Bennington Recreation Center

The Bennington Recreation Center on Gage Street is a municipal facility, which makes it something this directory has very few of — a sauna run by a town, for the people who live in it.

That model deserves more attention than it gets. Public bathing was civic infrastructure in most of the places these traditions come from: Finland’s municipal saunas, Britain’s public baths, the Roman thermae. The American version largely disappeared, and what replaced it is priced as a wellness product rather than provided as a service. A town-run sauna is closer to the original arrangement than almost anything else here.

It is also priced for a whole community rather than a demographic, which matters for a practice whose benefits come from frequency. A modest municipal sauna used twice weekly for years will do more than an excellent private one visited occasionally.

Bennington has more history than its size suggests: the 306-foot battle monument is the tallest structure in Vermont, Robert Frost is buried in the Old First Church cemetery, and the museum holds the largest public collection of Grandma Moses paintings.

Access is through the town’s parks and recreation department. Check current hours and resident rates.