Steamworks Baths, Vancouver

About Steamworks Baths

The Vancouver outpost of Steamworks, the longest-running gay-owned bathhouse brand in North America, founded in Berkeley in 1976. This location opened in 2007 at 123 West Pender Street, on the Gastown-Chinatown edge rather than the West End gayborhood — a setup that trades scene proximity for a bit more discretion. The facilities are unusually full for a bathhouse: a multi-man whirlpool, dry sauna, steam room, and a genuine gym with weight machines, free weights, and cardio. Private rooms range from standard to Xtreme units fitted with slings and dungeon furniture, and the play maze includes glory holes and the Sexagon, a six-sided booth design that's a signature of the brand. It's open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, which makes it as much a late-night and off-hours option as a peak-evening one.