Hold a group retreat

Hold a group retreat

The Forest is a perfect place for small groups of up to 25 people to gather.

Groups gather here to dream, grow, heal, grieve, recover, dance, drum, knit, chant, create, be silent, be joyful.

Bring your group for a day or for overnight stays, and you can rent our chapel or other meeting spaces (see below).

Meals can be included for your event, depending on the scope of your retreat. Retreats with overnight stays include all meals and day retreats may include meals depending on your needs.

We highly recommend booking as far in advance as possible for the best chances of securing a spot.

How it works

For a hosted retreat, the Forest hosts the retreat for your private group. All of the marketing for your retreat and the registering of guests is handled by you. The Forest doesn’t sponsor or promote your retreat on our website or handle the registrations of your guests.

Your guests pay you for the retreat and you, in turn, pay us the lump sum for the retreat. We require a 33% deposit to confirm the booking.

  • Our meals are when we gather together as a community at a common table, nourish ourselves with food, and share our stories. All meals are included for overnight guests. 

    The meals are cooked with love and include options for vegetarians, vegans, and gluten free (please specify during registration).

    You are free to eat with us in community or, if you wish to be in solitude, you can take your meal to your cabin.

    Meals are served on the following schedule:

    Friday-Saturday:
    Continental breakfast 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
    Lunch: 12:30 p.m.
    Dinner: 5:30 p.m.

    Sunday
    Cooked breakfast 9:00 a.m.

    We are unfortunately unable to accommodate dietary needs more specific than vegetarian, vegan, or gluten free; we ask that guests with more specific needs bring their own meals. We have a guest refrigerator available for use. 

  • Our meditations have an interspiritual focus and combine sung chants (in English), prayers, periods of sitting in silence, walking meditation, a reading from a sacred text, and community prayer time. Beginners are welcome! Held in our chapel in our Main House.

    All overnight guests are welcome to join us, Friday - Saturday at:

    • 8 AM

    • 12 PM

    • 4:30 PM

    and Sunday at 8 AM (no other meditations on Sunday).

  • Upon arrival, you can park in our guest parking lot.

    Please come to the Main House to check in. If you are a day visitor, please fill out a registration form on the table by the front door.

    Note that our Main House is not always staffed or we may be out on the property.

  • All buildings have free Wi-Fi for your convenience. The coverage can vary, however, depending on your location and the weather. We also invite guests to take the opportunity to disconnect.

    Most cell phone providers are covered onsite, though in the months when the trees are in full foliage, the coverage can vary.

Map

You can see a digital map of the Forest below. Click on the image to make it bigger.

Spaces available for rent

Our main chapel is our central gathering place and the heart of our facility. There are large picture windows looking out into the woods.

Maximum occupancy is approximately 40 people depending on setup.

Main chapel

Bede meeting space

Our Bede building has a large room and a beautiful, private deck overlooking the trees and Zen Garden.

It’s an ideal meeting space for:

  • Workshops.

  • Presentations.

  • Yoga and other types of movement.

  • Arts and crafts.

  • And more!

Occupancy varies according to your needs and setup.

Below are examples of typical setups. You can set it up with chairs, tables and chairs, meditation cushions, yoga mats, and so on.

A small wooden house with a porch, surrounded by trees and grass, with window air conditioning units installed on the side.
Empty living room with large windows and sliding glass doors opening to a balcony with surrounding trees.
Yoga meditation room with mats, cushions, and a balcony with chairs overlooking trees.
Room with six blue chairs arranged in a circle, a small table with a cloth and items on top, large windows with greenery outside, and a sliding glass door leading to a patio.
A room with multiple blue chairs arranged in a semi-circle around a table with a blue tablecloth, surrounded by large windows showing greenery outside.
A dining room with a white rectangular table and six blue plastic chairs, large windows showing a green yard outside, and a sliding glass door leading to a patio.

The Community Center is one of our smaller meeting spaces and features a screened-in porch. This building is an ideal setting for:

  • Small-group sessions

  • Break-out groups from larger sessions

  • Groups that desire a smaller and more intimate setting

Occupancy is up to 12 people.

