A Great Escape

Unique North Bay venues are taking advantage of the uptick of interest in corporate, spiritual and wellness retreats.

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Wired, wireless—and in The Cloud.

Maybe Southwest Airlines, with its catchy ad campaign/fare pricing platform, says it best: “Wanna Get Away?”

Now that we’re looking at The Great Recession in the rear view mirror, more and more people and businesses are thinking just that. And the North Bay, long a popular getaway destination for Bay Area urban dwellers, is taking advantage of the uptick of interest in corporate, spiritual and wellness retreats.

Throughout Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties, there’s a plethora of outstanding traditional resorts that offer meeting rooms, conference facilities and various associated amenities, including spa treatments, organized field trips and specialized food catering (see “Get Away in the North Bay,” below). But most of them are within earshot of a freeway and site range of a shopping mall.

As we gathered information on retreats for this story, we found that there are also several wonderful, smaller North Bay venues tucked into hidden valleys—and even atop mountains—on roads far less traveled.

So, you wanna get away? Well c’mon!

IONS EarthRise Retreat Center

In the rolling hills of northern Marin County, between Novato and Petaluma, the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) occupies nearly 200 acres of semi-rural land accessible via San Antonio Road. IONS is a nonprofit research institute that focuses on noetic science and human potential. (Noetic science is a multidisciplinary field that brings objective scientific tools and techniques together with subjective inner knowing—for example, intuition and “A-ha! Moments”—to study the full range of human experience.) The institute was prominently featured in best-selling author Dan Brown’s The Last Symbol, a work of fiction published in 2009 that remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 29 weeks.

As part of its mission, IONS provides a place, EarthRise Retreat Center, “for people to come and experience the powers that lie within all of us,” explains Lisa Batto, EarthRise general manager. Its name honors IONS founder, Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, and his historic trip to the moon in 1971, from which he witnessed a rising earth (versus a rising moon). Upon returning to Earth in the cramped Apollo 14 space capsule, Mitchell had an epiphany about the interconnectedness of the universe. Two years later, he founded IONS. EarthRise occupies buildings that used to be part of the campus of World College West, a small liberal arts college that closed in 1992.

“Our clients are generally people interested in personal growth, therapeutic practices in health and healing, mindfulness, meditation, cross-cultural spiritual traditions, nature and sustainability, and transformative experiences,” Batto explains, and the retreat serves a wide variety of groups while also offering its own conscious living workshops, usually three days in duration, a couple of times per month. Topics for February and March include “Free Your Voice: Open Body Through Open Sound” on Feb. 14 to 16 and “Bouncing Back: The Neuroscience of Resilience and Well-being” on March 28 to 30.

EarthRise also offers personal retreats without instructors. “Many times, people just want to have a quiet place to go to, so they can use our facilities, walk the grounds, sit in the hot tub and enjoy our incredible organic food,” she says. But it’s not a hotel, she adds.

The retreat center has 65 lodging rooms, each set up with two twin beds or one full/queen bed. “We have the capacity to serve about 100 people for overnight lodging,” says Batto. Lodging is dorm-style, so everyone shares a restroom. The facility also has six meeting rooms for groups to use for their work. EarthRise provides three meals per day, buffet-style, in its communal dining hall. “The food is geared toward the people who come and the work they’re doing,” Batto explains. “No processed food is served. We offer organic, vegan and gluten-free food, as well as protein. It’s just the most phenomenal range available, and it’s incredibly tasty.”

Prices are more than fair. For one person in a room, it’s $115 per night. If two share a room, it’s $85 per person, per night. Food costs are another $60 per person, per day.

Plans are underway to build 11 new buildings to replace the existing dormitories, which will allow for private bathrooms. Two of the new buildings will open in the first quarter of this year. “They will be healthy, efficient and compliment the land up here—plus provide a better level of comfort for our guests,” Batto says.

The retreat has hiking trails and abundant wildlife to observe, “especially deer, wild turkeys and plentiful bird life,” Batto says. She also notes that the property—which, for generations, was the home to the powerful Miwok tribe—has its own special energy, which is only enhanced by the deep work done by groups during their retreats and workshops.

“Sometimes that energy stays and sometimes it leaves,” Batto explains. “But the land here is magical and provides an incredible place to heal. It feeds people much in the manner of a vortex [famous in Sedona, Ariz.]. Do we sometimes have strange things that happen up here? All I can say is, ‘Yes.’”

Mayacamas Ranch

Only one word adequately describes one’s impression when arriving at Mayacamas Ranch: “Wow!”

Located at the end of Mountain Home Ranch Road, the magnificent property is set on a hilltop ridgeline surrounded by 360-degree views and straddles both Napa and Sonoma counties. It’s only a 10-minute drive from Calistoga, but seems worlds away.

Mayacamas Ranch is owned by GeneroCity Capital, a San Francisco-based social venture financier that identifies, incubates and supports leaders that are creating innovative and sustainable change. A key GeneroCity initiative is with Dr. Jim Gordon and The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, which teaches scientifically validated mind-body medicine techniques to health professionals working with traumatized communities locally and worldwide. The center’s techniques include meditation, guided imagery, yoga, biofeedback and the use of drawings, journals and movement to express thoughts and feelings.

