Toronto'deki En İyi Gay Saunalar

Late on a weeknight, the 506 Carlton streetcar usually grinds east along Carlton Street past the old Maple Leaf Gardens, the CN Tower glows over the downtown towers, and the patios on Church Street are still talking. Turn the corner at Wellesley and you're in the Village, where a buzzer, a flight of stairs and a towel lead you into the steam. Toronto's bathhouse history is bigger than most cities': it was here, in February 1981, that police raided four baths in one night and the community fought back. Today the scene is smaller and settled: three men's bathhouses, two of them open around the clock a few minutes' walk apart in the Church-Wellesley Village, and one modest daytime spot in Little Portugal.

Legal in one line: Canada has had nationwide same-sex marriage since 2005, and sexual orientation and gender identity are protected from discrimination. Bathhouses are legal private venues for adults; sex in a public place is not (it's an "indecent act" under section 173 of the Criminal Code). The drinking age in Ontario is 19.

The Village bathhouses

Steamworks Toronto, 540 Church Street

Steamworks is on the second floor of 540 Church Street (M4Y 2E1), in the heart of the Village and a short walk from Wellesley station on Line 1. It's part of the Steamworks group, which also has bathhouses in Vancouver and Chicago, and misterb&b calls it the largest and most popular in Toronto. Directories list it as open to men and trans men.

• Hours: the club's website says "always open 24/7/365".
• Facilities: the website lists a gym, sauna, steam room and hot tub. Listings and reviewers add a second hot tub, wet and dry saunas, darkrooms, a maze, glory holes, a video lounge, see-through showers, private rooms with video, sling rooms and jail-cell theme rooms. DJs play at weekends, and The Gay Passport mentions events such as CumUnion and dark hours.
• Prices (website, October 2026, eight hours, CA$): on weekdays a locker costs $30 without a membership or $23 for members, and rooms run from $40 to $67 ($33 to $60 for members). At weekends a locker costs $37 ($32 for members) and rooms $47 to $74. A $5 security deposit is included in non-member rentals. The weekday daytime special, Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:00, brings lockers down to $22 and rooms to $29–49. Monthly memberships give the lower rates.
• Rules: 18 and over; no drugs, alcohol or smoking on the premises.

Know before you go: Travel Gay reviewers describe a wide age range, from about 20 to 70, and a mix of locals and visitors, and YOHOMO lists everyone from daddies and gym bunnies to twinks and older men, adding that it's "a bit more intense in here, people are on the hunt". Weekend nights, when the DJs play, are its liveliest. It's busiest on weekend nights and into the early hours of Saturday and Sunday; weekdays are calmer. Expect queues on long weekends and during Pride, when lockers and rooms sell out. A Travel Gay reviewer notes that flip-flops aren't provided, so bring your own.



Spa Excess, 105 Carlton Street

Spa Excess is at 105 Carlton Street (M5B 1M1), a block east of Church Street and about five minutes' walk from College station. It calls itself "Toronto's Biggest Bathhouse for Men", and misterb&b describes four floors and about 1,670 m², open since 1998. Its floor plans show a basement, main floor and two upper floors.

• Hours: open 24 hours a day, every day, according to its website. Each visit is for eight hours, with 12-hour options for rooms.
• Facilities: visitors and listings describe a whirlpool with palm trees and TVs, a steam room, a small dry sauna, a gym, a second-floor maze with glory holes, a porn area, and a licensed bar and lounge, plus a rooftop patio (no alcohol on the patio).
• Prices (website, October 2026, eight hours, weekday / weekend, CA$): locker $23 / $29; standard room $35 / $42; TV room $37 / $44; double bed $48 / $52; sling room $52 / $55; suite $74 / $81.
• Deals: "Get Off Early" from 11:00 to 13:00 (lockers $20, rooms $30 on weekdays; $22 and $34 at weekends); a weekday "Midnight Splash" from 23:00 to 01:00 (lockers $20, rooms $30); a happy-hour rate from 16:00 to 18:00; and 50% off for students from Monday 00:00 to Friday 20:00 with valid government ID (no copies or screenshots). An optional Bronze membership ($15 a year) saves $1 a visit and the $5 key and towel deposit.

Know before you go: YOHOMO calls it the bathhouse "for a slightly older set" and says it is "super popular with the Asian crowd". The Gay Passport lists theme sessions such as Bears in Excess, College Night, Latino Night and Naked Nights; check the calendar on its website. Weekends are busiest, but waits are rare.

