Third Space Sauna brings community cold plunge to Rincon Beach

Third Space Sauna is taking its community cold plunge out of the Funk Zone and onto Rincon Beach, where the 10-person Finnish cedar sauna will make its first appearance on May 8 and May 9. The move matters because it shifts contrast therapy from a private wellness habit into a public beach ritual, with locals, surfers, commuters, and anyone curious about the practice invited to try it on one of Santa Barbara County’s most scenic stretches of coast.

The launch weekend will be free, with sessions set for Friday, May 8 from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, May 9 in two blocks, 8 a.m. to noon and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Reservations are encouraged. After the debut, Third Space plans to continue with weekly Thursday-through-Saturday sessions, turning the Rincon test into a recurring part of the area’s wellness calendar rather than a one-off pop-up.

Founders Joey McGuinness and Eli Pearlman built Third Space around the idea that sauna and cold plunge should be social, not solitary. In the Funk Zone, the company describes itself as a 10-person Finnish cedar sauna and cold plunge social wellness hub, with 60-minute sessions for up to 10 people. Drop-ins are priced at $30, with packages and memberships available, and the company says price assistance is available if cost is a barrier. The new Rincon push suggests they are trying to bring that same model onto public land, not just inside a boutique studio.

Third Space has also been testing interest through separate survey pages for Rincon and Goleta Beach, a sign that the beach format is part of a broader coastal strategy, not a one-off experiment. On its booking page, the company frames each visit as 60 minutes of sauna, cold plunge, and good hang time, with bathroom facilities and a refill station available so people can linger after the plunge instead of rushing out.

Rincon Beach Park fits the pitch. Santa Barbara County Parks describes it as a place where “every age converges” and says it is “widely respected for some of the Central Coast’s best surfing.” The park sits about 3 miles from Carpinteria and right next to the Ventura County line, which gives the launch a distinctly regional pull. The timing also lands in a moment when cold-water immersion is gaining cultural ground even as the science remains unsettled; a 2025 PLOS ONE systematic review found possible benefits for stress, sleep quality, and quality of life, but said the evidence base is still limited. That gap between enthusiasm and proof is exactly why a visible, beachside setup like this feels like a sign that contrast therapy is becoming part of everyday Santa Barbara life, not just a niche recovery trend.