohol, keep sessions to 15 to 20 minutes, and talk with your doctor first if you have heart disease, low or high blood pressure, or are pregnant.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a shower after a sauna?
You do not need one, but a rinse washes off sweat, cools you down between rounds, and keeps the benches cleaner. Many owners use a simple cold outdoor shower next to the sauna door for this.

How much does it cost to add an outdoor shower to a sauna?
A cold-only wall fixture can cost $100 to $500 in hardware. A freestanding hot and cold shower usually runs $1,500 to $4,000 installed, and an enclosed shower with a deck and drain can pass $8,000.

Can outdoor shower water drain onto the ground?
Sometimes. Shower water is graywater, and state and local rules differ. Some areas allow a rinse-only shower to drain into gravel, while others require a sewer or septic connection. Check with your local building department first.

The next step

The shower works best when it is planned with the sauna, not added a year later. Once you know where water and power will run, compare outdoor saunas for sale by size and heat type, or look at hybrid saunas if you want infrared and traditional heat in one backyard unit. For the full decision, start with the sauna buying guide. We are an authorized retailer for the brands we carry, with free U.S. shipping, financing, and a team that will look over your backyard plan before you order.