Take the plunge: Arctic Duchess Adventures is back

Yellowknife’s Arctic Duchess Adventures is open for the season – with more saunas than ever before.

Jake Olson, owner of the Yellowknife Bay houseboat-turned-tourism-operation that offers a sauna and cold plunge facility, says the facility has tripled in size from last year.

Its hours have also expanded. The Arctic Duchess is now open five days a week with intake times every hour from 10am until 8pm.

Olson also offers a late-night sauna and cold plunge as well as aurora-viewing and facility rentals.

Locals can access a discounted punch pass that does not expire, while people with a Racquet Club membership also receive a discount. The Racquet Club will be giving away single-entry passes to members throughout the winter.

Based on how busy last season was, Olson suggests booking ahead to guarantee a time – but encourages people to swing by and check things out.

“If you’re just driving by and you want to jump in the lake or jump in the sauna, definitely come by and say hello,” he said.

“Even if you haven’t been to our facility, definitely pop by and take a quick look to see what it’s about, and we can see if we can accommodate you.”

Olson said 2024 was “an amazing experience, to have that much interest and that much excitement around this product that I developed.”

Last year, he said, around 80 percent of visitors were local.

Olson moved to Yellowknife when he was five.

A few years ago, while paddling in Yellowknife Bay, he noticed an old ship in the distance. Once he checked out the Arctic Duchess, he quickly fell in love.

“Houseboat Bay has always been a dream of mine to live on, ever since I was a kid,” he said.

“It’s just so magical and beautiful out there.”

In buying the Duchess, he said, he wanted to do “something cool and different.”

Enter Canada’s most northern cold plunge and sauna spot.

“This year, we want to showcase what a really amazing sauna and cold-water experience can be,” he said. 

He has added two more saunas and two more relaxation tents, built boardwalks between the facilities, updated the change room tents and added new washrooms.

The saunas have pieces of Acasta Gneiss rock added to the sauna rocks, meaning the saunas are heated by the oldest known rock in the world.

The insulated cold-plunge tub, four feet deep, is submerged amid the ice. It allows people to safely dip in Great Slave Lake in the middle of the winter.

Olson describes the experience as “transformative.”

“A lot of it has to do with the setting that you’re in – it’s freezing cold temperatures, you’re on this beautiful houseboat, and you get to experience this really hot sauna with this really cool cold plunge behind it,” he said.

“The setting is amazing, but also just the feeling you get after you have this cold water experience and this hot exposure experience is something you almost become addicted to. It feels so good, especially after a long, long work week.”

Olson recommends visitors follow a three-step cycle over their two-and-a-half-hour visit.

“The first step is to jump in the sauna and get nice and hot. All of our saunas are going to have different essential oils and scents attached to each sauna,” he said.

“After you get nice and sweaty, hopefully it’s hot enough to actually push yourself to jump into the lake.”

Olson suggests people new to cold plunging start with 10 to 20 seconds in the tub before heading to the relaxation tent. More experienced people can choose to head back into the sauna for another round.

Olivia Mater, one of Olson’s employees, said she has a “deep and long-standing love for cold water and cold plunging.”

“It’s one of the best feelings in the world and one of the most healing things for my mental health and well-being, and maintaining balance in my body,” she said.

More: Visit the Arctic Duchess Adventures website

She encourages people not to overthink the cold plunge.

Mater, who has a background in adventure tourism and canoe guiding, will be there to guide people and keep them safe.

“It’s super safe, super beautiful. You have the roasting hot saunas right there. It’s kind-of like the best situation imaginable,” she said.

In the relaxation tents, Olson has leather couches, a hammock, board games, and coffee, tea, and snacks to help people acclimatize and relax for their remaining time.

“I want people to walk away from my facility and say they’ve had a story,” he said.

“One of the cool stories is just being able to jump in frozen Great Slave Lake in the middle of winter. But also, I want to make sure when people walk away, there’s a few different aspects that are cool and fun, like ‘I got to sit in a sauna and pour water on the oldest rock in the world.’

“If you want to go to the farthest place you can to jump in a lake and experience a sauna, we’re here for you.”