Visit a Nova Scotia Nordic spa to relax and take care of you

Nova Scotia has welcomed wellness with open arms as several new Nordic spas have opened in the past few years. With Canada’s northern climate, this makes a lot of sense. Part of the appeal of a Nordic spa is how warming and relaxing it is to sink into a soothing outdoor hot tub in colder weather. A visit to a Nova Scotia Nordic spa is a wonderful way to unwind and set aside some time for you!

Below, you’ll find a list of Nordic spas in Nova Scotia, which includes locations all over the province. Many locations are open year-round. Take some time to unwind and make a Nordic spa part of your next Nova Scotia road trip!

Our visit to Saltair Nordic Spa & Wellness was part of our Annapolis Valley winter road trip. You could also add it to your itinerary for an Annapolis Valley summer road trip. Have questions about planning your visit to a Nova Scotia Nordic spa? Ask in our Facebook community!

Produced in partnership with Tourism Nova Scotia

Unwind with a view at Saltair Nordic Spa & Wellness

Located just north of the Annapolis Valley roughly 25 minutes north of Kentville, Saltair Nordic Spa & Wellness is Nova Scotia’s only Nordic spa with views of the Bay of Fundy. The vistas are spectacular from the outdoor warm and hot tubs, cold plunge pool, and fireside rest areas, all of which are open year-round.

Inside, the spa offers two saunas, a steam room, a cold bucket shower, a Himalayan salt scrub station, and indoor rest stations. Facial masques and premium moisturizers let you add another layer to your self-care ritual.

When you visit, you can follow the traditional hydrothermal circuit at your own pace, or you can join one of Saltair’s signature guided classes. These use various combinations of sauna, exfoliation, breath work, mindful movement, and more to foster community as you learn wellness techniques you can continue to use long after you depart.

Wellness is about “diving deep” and “letting go”

Saltair Nordic Spa & Wellness is owned by Jenny Sinclair and June Pardy, two Annapolis Valley locals whose paths initially crossed at June’s former salon and spa in Kentville. They decided to go into business together and opened Saltair to the public in 2024.

Pardy says the serenity and uniqueness of this location played an important role in their inspiration to establish Saltair.

“It was a big realization for both of us that with the wellness component, with the Bay of Fundy, with the highest tides of the world, with being 30 minutes away from wine country, essentially it was all right here in front of us,” Pardy says.

With Sinclair’s training as a yoga instructor and June’s long-time spa ownership experience, together their hope is that visitors leave Saltair with the skills to integrate wellness into their lives every day.

“ We’re here to guide people (and) show them it’s more than just getting hot and cold,” Pardy says. “It’s about diving deep. It’s about letting go. It’s about being courageous. What you learn in that heat and in that cold, you can take that out of the pools and the saunas into your own life.”

Saltair Nordic Spa is located along our Southwest Nova Scotia road trip route >

Other Nordic spas in Nova Scotia

Nordic spas can be found all over Nova Scotia, from Halifax to the southern shore and north into Cape Breton. We haven’t visited these sites ourselves yet, but we’ll add more detail to this page once we do.

Sensea Nordic Spa is a Nordic spa in Chester, Nova Scotia, based on the shores of Stanford Lake. Sensea offers a thermal and hydrotherapy circuit with cold plunge, spa therapies, yoga classes, and more.

Oceanstone Resort is located on St. Margaret’s Bay, just north of Peggy’s Cove. It has a full hydrothermal spa circuit with hot and cold pools, a salt-inhalation hammam, aromatherapy sauna, fireside restoration stations, treatments including massage, facials, and full-body exfoliation, plus additional amenities.

True North Destinations is a luxury geodesic dome resort in Pleasant Bay on Cape Breton Island’s Cabot Trail. Their Oceanfront glamping dome comes with a private Nordic spa experience, including a hot tub, ocean view sauna, cold cedar shower, and more.

Nature Folk is a day spa on the waterfront in downtown Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It offers an indoor thermal circuit including an infrared sauna, along with massage therapy and other spa services.

Explore more Nova Scotia destinations >