Personal Overnight Retreats

Personal Overnight Retreats are offered on weekends when the Forest is not hosting a group or themed retreat. Open dates can be found on the calendar.

These retreats give you the freedom to shape your own time and choose how you wish to be present to the Sacred. You may spend your hours reading, journaling, sitting in silence, walking in the woods, creating, or following whatever calls to you most deeply.

Weekend retreats are available on select dates from Friday through Sunday. A Thursday night add-on is often available, creating a three-day stay. Beginning in 2026, limited weeklong retreats will also be offered in one of the hermitage-style cabins.

During the weekend, community sitting meditations of approximately 30 minutes are available at:

• Morning Meditation: 8:00 a.m.
• Noon Meditation: 12:00 p.m.
• Afternoon Meditation: 4:30 p.m.

When you register, you book a cabin. You may stay alone or share a double occupancy cabin with someone else in your party.

Each night reserved includes three meals: a light dinner on arrival, a self-serve silent breakfast, and lunch.

Meals

Meals are shared around a common table, offering a time to nourish the body and connect through stories and community. All overnight guests receive meals on this schedule:

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

On Sundays, continental breakfast is not served. Instead, a hot breakfast is offered at 9:00 a.m.

For guests staying in a hermitage during the week, meals are not provided, though food may be prepared in the cabin or in the main house kitchen.

Meals are prepared with care and include vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, which should be noted during registration.

Guests are welcome to dine in community or take meals back to the cabin for solitude.

More specific dietary needs than vegetarian, vegan, or gluten free cannot be accommodated. Guests with additional requirements are asked to bring their own meals. A guest refrigerator is available.

Meditation

Our meditations have an interspiritual focus and include sung chants in English, prayers, periods of silence, walking meditation, a reading from a sacred text, and community prayer time. Beginners are welcome. These gatherings take place in the chapel in the Main House.

All overnight guests are invited to join Friday and Saturday at:

• 8 AM
• 12 PM
• 4:30 PM

On Sunday, meditation is offered at 8 AM only.

Parking and arrival

Guests may park in the designated parking lot upon arrival.

Please check in at the Main House. Day visitors should complete a registration form located on the table by the front door.

Because the Main House is not always staffed and we may be out on the property, please call or text if no one is available to check you in when you arrive.

Connectivity

Free Wi-Fi is available in all buildings for convenience, though coverage may vary depending on location and weather. Guests are also encouraged to use the retreat as an opportunity to disconnect.

Most cell phone providers have onsite coverage, although reception may vary during months when the trees are in full foliage.

Cost

• Single Cabin: $100/night
• Double Cabin: $170/night
• Upgraded Cabins: $135/night for the first person, $85 for an additional person, and $70 for a third person (where available)

Our cabins

Our guest cabins are simple and cozy, designed to help guests focus on what matters most during their retreat. Many people describe feeling deep peace upon arriving at the Forest. Staying in a cabin offers the quiet rest that comes with sleeping in the woods.

All cabins have twin beds except for one cabin with a double bed. You may request the double bed in the comments of your registration form, though availability cannot be guaranteed.

Standard cabin

One standard cabin will be assigned to you when you register.

Specific cabin requests are welcome, but cannot be guaranteed.

Amenities

Standard cabins include a full bathroom, heating and air conditioning, and Wi-Fi, along with:

• Two twin beds
• Bathroom with shower
• Bed linens, pillows, blankets, and towels
• Hair dryer
• Desk
• Dresser
• Comfortable chair
• Alarm clock
• Hand soap
• Makeup remover wipes
• Tissues
• Insect repellent
• Umbrella
• Flashlights

Photos reflect a typical cabin setup. Layout and furnishings may vary.

Upgraded cabin

An upgraded cabin is a standard cabin with additional amenities or a recent renovation. If available, you may select a specific cabin.

Hermitage

A hermitage is a two-room cabin with more space, a mini fridge, a microwave, and additional amenities. If available, you may select a specific cabin.

Guadalupe hermitage (#12)

Guadalupe hermitage cabin (#12) is set in a private location with large picture windows overlooking the forest. It includes two rooms, one with a sofa, and a private porch ideal for quiet solitude in nature.

Scholastica (#10)

Scholastica cabin (#10) has been freshly renovated, with new flooring, paint, fixtures, curtains, bedspreads, and decorations. The space feels light, bright, joyful, and colorfully soothing.

Scholastica is a standard cabin in a private setting with a private porch, perfect for experiencing the wonder of the forest in solitude.

Mary (#6)

Mary cabin (#6) is one of our most beloved standard cabins, located in a private setting with a private porch perfect for experiencing the wonder of the forest in solitude.

Standard cabins (#1-5, 7, 13, 14)

These standard cabins offer rustic Forest simplicity and include a full bathroom, heating and air conditioning, and Wi-Fi access. One will be assigned automatically through the booking system. You may request a specific cabin, but availability cannot be guaranteed.

Our sacred spaces

The main chapel is the center of our facility and the heart of daily community meditation. Large picture windows look out into the woods, and when the chapel is not in use or reserved for a group, guests are welcome to use it for meditation or quiet reflection.

The Zen Garden is designed for contemplation, keeping only what is essential. Here, you may clear the mind or tie a prayer flag to the tree.

The woodland labyrinth offers a beautiful setting for walking meditation, contemplation, and prayer beneath the trees. Labyrinth walking is an ancient practice for centering and reflection.

The Cave of the Mothers is an underground meditation chamber and storm shelter, a womb-like space for descending into darkness and returning renewed.

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

The trail system is a nearly 3-mile loop winding along wooded bluffs, where you may encounter Mary's Grotto, Redbud Grove, Balance Rocks, Hermit Hill, and Dragonfly Meadow.