Beyul Retreat

The name is the first clue. Beyul, pronounced bay-yule, is a Tibetan word that translates literally as "hidden lands," and the retreat uses it for real places and for a state of mind in which the physical and spiritual worlds meet. The property itself is a century-old guest ranch that has been transformed into a creative art retreat, set deep in the Rocky Mountain wilderness outside Meredith, Colorado, between Aspen and Vail.

The land runs to 32 private acres at 8,300 feet: meadows, forest, creeks, waterfalls and ponds, with trails leading directly into the White River National Forest. The Fryingpan River passes through the property, with about 1,700 feet of river access, cutting a canyon through the 250-million-year-old red sandstone of the Maroon Formation. Groves of Colorado blue spruce, aspen and Douglas fir shelter the buildings, and the pages count foxes, elk, black bears, hawks, eagles and trout as neighbors.

Guests sleep in 13 cabins and 6 lodge rooms, enough for more than 70 people. The cabins range from Mountain View, a two-story home that sleeps 11, to four historic studio cabins, and most have wood-burning stoves. The grounds hold a hot tub, a cedar sauna and a cold plunge, along with a curated shop and large-scale art installations in the forest, among them a labyrinth and a meditation spiral. Meals for retreat groups are cooked on site from ingredients sourced from farms and ranches in Western Colorado.

The calendar leans toward gatherings with a contemplative or creative center. Recent and upcoming offerings include a Yoga Alliance-accredited 200-hour hybrid teacher training that ends with a week-long in-person immersion, a somatic breathwork and sound healing retreat, a women's retreat built around watercolor, cyanotype printing and the Maiden, Mother, Queen and Crone archetypes, and a winter weekend with the Colorado folk duo LVDY. The property also hosts weddings of up to 150 guests, full buyouts and small group retreats, and takes individual stays year-round.