Sponsored retreats

Join a sponsored retreat

Check out our events calendar for all of our upcoming sponsored retreats!

Check the Calendar

During a Forest-sponsored group retreat, be present to the sacred while in community with others. Groups gather here to dream, grow, heal, grieve, recover, dance, drum, knit, chant, create, be silent, be joyful.

The Forest offers retreats throughout the year with various themes that exemplify a rich diversity of spiritual paths. We offer day retreats and events, as well as retreats with overnight stays over a weekend.

For weekend retreats, you can often optionally add-on Thursday night to make it a three-day weekend and settle into the forest quiet before the retreat begins. You can typically select to stay in a cabin for the retreat or to commute from your home.

If you commute, please commit to the schedule of the retreat so as not to disturb the rhythm of the group.

You can stay in a cabin on your own, or as double occupancy with someone else in your party.

All meals are included with your retreat.

  • 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, and served on the following schedule:

    Friday and Saturday:

    Continental Breakfast: 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
    Lunch: 12:30 p.m.
    Dinner: 5:30 p.m.

    Sunday
    Hot breakfast at 9 a.m.

    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.

    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.

Our cabins

Our guest cabins are cozy and simple so you can focus on what truly matters during their retreat. Staying in a cabin gives you 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. You may request the double bed for your retreat in the comments of your registration form, though we can’t guarantee it’ll be available.

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.

Hosted Retreat Rates and Information:

Cabin and Meal Rates: $85 per person per night for a double occupancy cabin, $100 per person per night for a single occupancy cabin. The lodging costs include all meals. We can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free dietary restrictions. Most meals will include a vegetarian/vegan option with a meat on the side.  

Meeting Space Rates: 

  • $50/hour to rent the Meditation Chapel (may not be rented during the times when we have our community meditations—7 a.m., 12 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.) or $125 for the full day (minus the times when our community holds meditations)

  • $140 per day to rent the Bede Building. 

  • $110 per day to rent the Community Center. 

  • $75 for a campfire, Friday or Saturday night (price is doubled for one each night)

Deposit: For a hosted retreat, we calculate an estimated cost based on the number of participants you hope to register, and a date can be reserved with a 33 percent deposit of the total amount of communal spaces rented. This deposit is refundable, minus a $100 administrative fee, if the retreat is cancelled at least 31 days prior to the scheduled date. The remainder of the cost is collected at the retreat.

Program Fees: The retreat facilitator retains all program fees (amount above the cabin rental and rental costs for communal spaces.)

A bedroom with two twin beds covered in blue bedspreads, each with a beige pillow and a maroon throw blanket. There is a wooden dresser next to the beds, a window with colorful patterned curtains, a standing lamp between the beds, and wall decoration
A cozy bedroom with two beds, a window with patterned curtains, a wooden desk with a chair and lamp, and decorative wall hangings.
Cozy living room corner with a cushioned armchair, a small side table with a plant, a wall with framed picture and hanging light, and colorful patterned curtains.
A small bathroom with a shower curtain featuring blue and green leaves, a blue window curtain, a white towel on a rack, a teal bathroom rug, and a white toilet.
A brown wooden house surrounded by trees in a wooded area, with a gravel pathway leading to it. The house has an air conditioning unit and a garden hose attached to the exterior wall.
A rectangular wooden sign with uneven edges, painted with the words "St. School Sign" in pink and black, decorated with small blue flowers.
A cozy bedroom with a bed covered in a striped blanket, a small desk with a chair near a window, a standing lamp, and a dresser against a yellow wall. There are framed pictures on the walls and coats hanging on hooks.
A young woman sitting on a porch chair reading a book outside a house in a wooded area.
Back porch with a wooden deck and chairs, adjacent to a wooded backyard with trees and greenery.
Brown wooden cabin with a white door and windows, surrounded by trees in a forested area.
Wooden plaque with the name 'St. Mary' and decorative floral patterns
A small wooden cabin in a wooded area during autumn with a porch, two chairs, and a table.
A cozy bedroom with a bed covered in a striped blanket, a wooden dresser, a desk with a chair, a window with green and white curtains, and framed artwork on the walls.
A brown wooden cabin surrounded by trees with autumn-colored leaves, fallen leaves on the ground, and a garden hose coiled near the front door.
Small bathroom with a shower, toilet, wooden cabinets, and towel rack.
A cozy bedroom with two twin beds with striped bedspreads, a wooden nightstand with a lamp between them, a window with curtains and an air conditioning unit, a framed picture on the wall, and a rocking chair with a cushion.

Our sacred spaces

Our main chapel is our central gathering place and the heart of our facility. This is where our daily community meditations take place. There are large picture windows looking out into the woods. If the chapel is not in use or reserved for a group, you’re free to use it for meditation or to simply sit and look out at the trees.

Main chapel

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

A cozy living room with two blue armchairs, a black floor chair, a wooden side table, and a small coffee table with a red flower. There are two windows with sheer curtains, religious wall art, a wooden cross, and a standing lamp.

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

Group of women and girls gathered around a small fire circle in a forest, tending to a fire or some outdoor activity.
A man sitting on a wooden bench in a wooded park, wearing glasses, a brown T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers, with leaves and trees in the background.
Religious altar with a yellow statue at the center, colorful patterned tiles, candles, and a candle holder with a blue and silver base.