Splash Steam and Sauna, Little Portugal

Splash Steam and Sauna is at 1610 Dundas Street West (M6K 1T8), upstairs above a bike shop near Brock Avenue in Little Portugal, about 5 km west of the Village. The 505 Dundas streetcar runs right past. It describes itself as "a men's establishment, catering to a gay and bisexual clientele", and YOHOMO says it used to belong to the Central Spa chain before new owners renamed it.

• Hours: 11:00 to 21:00 daily, according to its website.
• Facilities: a steam room, dry sauna, showers, a darkroom, a back video room and a front TV lounge.
• Prices (website, October 2026, six hours, tax included, CA$): locker $17, room $24, double room $40 for one or $50 for two. Students pay $10 for a locker and $15 for a room every day, and a Friday locker special costs $10 from 18:00 to 21:00.
• Payment: cash only. The Gay Passport says there's an ATM about 50 m from the door.

Know before you go: 18 and over; staff ask for ID only if you look young or claim the student rate. The club itself says Mondays are its busiest day, and YOHOMO adds lunchtime and just after dinner. YOHOMO describes a mostly older, discreet crowd, and The Gay Passport says many locals come here; Travel Gay adds that the student rate can draw younger men too. It's simple and cheap, not a party venue.

E
Excess Spa
Steamworks Toronto
SPLASH STEAM AND Sauna

Oasis Aqualounge: not a gay sauna

Oasis Aqualounge, at 231 Mutual Street, a few minutes from Church Street, is a mixed, sex-positive social club in a restored 19th-century mansion, with a heated outdoor pool, a hot tub, a sauna, two bars and themed play rooms over four floors. It's for adults 19 and over, and its crowd is mostly couples, women and their partners.

• Who gets in: as reported by Narcity in 2024, everyone could enter from Sunday to Thursday, but on Friday and Saturday only women on their own and couples were admitted, not solo men. A monthly Sapphic Aquatica night is for women and trans people only.
• Prices (2024): around $100 for a man on his own (Sunday to Thursday) or a couple, and $15–25 for women and trans people; YOHOMO lists hours of 11:00 to 03:00, with no new entry after 02:00. Policies change, so check its website first.

The building has a history: it was the Club Baths, later Club Toronto, one of the four bathhouses raided in 1981; Oasis took it over after Club Toronto closed in 2010.

A piece of history: the 1981 bathhouse raids. At 11pm on 5 February 1981, about 150 Metro Toronto police officers, some carrying crowbars and sledgehammers, raided four bathhouses at once: the Club Baths, Romans II, The Barracks and the Richmond Street Health Emporium. The raids followed a six-month undercover operation known as Operation Soap, and close to 300 men were arrested, most of them as "found-ins" in a common bawdy house. It has been described as the largest mass arrest in Canada at the time. The following night, angry crowds took to the streets, and on 6 February around 1,000 demonstrators marched to the Ontario Legislature. More than 90 per cent of the cases were later dropped or dismissed. The raids are often called Canada's Stonewall. On 22 June 2016, at a Pride reception at police headquarters, Chief Mark Saunders said the force "regrets" the raids and their "destructiveness" on the lives of the men arrested. None of the four operates as a bathhouse today.

Closed: older guides may still list Club Toronto, St Marc Spa (Yonge and Wellesley) and The Cellar (Wellesley Street East); none appears in current directories.

Stay safe. Leave valuables at home or in your locker. Steamworks bans drugs and alcohol, but Spa Excess has a licensed bar. Never mix G (GHB/GBL) with alcohol: both slow your breathing, and together they can knock you out or stop it altogether, even at small doses. Look out for others; if someone can't be woken or is breathing slowly, lay them on their side, tell staff and call 911. Some websites still list parks and beaches as outdoor cruising spots. Sex in a public place is a criminal offence in Canada, robberies happen in dark corners, and police do patrol; if you go to the clothing-optional beach on the Toronto Islands, see our Toronto beaches guide and keep things decent.