According to David Levy, GeneroCity founder and chairman of the Global Trauma Relief campaign for the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, the retreat center has an extremely high occupancy rate. As of November, it was already 70 percent booked for 2014.

“It’s become one of the most popular retreat centers for corporate, nonprofit and mind-body groups in the North Bay,” Levy says. GeneroCity acquired the property in 2006, “just in time for the recession,” Levy laughs. But it weathered the financial storm that ripped many retreats out by their roots and “it’s even stronger than it was before,” Levy asserts.

Mayacamas Ranch is blessed by its exquisite setting, which, hundreds of years ago, was a place where Wappo and Pomo tribes were known to gather for ceremonies, vision quests, rituals and rites of passage. It’s in a caldera—the crown of an ancient volcano—and a walk through the grounds kicks up chunks of compressed volcanic ash, which is the topsoil. It has 360-degree views that are nothing short of breathtaking. The nights are pitch dark; according to GeneroCity CEO Stephen Seligman, it’s rated one on the nine-level Bortle scale that measures night darkness, which means it’s “unsurpassed dark sky,” Seligman says. It’s also very, very quiet. Sonoma County did a sound study a few years ago and the technician who conducted the test said it was “the quietest measurement of a commercial property he ever recorded,” Levy noted.

Mayacamas Ranch currently occupies 100 acres, but because of the views, it looks more like thousands of acres. In its previous lives—after the Mayacamas Indians left—it was home to a kids camp (Mountain Home Junior Ranch) in the 1940s and 1950s, and later became a retreat for adults called Rainbow Ranch. Subsequent owners used it as a retreat and conference center.

There are 23 rooms available in two lodges, as well as several private cabins. “The beds are new and all organic—no mattress springs and nothing with chemicals,” Levy explains. The linens are made of organic cotton. The pool is saline. There’s an organic garden. And there’s an obvious absence of televisions and telephones (cell phones and Wi-Fi do work on the property, however).

“It’s powerful when you can have a group meeting or wellness experience without all the every day distractions in a natural, peaceful setting,” Levy says. “We’ve done everything we can to create a place where leaders of companies and causes and the groups they’re a part of, can renew, reflect and connect. It’s fulfilling to steward a sacred place for groups to accelerate the good they’re already doing.”

One group that used the ranch to host a retreat is Indigenous Design, a fair trade organic clothing company based in Santa Rosa, which had a summit with all its sales representatives. Mayacamas Ranch, through MediaOne Services (another GeneroCity company), offers full video and broadcast services, so that many groups like Indigenous Designs can capture their meeting.  After the summit, the company was able to use video clips with key messages on its website and in its promotional materials.

The video service is important, Levy says, because it lets retreat clients “use a unique space to meet for deep introspection and reflection, where they can find their message and voice and then amplify it out to their constituents.”

One of the retreat’s finest features is its food service. Chef Miguel Islas has been the on-property chef for more than 10 years and is noted for his organic, healthy recipes that offer tremendous variety. Levy swears customers have raved that it’s “as good as any Michelin-rated restaurant,” and this author, who had the chance to enjoy a Mexican luncheon over Thanksgiving weekend, believes he might be right.

Mayacamas Ranch generally runs from $250 to $600 per night, per person, based on double occupancy (it’s on a sliding scale and is seasonal). Food is included in the price and three meals are served daily.

Black Mountain Retreat Center

Nestled in the coastal hills between Cazadero and Jenner, Black Mountain Retreat Center is housed at the Padmasambhava Peace Institute and is run by a residential Tibetan Buddhist community, but it hosts groups from all walks of life and faiths. The Peace Institute was started in 2004 as an educational nonprofit for the study and practice of Tibetan culture and to provide retreat facilities for the wider community, according to Kerstin Hall, one of its volunteer administrators. The retreat center’s rental activity helps support that mission.

“Our broader mission is to provide an affordable retreat for any sector of the community,” Hall explains, and its low pricing (from $54 per day, including three meals) makes it tremendously appealing, as does the fact that it’s “quiet and remote,” she says. Another big selling factor is its reputation for outstanding service. “Because we’re a practicing spiritual community [it even has its own lama in residence, Jigme Tromge Rinpoche], we provide a very supportive environment for many groups. The thing people comment on most is that we bend over backwards to try and meet their needs. We focus on service and work with each group to best meet their particular requirements and do whatever we can to make their event a success.”

Black Mountain is on 485 acres; extensive logging in the early 20th century “means we’re mostly new growth redwood,” Hall says. “That means we have many open spaces and the buildings aren’t under a lot of trees.”

Guests may see rare species of lizards, deer, bobcats, wild pigs, “shy” mountain lions and a variety of flora and other fauna. Black Mountain Resort is run on green principles—no chemicals in the kitchen, laundry or anywhere else, and concentrated recycling and composting programs. “That’s a decision we made because we want to avoid having a negative impact on the environment and the people who live and come here,” Hall explains.

