PORTLAND — For some sauna fans, nothing is more exhilarating than bursting from a hot therapy session and running headlong into cold ocean waves.

They’ll have an opportunity to experience a Casco Bay cold plunge next weekend at East End Beach.

Village Sauna, a mobile operation usually based at Night Moves bakery in South Portland, has signed on with Portland’s parks division to set up at the beach on April 11 and 12.

Both city officials and the owners of the wood-fired sauna say they are responding to growing demand for waterfront saunas, so this pilot event could be the first of many.

As of Wednesday afternoon, four of five hourlong sessions on Saturday still had several seats available, but Sunday’s sessions were nearly sold out.

“We have received several inquiries about setting up a long-term sauna operation in the East End Beach area,” Alex Marshall, parks division director, said in an email. “We are excited to see how this event goes and what the future could bring for saunas at the Eastern Prom or other waterfront parks in Portland.”

Marshall said the city lacks available space required to support a more permanent operation without proper planning. In the meantime, he and his staff have begun directing people to run an event or a small series of events with a permit through his division.

So far, Village Sauna has signed up for one event, he said. The location is open to other sauna businesses, with a permit necessary for each event. Requests will be reviewed case by case to determine what is best for the park and its visitors. 

“We are always looking for ways to positively activate our parks and open spaces,” Marshall said. “Outdoor health and wellness is a popular avenue for accomplishing that goal.”

Kylie and John Hardies, owners of Village Sauna, said in an email to customers this week that “parking the sauna at a beach has been our most-requested ask.”

They said they’ve been talking with multiple municipalities in southern Maine, trying to bring the sauna experience to waterfront spaces.

“Thanks to a pilot event partnership with the Portland Parks Department, we’re thrilled to share that we’re bringing our sauna to Portland’s East End Beach,” the email said.

The eight-seat sauna will be set up in the lower parking lot, next to the bath house and a short walk from the shore. An hourlong session is $32 per person.

The Hardies are hoping their first event at the beach will prove the need for more. Their up-front cost was significant. They paid $1,915 for the municipal permit to operate at the beach — $150 per hour, six hours per day, plus $140 for two reserved parking spaces. The city deducted a $25 application fee from the overall cost.

“It is expensive,” John Hardies said Wednesday. “But we’d love to have a longer-term residency at East End Beach and to have sauna be more accessible in the Portland area.”