Silence & Solitude Personal Retreat

This retreat is meant to create the space for you to have an encounter with your Creator (God the Father) and your Savior (Jesus Christ). We desire for the Holy Spirit to be your retreat guide and therefore our staff host will be involved in different ways depending on which retreat package you sign-up for and the specific activities designed for you. For all retreat packages you will have a staff member assigned as your host to pray over you and to be available as you need throughout your stay. 

Silence and Solitude Personal Retreats implement the classic spiritual disciplines of silence, solitude, and simplicity and are based on the history and heritage of a Franciscan style of solitary or ‘solo’ retreat. This retreat requires that you make your own decisions on how you are using your time. Our hope is that as participants engage in their retreat that their mind, soul, heart, and body would breathe as they interact with the Holy Spirit and allow God to refresh, rejuvenate, and guide them. We will provide you with printed devotional activities to use as you desire during your retreat. Any guided adventure and reflection activities are also available with prior reservation, but have an additional cost.

We encourage you to spend as much time as possible in nature and the outdoors during your stay. In addition to any lodging you may have selected, feel free to choose from a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces to meet your needs.

Indoor spaces
+ Upper Room
+ Dining Hall

Outdoor Spaces
+ Pavillion
+ Gazebo
+ Chapel
+ Pergola
+ The Cross ‘Overlook’
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Use of all spaces should be reserved in advance prior to your arrival. Please do not hesitate to inquire about prices, locations, and amenities of each space with our coordination team.

Feel free to bring your own food and snacks if you desire or in the case that our dining services are not available. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks are available for purchase in our dining hall when dining services are offered. Choose from a variety of different options and schedule the meals you’d like in advance with our coordination team when scheduling your retreat. The hours of service and menu selection will be based on availability.

Fresh water is always provided from our mountain spring and hot beverages are available for purchase with prior reservation as well. For a more rustic experience, choose to roast hot dogs over the fire for one of your meals and enjoy s’mores made with Ecuadorian chocolate for a sweet ending!

You may choose to participate in the spiritual practice of fasting during your retreat. Alternatively, you may also opt to purchase a food basket, which is filled with simple artisanal food items carefully chosen to nourish your body and to invite you into communion with God during your retreat. Confirm with the Guest Services coordinator what food arrangements are available to you prior to your arrival.

El Refugio offers a variety of options for overnight accommodations. Choose to stay in one of our cabins, dorm-style rooms, or spend the night at one of our campsites. We also offer the Cooper Hermitage Cabin in the woods which pairs well with this type of retreat.

Dorm-Style Room: Accommodates up to 12 people, all contain bunk beds and one queen bed, and are conveniently located next to our Dining Hall. 

Cabins: These are ideal spaces for an individual, couple, or small family. This option provides a refrigerator, coffee and tea, and in certain cases your own kitchen or kitchenette. 

Camping: Available for those looking for a more rustic experience, enjoy hiking and appreciate being a bit further away from the center of where most activities take place. 

Contact our coordination team to learn more about prices, amenities, and locations to choose the space that will be best suited for your experience and needs. Hours of arrival and departure will be finalized with the coordination team.

This experience which offers a ‘choose your own activities’ model is aimed at personal enjoyment, time spent with God, and a slow paced schedule that allows you to simply ‘get away.’ Our hope is that after allowing us to walk alongside you through your selected activities of outdoor adventure, rest, reflection, and simply enjoying God’s creation, you’ll go home refreshed and leave with a greater sense of the areas where you’d like to pursue growth. We encourage you to process your experience and identify next steps, allowing you to pursue the abundant life in Christ.

As always, our desire is to work with you to customize your experience and make it what you need. We love personalizing everything we offer! Consider adding some of the following components to your Silence & Solitude Personal Retreat to make it your own:
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+ Stay overnight instead of just spending the day
+ Reserve an indoor space in addition to any lodging you’ve chosen
+ Arrive early and start your day off with breakfast in addition to lunch and dinner
+ Add on a personalized counseling session with one of our trained staff members
+ Add a high ropes challenge to the beginning or end of the day
+ Add any or all meals during your stay, depending on availability
+ Purchase our artisan food basket to enjoy during your stay