Belfast's Waterfront in the Cold Months: A Sauna at the Boathouse, Holiday on the Harbor and the Walks Worth Bundling Up For

The south end of Belfast's Harbor Walk has a new reason to stay busy this winter. On Tuesday, Oct. 6, the Belfast City Council voted to put Salty Witch Sauna on the lawn beside the Belfast Boathouse for a pilot season that runs into spring. The Chamber's free Holiday on the Harbor takes place at the same building in December. The Boathouse also happens to be where a three-mile walk along the water ends, starting at City Point. Put those together and Belfast has a cold-season waterfront with a clear center, and the city plans to review how it went at the end of March.

What the council approved

The vote was 5-0, according to the Midcoast Villager's report on the decision. The city's Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee had already backed the plan unanimously after reviewing it with owner and operator Nicolle Littrell. These are the terms the Villager reported:

If the sauna was a regular stop for you last winter, you'll remember it from the other end of downtown. It operated at 15 Front St. from December 2025 through May 2026. Littrell told the parks committee that it got the most use during the coldest months of that winter. She also pitched the move as good for the whole waterfront. "This project reactivates a premier city asset during its quietest months," she wrote in her proposal, as the Midcoast Villager reported. Her proposal also argues that winter sauna traffic could bring people downtown to restaurants, shops and lodging during the slow season.

The sauna also arrives with some outside recognition. On her own page, Littrell notes that Down East magazine's Best of Maine 2026 issue named Salty Witch the #1 sauna in Maine.

Sitting in the sauna: sessions, prices and the cold plunge

The sauna itself is named Melusine. It's built of Maine white cedar and pine, holds up to six people, and is open to anyone age 8 and up. According to the Salty Witch Sauna page, there are two ways to book:

• Community sessions: Wednesday through Sunday, with afternoon, sunset, evening, full moon and special-occasion slots. Each session lasts 1.25 hours, holds 2 to 6 people, and costs $35 to $40 per person.
• Private sessions: By appointment, Wednesday through Sunday. A private session costs $150 for 1.25 hours or $175 for 1.5 hours. You book these directly by phone or email.

If your group fills the sauna, six people at the $35 community rate comes to $210. That's more than the $150 private rate. So once you have four or five friends committed, it's worth checking whether a private slot makes more sense for your group. The math depends on which community rate applies to the slot you want.

The real draw of the new spot is the water. Littrell describes the Boathouse as having "easy and safe access to a beautiful beach for cold plunging," along with harbor and bay views and plenty of public parking. In the Villager's account, the council framed the pilot as a way to pair sauna sessions with cold-water dips at the beach next door. The same report says the proposal calls for winter sessions to end by 8 p.m., with advance booking through the DoryWoman Rowing website.

When the fire gets lit

The approved season technically started Oct. 15, but the first public session is a separate question. On her page, Littrell wrote that she planned to set the sauna up at the Boathouse "on or close to Oct. 15th." She also plans an open house with open sauna time for the community, and the booking calendar will open once those plans are firm. The Midcoast Villager reported that the sauna "will open in December." The best way to catch the open house and the first booking dates is the DoryWoman Rowing newsletter, sign-up at the bottom of the sauna page, or DoryWoman Rowing's Instagram and Facebook.

Three miles of shoreline that end at the sauna

The Boathouse sits at the end of Belfast's walkable waterfront, which makes a sauna session easy to fold into a longer outing. Walking north to south, the route goes like this:

1. Passagassawakeag Rail Trail, 2.2 miles one way. The trail runs along the Passagassawakeag River from City Point, where you can park at the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad. Maine Trail Finder lists two other parking spots: a trailhead on Water Street and a lot partway along the trail. When there's snow, the trail is listed for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. It's owned and managed by the City of Belfast. Winter maintenance isn't posted, so check conditions before you plan a ski day around it.
2. Armistice Bridge. The bridge connects the Rail Trail to the Harbor Walk and is a known spot for birding and fishing.
3. Harbor Walk, 0.8 miles one way. This paved path follows the downtown harbor past parks, gardens and the Public Wharf, with views of the working shipyard. It ends at the Boathouse, where there are gardens, public beach access and seabird viewing.

From City Point to the Boathouse is 3 miles one way, or 6 miles if you walk back. If you'd rather keep it short, the Harbor Walk alone gives you the shipyard and the wharf in under a mile. Either way you end up at the sauna lawn with the beach right beside it, so the cold plunge comes at the end of the walk. Bring a dry layer for afterward.

The walk back into downtown has one new stop this fall. Keyes Pottery, Laura Keyes's ceramics studio and gallery, has moved from 107 Church St. to 15 Main St. and held its grand reopening on Oct. 21 with tours and demonstrations.

The cold-season calendar, from November to the Ice Festival

The sauna anchors the Boathouse through March. A handful of dates around town give the season its high points:

Our Town Belfast's calendar lists the tree lighting for Saturday, Nov. 28. Its page for the annual event describes cookies and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus in Post Office Square. The same calendar shows Flying Shoes back at First Church on New Year's Day, Friday, Jan. 1, 2027.

Holiday on the Harbor is the one big event that takes place right at the sauna's new home. The Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Belfast host it, and it's free for families. The program includes Santa, crafts, cookies, story time, a horse-drawn wagon ride, pine-bow decorations and hot chocolate. The Chamber also runs a book drive tied to the event through November and early December, and you can drop off donations at the Visitors Center at 33 Main St.

In February, the Ice Festival brings the State of Maine Ice Carving Championship downtown, with sculptures set up around town and outdoor winter activities. Six weeks later, the city reviews the sauna pilot.

Why the end of March matters for the shoreline

The pilot's terms set the timeline. The approved season ends March 31, and the city will evaluate the operation then before it considers extending to May 15. So this winter is the first test of a year-round use for Steamboat Landing Park.

The shoreline itself is also getting attention this year. In its September report on Waldo County resilience grants, the Bangor Daily News said Belfast received $80,000 for a redesign and upgrades to the harbor breakwater. That came on top of a separate $80,000 grant in May for shoreline restoration at Heritage Park. Together, that's $160,000 in 2026 aimed at protecting the waterfront. Both grants fund design and restoration work. Neither has a construction schedule attached in that report. Still, the city is investing in the same stretch of harbor where it's now testing winter use.

Between the sauna's first public sessions and the March 31 review, the Boathouse lawn hosts Wednesday-through-Sunday sessions, with a cold beach right next to it and three miles of trail leading there from City Point.

I'm Kyle Halford, and I spend a lot of my time helping people across Waldo County and Central Maine figure out which towns and streets fit the way they actually spend their days. If a winter of Harbor Walk loops and sauna sessions has you thinking about living closer to the water in Belfast, or about what your own place near the harbor is worth, I'm glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.