Hellasgården Guide: Lakeside Sauna & Cold Swim in Stockholm

What Hellasgården is

Hellasgården sits at Ältavägen 101 in Nacka, a short trip east of central Stockholm rather than in the city itself. Visit Stockholm describes it as a recreation area 20 minutes from downtown, with paths for walking and cycling, a sandy beach for swimming, and open-air activities from petanque and beach volleyball to tennis, canoeing and yoga.

The sauna is one part of a larger outdoor centre, which is exactly why it works: you can hike, paddle or ski first and bathe after, instead of sitting in a heated room in the middle of a city block. The official site describes the facility as a gateway to nature 15 minutes from the city centre and lists sauna and bath among its core activities.

For context on how the Nordic bathing tradition compares across the region, see our guide to the Finnish sauna — the reference point for much of what happens in Swedish sauna rooms, from the bucket and ladle to the Löyly.

Where it sits: Källtorpssjön and the nature reserve

The water beside Hellasgården is Källtorpssjön, a lake with a sandy beach used for swimming in summer; paddlers can take canoes, kayaks and SUPs onto it or along the canals toward Älta, according to the official site.

The reserve setting matters for planning: the walk from the bus stop or car park to the water and sauna buildings is part of the outing, and in winter it is a cold walk. Bring shoes you can slip on and a towel you can wrap around you between the sauna and the lake rather than expecting an indoor corridor the whole way.

Because Hellasgården is in Nacka, not central Stockholm, it suits travellers staying anywhere along the eastern or southern side of the city best. If your base is in the middle of town, pair it with a morning outside rather than squeezing it between two museum bookings.

The sauna and bath: what a visit consists of

A visit is built around a simple loop: heat up in the sauna, cool down in the lake, repeat, then eat. The official site lists sauna and bath as a standing facility alongside the lake café, restaurant, gym and outdoor activities, so expect a practical bathing setup rather than a spa with loungers and robes.

Visit Stockholm notes there is a sauna on-site for visitors who come for the beach and the outdoor activities, which confirms it functions as a public bathing stop integrated into the recreation area.

If you have only done city saunas, this is a different mood: wooden changing, a lake rather than a plunge pool, and people arriving in hiking clothes as often as in swimwear. Bring a towel, a seat cover if you use one, flip-flops and a water bottle, and leave jewellery at home.

Travellers who want the city versions of this experience — harbour pools, historic bathhouses and public swimming halls — will find them in our round-up of the best saunas in Stockholm.

Cold water at Hellasgården: the lake in summer, the ice hole in winter

Summer is the easier introduction: the sandy beach at Källtorpssjön allows a straightforward swim between sauna rounds, with the lake warm enough to stay in for a few minutes. Visit Stockholm lists the beach among the area's features and mentions a hole cut in the ice for winter swimmers.

Winter is the reason many Stockholmers make the trip. The official site lists isvak — ice-hole bathing — among its winter activities, and the winter activity menu sits alongside sauna, skiing, skating and the trail network.

Decide between the two deliberately rather than treating them as interchangeable. A summer trip is a relaxed swim-and-sauna afternoon with a picnic; a winter trip is a short, sharp dip, faster transitions and much more clothing management. The winter version rewards a bag with a hat, gloves and a dry base layer for afterwards.

Aufguss evenings and quiet Thursdays

The official calendar lists an Aufguss — aroma sauna — session on Wednesday evenings, and a quiet evening on Thursdays, both running as recurring events across the season. Aufguss is the poured-aroma, towel-waving ritual familiar from German and Austrian sauna culture; if you have not met it before, expect a hotter, more theatrical round than a plain Finnish Löyly.

Wednesday and Thursday therefore attract different people. Choose Wednesday if you want the ritual and a fuller room, Thursday if you want to sit quietly, and another day entirely if you want the place to yourself with a plain sauna and a lake. Times, capacity and whether the Aufguss requires booking are worth confirming on the venue's own site before you travel out there.

How a session works: entry, changing, towels and what to bring

Expect the Swedish public-sauna pattern rather than a spa reception: you pay at the reception, change in the changing rooms, shower before entering the hot room, and carry a towel and a seat cover or bench towel with you. The reception desk at Hellasgården also handles the wider facility, including activity bookings, so arriving a little early avoids a queue behind people hiring canoes.

Pack for a lakeside rather than a spa: two towels if you plan several rounds, a water bottle, sandals, a plastic bag for wet swimwear, and warm layers for the walk back to the bus. A small padlock for a locker is useful, and cash is unnecessary — Swedish venues generally take cards.

Families and first-timers should know that Finnish-style bathing usually runs 5–15 minutes per round, with a cool-down and rest between. Nobody expects you to endure a set time; leave when it stops being comfortable and go back in later.

Prices and opening hours

The reception at Hellasgården is open Monday to Friday from 8:45 to 20:30 and at weekends from 9:15 to 17:30; the Lake Café serves every day from 9am to 4pm, except Saturdays when it runs 9am to 5pm, and Restaurant Storstugan serves weekdays 11–16 and weekends 11–17.

Entry is paid, and the fee structure covers the sauna and bath; the price level is modest by Stockholm standards for a facility of this kind, and the current adult, youth and family rates are published on the official site. Season passes and multi-visit cards are common at Swedish outdoor centres, so it is worth looking at those if you plan more than one trip.

