Popular Gay Saunas in Cincinnati, OH
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Haze on the Horizon: Gay Saunas in Cincinnati and the Pride Pull
You pull into Cincinnati on a muggy June morning, the Ohio River glinting lazy under the Roebling Bridge, and the city's got that understated buzz—Findlay Market stalls hawking goetta and goetta, Over-the-Rhine brick facades leaning in like they're swapping secrets. For queer travelers dodging the airport shuffle, it's a quick hit of Midwestern ease: rainbow stickers curling on lamppost edges in Northside, folks nursing IPAs at breweries with a nod that says they've seen you before. The saunas? They're not the steamy sprawls of Chicago or even Columbus nearby; Cincy's scene leans quiet, with no dedicated bathhouses holding court these days—Splash closed years back, and the rest faded to whispers. But the gyms step up, those locker rooms with steam and whirlpools turning into unofficial pivots when Pride fever hits, where the heat loosens more than muscles after a day marching Sawyer Point or spilling from drag brunches. I've wandered those tiled corners post-parade, towel slung low, catching drifts of accents from Kentucky across the river, everyone unpacking a float's glitter mishap or the symphony's surprise Gaga drop. It's not flashy, but that's the draw—raw, welcoming spots that swell with the festivals, jacuzzis bubbling into late-night confabs.
Club Cincinnati anchors the pull, tucked on Reading Road in Bond Hill, that men-only gym that's been a staple since the '80s—$20 day pass gets you weights clanking downstairs, upstairs where the real unwind waits: dry sauna that hits steady and woodsy, steam room fogging your edges with that faint chlorine tang from the whirlpool next door. Lockers line up spotless, showers hissing hot, and the lounge area's got vending machines slinging energy drinks if the hangry kicks in after a set. It's open daily from noon, stretching till 10 most nights, later on weekends when the bars empty out. Last June, during Cincinnati Pride's 2024 "Be You" bash, it was a spillover from the festival at Yeatman's Cove—guys filtering in post-parade, sweat from the 7th and Plum start still fresh, towels optional as they piled into the steam, swapping laughs about The Aces owning the main stage with their indie pop hooks. I remember easing onto a bench, a local with a Bengals ink next to me muttering how the dykes on bikes had splashed the front row proper during the rain-slick march, his drawl clipping short when the heat deepened. Crowd skews mature, forties and up mostly, bears rubbing elbows with gym rats, but it's body-positive—no judgments, just nods over the free weights. Themed nights are light, but Pride week amps it: discount passes pulling parade stragglers, the whirlpool turning social soup till closing.
A quick drive over to Evendale brings Anytime Fitness, the chain spot on Glendale Milford Road that's queer-friendlier than most—sauna tucked in the men's locker room, dry heat that flushes quick after a treadmill slog, steam not always cranking but reliable on busier days. Whirlpool jets pound out the ache from Over-the-Rhine's cobblestone crawls, showers communal if you're bold, lounge with mats for stretching what the parade twisted. It's 24/7 for members, day passes around 15 bucks, pulling a mix of locals and visitors crashing nearby hotels. In October 2024, it caught the tail of Cincinnati Black Pride's Vizazi Torch Awards—folks buzzing from the film fest shorts at the Aronoff, bodies loose from panels on trans lives in the tri-state, the haze matching the on-stage rawness. Slipped in there once midweek, still humming from a drag night at The Drinkery, and the steam eased into easy chatter—a Kentuckian spilling about the pet parade's sunset pups in tiny flags, how they'd upstaged the humans on the route. It leans younger, uni crowd from UC mixing with out-of-towners, staff chill enough to ignore the extra lingers, and shoulder-season discounts draw those testing the vibe.
Closer to the action, Xpert Fitness in Mt. Adams hums with that neighborhood grit, sauna glowing infrared for a deep pull, steam room dim and dripping after happy hours at nearby Twist. Whirlpool's small but fierce, lockers scattered like afterthoughts, bar none but vending for protein bars. Open till midnight, 18 bucks in, it's got that unpretentious edge—weights downstairs clanging like parade drums. During the 2025 SingOUT Cincy chorus swell at Church of Our Saviour, it became a hushed recovery—singers mulling queer composers' works, the heat loosening voices cracked from the setlist.
These corners don't shout; they're the foggy coda to Cincy's queer calendar, that June blaze when Pride lights the banks. The Cincinnati Pride Festival sprawled June 21-22 in 2025 at Sawyer Point, "Own Your Truth" hanging over three stages thumping with Priyanka's lipsync fire and local acts like Mid Life Reverie belting folk twists—280,000 packing the lawns for vendors hawking zines next to skyine tacos, family zones with bounce houses amid the drag brunches at Wigs & Waffles. Parade kicked at 11 from 7th and Plum, snaking OTR's bricks to the river, floats blasting Britney remixes, dykes on bikes leading the roar past gawkers as chants for trans rights echoed off the bridges. Saunas filled after: Club Cincy's steam a magnet for marchers, whirlpool splashes dissecting the CSO's Pride Block Party Gaga tribute the night before; Anytime's locker haze alive with afterparty buzz from Court Street Plaza's cocktail swirl, energy carrying from the drag queens' hourly drops. Black Pride's June film fest layered it deeper, awards at the Torch spilling to Xpert for steamy debriefs on Black queer torchbearers.
The month's stacked. Hamilton Pride Festival hit Marcum Park noon-7 in '24, family drags hosted by Mirelle Jane Divine pulling crowds before they hit Club Cincinnati's weights, sweat from the side stages washing loose in the sauna. Northern Kentucky's parade stomped MainStrasse at 1 p.m., afterparty at Hotel Covington's drag show funneling across the river to Anytime, jacuzzi chats on the Goebel Park stalls' queer goodies. ShakesQueer's bash at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company partied till 10:30 on the 29th, boundary-pushers tumbling to Xpert's infrared glow. Nightlife threads it: Northside Tavern's queer punk sets spilling to Club Cincy's lounge, The Drinkery's pop anthems pivoting to Anytime for the comedown, Twist's terrace flirts leading to Mt. Adams steams.
For visitors, sync with Pride—grab a day pass at Club Cincinnati early for parade lines, or dip Anytime midweek for the hush. Regional echoes too: a hop to Columbus for Club Saunas' sprawl, but Cincy's the draw, gyms the steady thrum. One sticky June evening in '25, post-festival at Club Cincinnati, I shared the bench with a group from Covington, unpacking the Aces' set over splashes—the air thick, words raw, the river outside feeling a little less wide. Cincy's saunas—or what's left—don't promise the wild; they deliver the warmth, folding into the bashes like mist off the Ohio, leaving you loose and linked.