The resort can accommodate 80 to 100 guests overnight and more for day meetings only. The center provides food, but also lets groups self-cater. It has both private and dormitory-style rooms, and a range of meeting rooms. You can rent the Tara House living room for small groups (up to 8) or gather in the kitchen (it holds 10) for $15 per day, or rent the “Cadillac”—the Live Oak Meeting Room—which is more than 1,100 square feet and holds up to 100 people for $25 per day.

The property is part of territory once held by the Kashaya Pomo Indians. The center that houses the retreat was built in 1964 by the California Department of Forestry, which used it as a conservation camp for an 80-man crew that was assigned to work with local fire services to clear land, maintain telephone lines and do roadwork. It was owned by the state and used for various purposes until 1992, when it was sold to a private individual. The property then changed hands several times until the Padmasambhava Peace Institute acquired it in 2004.

“They’re wonderfully solid redwood and steel buildings,” Hall says, “but it took a lot of renovation” to reach the level of comfort appropriate for their guests, which run the gamut. Groups using Black Mountain Retreat Center include the UCSF Choir, various 12-step recovery programs, teen meditation groups, women’s veterans organizations, Christian groups and Zen Buddhists and permaculture educators, among a multitude of others.

Marconi Conference Center

The tiny, west Marin town of Marshall is earth’s version of the moon’s “tranquility base.” An old Miwok Indian village, the hamlet sits on the east shore of Tomales Bay and is home to Marconi State Historic Park, wherein lies the Marconi Conference Center, used primarily for retreat purposes.

The conference center sits on 66 acres of wooded hillside that offer spectacular views of Tomales Bay and the lush hills of Pt. Reyes Peninsula. It is particularly a haven for birdwatchers—binoculars in tow—who gleefully spot soaring hawks, songbirds, shorebirds and a plethora of waterfowl.

The conference center is owned by the state but operated by the nonprofit Marconi Conference Center Operating Corporation, which, for the last 24 years, has plowed all revenues back into the park so it can be maintained.

Marconi State Historic Park has a rich and colorful history that began with ancient Coastal Miwok inhabitation of the local community. In 1913, Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. bought the property and built a wireless receiving station, with a luxurious 35-room residence for staff and families, power house for electric transformers and batteries, two cottages for the chief engineer and the assistant and an operations building to receive what now seem to be archaic telegraph transmissions from Tokyo and Hawaii. Eventually, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) bought the holdings of the Marconi company and held title to the land until 1947. In the next 20 years, the property changed hands several times before being purchased by Synanon, a Santa Monica-based drug rehabilitation program that, somewhere along the road, went terribly wrong.

Synanon became an alternative lifestyle community and, over time, a “church” that preferred to collect weapons instead of money. When the Pt. Reyes Light exposed Synanon’s finances, internal practices and abuses in the community, the state decided to launch an investigation which eventually led to the conviction of its long-time leader, Charles Dedrich, on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder. The San Francisco Foundation bought the Marshall property in 1980 and, four years later, deeded it to the California State Parks Foundation. The Foundation transferred the land to the state in l989 for use as a retreat and conference center.

Despite its past, the Marconi Conference Center has had a very good run, although it did struggle in recent years due to the economic downturn. Stephen Murch, president of the Marconi Conference Center board of directors, says, “The majority of clients we serve are nonprofits, schools, universities, small businesses and government agencies. The recession affected their business, which in turn affected ours. The recession has begun to ease for our clients, and our business has been picking up.Companies have started hiring more and can again afford conferences and retreats. Business has really picked up over the past year, and as long as the economy holds out, we should be in good shape.”

People come for “the beauty and serenity,” Murch says. “There are lovely views of trees and the bay. It’s very peaceful and very different from a resort, where you’re closer to more activities. We’re definitely a destination location.”

The conference center has 40 rooms in the main lodge for overnight guests (the historic Marconi Hotel, which has 25 rooms, is currently unoccupied but is destined to be put back in service after a much-needed renovation, says Murch). The old powerhouse has been converted to a large conference room, and one of the two small historic houses on the property is now a conference room as well. The five historic buildings on the property (two of which have been renovated and are in use) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Two different pricing plans apply (prices range from $115 per person to $313 per person), depending on how many are assigned to a room. Three meals per day are included in the price. There’s also a day-use only pricing package offered “a la carte.”

Activities abound. You can hike, go kayaking or fishing and visit nearby cheese manufacturers and wineries. Plus the Pt. Reyes Peninsula offers sunny beaches for communing with Tomales Bay and the ocean.

The center is popular with all types of groups, and Murch has noticed a “big rise” in the number of church groups that are requesting retreat space. “The center appeals to an array of groups with different interests—from family retreats, scrap bookers, writers groups to small business, universities and large corporations. Marconi offers each a unique, intimate environment to communicate and share the interests and ideas,” says Murch. “It appeals to everyone.”

Going forward

As Murch says, the demand for retreat services is growing as the economy continues to inch forward, and it’s likely we’ll see more properties in the North Bay built or converted to meet the need. Mayacamas Ranch is already making plans to expand, as is EarthRise.

After battling a deep recession, people are more introspective, Levy says. Retreats help, he notes, “because sometimes the best way forward is to retreat.”