An ancient ritual finds a new home by the Rivanna River
Photography by Kristin Finn
During the gray winter months, the Rivanna River flows cold and quiet, empty of the people who swim, paddle, and float there in the summertime. Along one stretch of the river, however, an ancient practice has drawn many back to the wintry Rivanna.
Riversong Saunas is the newest chapter in the work Gabe and Sonya Silver have been doing since 2015, when they founded Rivanna River Company as Charlottesville’s first paddlesports outfitter. From the beginning, they’ve seen the business as a way to connect people to the river. In warm weather, that connection happens through kayaks, tubes, and canoe shuttles. After a few years, they started asking what might draw people to the Rivanna during the colder months.
“Sonya and I had been searching for a way to welcome people to this riverfront place year round,” Gabe says. “What activity could we offer in the cold weather that would draw people outdoors and together into a community?”
It wasn’t an easy question to answer. The idea ultimately sprang from a conversation when Sonya asked, “If we can’t have hot springs here, is there a way we could create another heat therapy experience based in nature?”
Then they began looking at sauna.
Sauna is one of the world’s oldest forms of heat bathing, with archaeological evidence suggesting it dates back as far as 8,000 to 10,000 years, emerging shortly after the last Ice Age. Its most enduring tradition comes from Finland, where sauna developed as a practical, communal space used for cleansing, healing, and gathering. Early saunas were often dug into the earth and heated by fire-warmed stones that produced steam, establishing a simple cycle of heat, cooling, and rest that remains central to the practice today.
Similar traditions emerged independently across cultures. In ancient Rome, public bathhouses formalized contrast bathing through sequences of hot and cold rooms, while Indigenous peoples across North America practiced sweat bathing in lodges that combined heat, steam, and cold water immersion as part of daily and ceremonial life.
Modern research supports many of these ancient practices. Sauna bathing raises heart rate and circulation, producing cardiovascular effects similar to moderate exercise, while alternating heat and cold supports vascular function and reduces inflammation. Regular use is also associated with stress reduction, improved sleep, and mental clarity, reinforcing sauna’s enduring role as both a physical and restorative practice.
The concept also aligned with the way they have always approached Rivanna River Company: identify a need, imagine a solution, and build it themselves. That hands-on approach comes naturally to Gabe, who has a background in construction and custom home building. Rather than purchasing a prefabricated structure, the Silvers began studying Finnish sauna culture and spent an off-season designing and building their first sauna by hand.
Particularly appealing was the idea that the cold element could be the river itself, accessed by the same stairs Rivanna River Company already uses during the summer, reinforcing the sauna’s connection to place rather than separating it from the landscape.
They built their first sauna in 2022, lining the hot room with Atlantic white cedar and heating it with a Kuuma wood-burning stove made in Minnesota. They consulted a sauna expert to help design a well-ventilated, comfortable space that follows traditional principles. A second, larger sauna was completed in fall 2024, primarily for community sessions of up to 12 to 14 people. The original sauna is now used mainly for private rentals, with its own deck and lounge to create some separation on what has become a small sauna campus.
Sauna season runs from November through April, and a typical Riversong session lasts 90 minutes, which allows time for about three rounds of heat, cold, and rest. Guests arrive a bit early, change, and enter the sauna in bathing suits. Most people start with about five to 15 minutes of heat. Then they cool down by sitting outside in the cold air, showering, plunging in a tub, or heading down to the river. Cold exposure varies widely. For some it’s a quick splash of water and fresh air; for others it’s a full river plunge for a minute or two, sometimes longer. Between rounds, guests rest in a temperate lounge or on the outdoor deck.
Both Gabe and Sonya are quick to point out that Riversong’s success isn’t something they’ve created on their own. From maintaining the fires and guiding first-timers through the rhythm of a session to preparing tea, their staff plays a central role. Gabe describes the team as “amazing,” noting that the sense of welcome people feel has as much to do with who’s on site as with the sauna itself. Reviews consistently reflect that care, reinforcing the Silvers’ belief that Riversong works because it’s stewarded by people who understand and believe in the experience.
At first, it was unclear whether sauna would work commercially, but early sessions with friends suggested something was there. “Almost immediately, they noticed how much they liked it, how much they wanted to do it more,” says Gabe. “They felt invigorated and talked about sleeping better. They wanted to bring others.”
Sonya says the response to Riversong has gone far beyond what they imagined. “It has just surpassed all of our dreams and expectations of people taking to it,” she says. “It really feels like it’s filling a need in people’s lives. People want to be with other people, to slow down together, and to feel part of something that’s real and present.”
She also points to something more seasonal and specific to Central Virginia. “It’s not always easy to embrace winter here,” she says. “We don’t have a lot of snow, or the kinds of winter activities that naturally make you love the cold.” Sauna has helped shift that relationship. “We hear it over and over: ‘I’ve never looked forward to winter until now.’”
The aspect of the experience most commonly discussed among guests isn’t about how long they stayed in the heat or how cold the river felt, but about how they felt afterward. Relief from stress and anxiety comes up again and again. “It’s very difficult to come through a sauna session and come out with a mind that’s still anxious,” Gabe says. He theorizes that sauna and cold plunge replace the constant, low-level stress of modern life with a short, contained challenge—“the kind of stress we’re more evolved to deal with.” People may be stressed out when they arrive, but after a few cycles of heat and cold, that tension disappears.
Another key component is simply presence. Guests are encouraged to leave phones in their bags. Without screens or schedules, people sit and talk together in a space that slows down the hectic pace of daily life. It’s an increasingly rare experience, and one that many guests cite as unexpectedly restorative.
After the heat and cold, a visit to Riversong ends with small comforts, offering lemon-ginger-honey tea (homemade with real lemons and fresh ginger) and warm lavender water with washcloths near the end of a session. There are snacks, charcuterie, and a sense of being looked after. Sonya said those touches weren’t part of the original plan, but became important as they realized how much guests respond to care.
“They’ve become this really ingrained part of what we do,” she explains. “It gives people this feeling of, ‘Oh, I can really let down here. I’m being cared for.’ It’s just a little moment in someone’s day, but they realize, ‘I can rest easy here.’ Those small things mean a lot, and it’s been really meaningful to lean into them.”