The Edna G. sits in Burlington Bay as the last steam-powered tugboat in the United States, a vessel that worked these waters for over seventy years and now stands as the most tangible symbol of Two Harbors’ deep connection to Great Lakes maritime history. The waterfront district surrounding the Edna G. carries that same layered character: working harbor infrastructure, historic ore dock presence, and a genuine small-city waterfront energy that is entirely authentic and entirely Two Harbors. Homeowners and property owners in this district live close to the water and close to the history that shaped this community. A Bear Naked cedar sauna in this neighborhood is a wellness investment that respects both the heritage of the place and the practical demands of living on the western shore of Lake Superior year-round.
The Edna G. is a steam-powered tugboat launched in 1896 and operated continuously in Burlington Bay by the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad and its successors until 1981, making her the last steam-powered tugboat to operate on the Great Lakes and the last of her kind in the United States. She is now permanently moored in Burlington Bay as a historic landmark and museum vessel, representing over eighty years of continuous Great Lakes maritime service and functioning as the most visible and tangible connection between Two Harbors’ present-day identity and its iron ore shipping heritage. The waterfront district surrounding the Edna G. encompasses the Burlington Bay shoreline, the historic ore dock infrastructure, and the residential and commercial fabric of downtown Two Harbors, creating a neighborhood context that is genuinely unique among North Shore communities. For residents of this district, the Edna G. is not a tourist attraction. She is a neighbor, and her presence on the waterfront is a daily reminder of what this community was built on and what it continues to value.
Properties in the Edna G. district and the broader Burlington Bay waterfront corridor face the full force of Lake Superior’s atmospheric influence. Wind, moisture, lake-effect snow, and the particular corrosive quality of a waterfront environment demand outdoor building materials that are chosen with genuine environmental intelligence. Bear Naked Saunas uses sustainably sourced cedar for every outdoor installation, a material whose natural oils and cellular structure provide inherent resistance to the moisture, salt air, and temperature cycling of a freshwater harbor environment. Our barrel sauna and Garden Series outdoor configurations are engineered to anchor into waterfront and near-waterfront properties with structural permanence, and to age naturally in this environment without degrading in appearance or performance.
The communities that built Two Harbors’ maritime and mining industries brought their wellness traditions with them from Scandinavia and Finland, and the sauna was central among them. Working men who spent their days loading ore, operating steam equipment, and enduring the physical demands of a Great Lakes port understood sauna therapy not as a luxury but as a recovery tool, a way to repair the body, restore the joints, and prepare for the next day’s work. That heritage is embedded in the cultural DNA of Two Harbors’ waterfront district, and Bear Naked Saunas honors it by building saunas with the same commitment to quality materials, honest craftsmanship, and genuine functional performance that the communities surrounding the Edna G. have always valued.
The residential neighborhoods flanking the Edna G. district include some of Two Harbors’ most established housing, featuring the sturdy, well-built construction that characterizes North Shore communities that have been maintained by generations of families who take their homes seriously. Bear Naked Saunas installs our Xperience Series indoor sauna units into these homes with precision and care, configuring each installation to the available space and structural characteristics of the property. Heater selection is matched to room dimensions and usage patterns, with the Harvia Cilindro and Virta series covering standard residential applications and the HUUM architectural heater lineup providing a premium aesthetic option for homeowners who want their sauna room to reflect the quality of the rest of their home.
For Two Harbors waterfront district homeowners ready to build a complete home wellness environment, Bear Naked Saunas supplies and installs the full product ecosystem from our Hermantown base just down the shore. MrSteam residential boiler packages, AromaMist Aroma Bathing systems, HUUM and Harvia smart control packages, and the complete Rento aromatherapy and accessory lineup combine to create a home wellness suite that delivers genuine daily therapeutic value in a community where physical recovery has always been a way of life rather than a trend.