The sauna runs year-round, with winter isvak and summer lake swimming as the seasonal variable. Public holidays and the days around Midsummer and Christmas can shift the schedule, so match your visit to the calendar on the venue's own site if you are travelling specifically for a Wednesday Aufguss.

Sauna etiquette: swimwear, mixed bathing, seat covers and showers

In Sweden, swimwear is standard in public mixed saunas, and Hellasgården is a public facility used by families, runners and swimmers, so a swimsuit is the safe default. Shower before your first round, sit on a towel, and keep conversation low — the quiet Thursday evenings exist precisely because some bathers want silence.

The full picture of Nordic sauna behaviour, from whisking to bucket-and-ladle etiquette, is in our guide to the Finnish sauna; the customs transfer neatly to a Swedish lakeside sauna.

Keep it simple and safe: drink water before and after, skip alcohol before bathing, and leave the hot room if you feel dizzy. Anyone with a heart condition or who is pregnant should speak to a doctor before using a sauna or an ice hole.

Food and drink: the Lake Café and Restaurant Storstugan

There are two eating options on site, and they serve different purposes. The Lake Café, Sjöcaféet, is the quick stop by the water, running daily from 9am to 4pm and Saturdays from 9am to 5pm; Restaurant Storstugan opens weekdays 11–16 and weekends 11–17 for a proper sit-down meal.

Visit Stockholm points hungry visitors to Storstugan for fika, light lunches and vegetarian dishes, which makes it the natural post-sauna stop rather than a pre-bath feast.

Plan around the gaps: if you sauna in the late afternoon, the Lake Café may already be closing, so eat before or bring a snack and use Storstugan instead. In summer, a picnic by the beach is the cheapest and most pleasant option if the weather holds.

Getting there from Stockholm by bus, bike or on foot

Hellasgården is at Ältavägen 101 in Nacka, and Visit Stockholm's listing gives the address and phone number for the site; check the local transport operator's journey planner for the current bus route and stop rather than relying on a remembered timetable.

Cyclists can ride out from the city and use the area's paths, and the official site lists mountain bike hire on site if you would rather ride the trails than the roads. On foot, the final approach runs through the reserve, so the last stretch is on gravel and forest paths rather than pavement.

Allow more time than the headline 15 or 20 minutes suggests. Those figures describe the distance from the city centre, not door-to-sauna time, and the walk from the bus stop plus changing will add to it.

When to go: summer swimming versus the dark, cold winter plunge

Summer gives you long daylight, the lake beach, canoeing and a sauna that feels like a pause between swims. It is also the busiest season, with families and groups using the beach and the trails, so weekdays and early mornings are calmer.

Winter gives you the ice hole, cross-country skiing and skating on the same trip — Visit Stockholm notes that skating and skiing dominate the winter season at Hellasgården. Expect short daylight, cold transitions and a much quieter sauna.

Autumn is arguably the connoisseur's pick: cool enough for a bracing lake dip, dry enough for the trails, and far less crowded than July. Spring is muddier underfoot but similarly quiet.

Trade-offs: busy weekends and the walk between sauna and water

The honest downside is friction. Hellasgården is an outdoor centre with a sauna attached, not a polished spa: changing rooms are functional, the walk to the water is outdoors, and on sunny summer weekends the beach and café fill up. If you want a private, hushed bathing experience, go early on a weekday.

Runners and event days can make the site busier still — the calendar lists races such as Hellasloppet — so check the events listing if you want a quiet lake.

The trade-off against a city sauna is travel time: you spend more of the day getting there, but you get forest, a lake and a proper cold plunge instead of a plunge pool. For many visitors, that is the whole point.

Beyond the sauna: trails, skiing, skating and canoe hire

The estate is genuinely multi-activity. The official site lists some of Sweden's finest exercise trails, plus paddling on Källtorpssjön and the canals toward Älta, mountain bike hire, football golf, beach volleyball and, in winter, skiing, skating and the ice hole.

That breadth is why a sauna visit here works best as a half-day: run or ski first, bathe after, and eat at Storstugan. It also means non-bathers in your group have something to do while you take a round.

Other saunas in Stockholm worth pairing with a Hellasgården day

If you like the historic angle, Centralbadet, Stockholm's Art Nouveau bathhouse, offers tiled pools and a very different, indoor mood in the middle of the city.

Sturebadet in Stockholm is the grand, dressed-up counterpart — the place to book if you want a formal spa afternoon after a morning of forest and lake.

For the wider national picture, our guide to saunas in Sweden covers the frosty sea baths and lakeside huts that set the standard, including Ribersborgs Kallbadhus in Malmö. That broader Stockholm guide is the right place to compare them against Hellasgården on cost and convenience.

Plan Your Visit

Hellasgården rewards a bit of planning: pick your season, decide between an Aufguss Wednesday and a quiet Thursday, and arrive early enough to walk, swim or ski before you bathe. The reception is open Monday to Friday until 20:30 and weekends until 17:30, with the Lake Café daily from 9am and Storstugan serving lunch and early dinner.

Bring a towel, swimwear, sandals and warm layers, and treat the trip as a half-day outdoors rather than a spa appointment. The official site carries the current prices, calendar and any booking requirements.