Community Center

A small brown cabin with screened-in porch, surrounded by trees and shrubs, in a wooded area.
Living room with wooden chairs around a coffee table, a sofa, and a side table with a lamp near large windows.
Screened porch with a wooden bench, pillows, plants, and views of a wooded yard outside.

Other spaces at the Forest

Our Zen Garden is meant to be contemplative and removes all but the most essential. Here you can empty your mind or tie a prayer flag to the tree.

Zen garden

Our woodland labyrinth is a delightful place for walking meditation under the shelter of trees, contemplation, and prayer. Labyrinth walking is an ancient spiritual practice for centering, contemplation, and prayer.

Labyrinth

Our Cave of the Mothers is an underground meditation chamber and storm shelter. This is a womb-like space to descend into darkness and rebirth yourself in a new way.

Cave of the Mothers

Our Cor Jesu, or Blessed Sacrament, Chapel is a small meditation and prayer space.

Cor Jesu chapel

Living room with two blue armchairs, a black floor chair, a small wooden table, religious wall decor, and a small round table with a decorative bowl, carpet, and white curtains on windows.

Our trail system is a nearly 3-mile loop that meanders along wooded bluffs. You’ll encounter Mary’s Grotto, Redbud Grove, Balance Rocks, Hermit Hill, and Dragonfly Meadow.

Trails

The library and living room area in our Main House is a quiet, peaceful place to study. It’s available for all our guests and visitors.

Our library holds 2,500+ volumes of books, recordings, periodicals, videos, and other materials. The holdings are especially rich in interspiritual studies, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and many other topics.

Living room

Living room with a blue sofa, green armchair, wooden rocking chair, and bookshelves filled with books, with large windows showing greenery outside.

Our cabins

Our 12 guest cabins are cozy and simple so your overnight guests can focus on what truly matters during your retreat. Staying in a cabin gives your guests the experience of serene rest that comes with sleeping in the woods.

All of the cabins have twin beds, except for one cabin that has a double bed. We typically place you as the retreat leader in the cabin with the double bed.

Your guests can either stay privately in their own cabin, or can double up with a roommate for double occupancy. Cabin availability and bed count may vary according to our schedule and current resident community.

Our cabins feature a bathroom with shower, heating and air conditioning, and Wi-Fi. They include:

  • Two twin beds (except for one cabin with a double)

  • Bathroom with shower

  • Bed linens, pillows, blankets, and towels

  • Hair dryer

  • Desk

  • Dresser

  • Side chair

  • Alarm clock

  • Hand soap

  • Makeup remover wipes

  • Tissues

  • Insect repellent

  • Umbrella

  • Flashlights

Photos shown are for a typical cabin setup. Cabin layout and furnishings may vary.

A bedroom with two blue beds, one with a pink blanket, and a window with colorful curtains. There's a wooden chair and a small cabinet, a floor lamp, and wall art including a circular woven art piece, a hanging decoration, and a landscape painting.
A cozy bedroom with two beds, a nightstand with a lamp, a window with colorful curtains, and a shelf with decorative items.
Cozy corner of a room with a window, colorful curtains, a wooden armchair with cushioned seat, a side table with a white flower vase, framed wall art, hanging lamp, and a decorative wall hanging.
A cozy bedroom with a single bed covered in a striped bedspread and pillow, a wooden desk and chair by a window with curtains, a table lamp, wall art, a dresser, and a small beige rug on the tile floor.
A young woman sitting on the porch of a cabin, reading a book, surrounded by trees and greenery.
A cozy bedroom with two twin beds, a wooden nightstand with a lamp, a window with light green curtains, a framed picture on the wall, and a wooden chair with a cushion.
Small wooden cabin in a wooded area with a porch and outdoor seating, surrounded by trees with fallen leaves.
A small brown cabin surrounded by trees with orange and yellow autumn leaves, with a fallen leaf-covered ground.
Small bathroom with shower, toilet, wooden cabinets, and a bathroom sink with a countertop.

Request a hosted retreat

Group of people gathered outdoors in a forest, participating in a circle game or activity involving small objects arranged in a circle on the ground.
A man sitting on a wooden bench in a forest, wearing glasses, a gray t-shirt, shorts, and black sneakers, with his hand on his face.
Religious altar with colorful tiles, a statue at the top, candles, and a candelabrum.