A Toronto night out

Start on the Church Street patios between Wellesley and Alexander, where the Village still feels like a neighbourhood, with The 519 community centre just down the road. Our Toronto bars guide has the full line-up for drinks before the steam. For food, try a peameal bacon sandwich at St Lawrence Market, a late bowl of ramen or pho on Yonge, or, if you're heading to Splash, the Portuguese bakeries of Little Portugal along Dundas West, for a warm pastel de nata on your way out. In winter, the coldest part of the night is the walk from the streetcar stop: January nights in Toronto sink well below freezing, and then the steam room and the hot tub feel like a different climate. And yes, the morning after, someone will hand you a Tim Hortons double-double.

Practical tips

• Getting there: Wellesley (Line 1) is closest to Steamworks; College (Line 1) to Spa Excess; the 505 Dundas streetcar stops by Splash. Until around December 2026, track renewal on College/Carlton between Bay and Church diverts the 506 Carlton streetcar via Bay, Dundas and Parliament, with 506B replacement buses; check TTC service advisories before you rely on it. The subway stops running at around 1:30am, after which the TTC's overnight Blue Night buses and streetcars take over. A Presto card or a tap of your contactless bank card pays the fare. Taxis and Uber are easy to find on Church Street.
• Cash and cards: Splash takes cash only. Prices are in Canadian dollars, and Ontario's 13% HST may be included or added depending on the venue.
• What to bring: your own flip-flops, and original government photo ID. All three are 18+ and The Gay Passport notes IDs may be checked at Steamworks; Spa Excess's student rate needs valid government-issued ID, and it says copies or screenshots are not accepted.
• Apps: Grindr, Scruff and Sniffies are widely used. Meet in a bar first if you're hosting.
• Sexual health: Hassle Free Clinic, at 66 Gerrard Street East (2nd floor, at Church), offers anonymous HIV testing (including rapid tests), STI testing and treatment, and HIV PrEP and PEP, according to the City of Toronto, and you don't need an Ontario health card (OHIP). Men and trans people can drop in at set hours; call 416-922-0566. For PEP after hours, go to a hospital emergency department.
• Where to stay: the Village and the streets around Yonge and Wellesley put you within walking distance of both 24-hour bathhouses. See our Toronto hotels guide, and the Toronto shops guide if you need gear for a fetish night.
• Winter: January nights are well below freezing. Bring a warm layer for the walk home, and boots you can leave in the locker.

Pride Toronto

Pride Toronto fills the Village every June. In 2026 the festival weekend ran from Friday 26 to Sunday 28 June: the Trans March stepped off from the Village on Friday 26 June, the Dyke March on Saturday 27 June, and the Pride Parade ran on Sunday 28 June from 2pm, with road closures across Church, Yonge, Bloor and Dundas until the evening. Steamworks and Spa Excess were at their busiest all week; at Pride time, book a room ahead if you can, or go early.

A few words of Toronto English

• The Village – the Church-Wellesley gay village.
• The tubs or the baths – old-school slang for a bathhouse.
• Washroom – what Canadians call the toilet.
• Loonie and toonie – the $1 and $2 coins; handy for lockers and vending machines.
• Double-double – a Tim Hortons coffee with two creams and two sugars.
• The TTC – the Toronto Transit Commission: subway, streetcars and buses.
• The 6ix – Toronto's nickname, from its 416 and 647 area codes.
• Merci – you'll hear French in Canada, too; "thank you".

At a glance

Frequently asked questions

How many gay saunas are there in Toronto?

Three. Steamworks (Church Street) and Spa Excess (Carlton Street) in the Church-Wellesley Village are both open 24 hours, and the smaller Splash Steam and Sauna in Little Portugal opens from 11:00 to 21:00.

How much does a Toronto bathhouse cost?

At the time of writing, an eight-hour locker at the two Village bathhouses costs roughly CA$23 to CA$37, depending on the day and membership, and Splash charges CA$17 for six hours, cash only. All three offer cheaper daytime or student rates.

Is Oasis Aqualounge a gay sauna?

No. Oasis is a mixed, sex-positive club for adults 19 and over, mostly couples and women, and in 2024 it did not admit solo men on Friday and Saturday nights.

What were the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids?

On 5 February 1981, about 150 police officers raided four Toronto bathhouses and arrested close to 300 men. Mass protests followed, most charges were later dropped, and in 2016 the police chief expressed regret.

When is Pride Toronto?

In late June. In 2026 the festival weekend ran from 26 to 28 June, ending with the Pride Parade on Sunday 28 June, and the bathhouses were at their busiest that week.

Part of the GayOut saunas series. See the full gay Toronto guide for bars, shops, beaches, hotels and organisations.