Build Your Own Retreat
$117 weekend special!
Thousand Pines is offering a discounted rate of $117 per person for a 2 night/5 meal stay. Package includes 2 nights accommodations in our charming mountain cabins, 5 fantastic meals, and a meeting space fit with all your multimedia needs to run your own program. Call for details (888) 423-2267.
The basics
This section will take you through a 3 basic steps to help prepare your retreat. This will help in communicating your vision to our Guest Relations staff, as they help coordinate all the necessary details to make your retreat a complete success. Start with step one, and work your way through. By the end, you’ll be ready to make a reservation with the confidence that your group will experience everything you hoped would take place.
Step One
The first question to ask yourself or your leadership team is, “What is the purpose of this retreat?” Is it to do some activities that are intended to build group unity? Do you plan to lead an intense, introspective, solitary experience for your people? Or do you want a fun, full of activity, escape from daily life where you can reach non-believers in your group with the message of the gospel? Knowing the demographic of the people you are working with will be crucial here. That will influence your determination of what you intend to accomplish with you retreat. Once you have that question answered, you can move on to the next step.
Step Two
The next step is to consider your theme and curriculum. This step takes a bit of time to develop, but for now you just need to know the basics. What is the main “thrust” of this retreat experience? What is the primary goal you want all your participants to meet? How would you define success, in terms of what your people walk away with? Once you figure out the main theme, core curriculum, and main topics, you can move onto the next step.
Step Three
Once you know your purpose for the retreat, and once you know the main subject
matter of your group times together, you can start to plan the schedule.
First of all there are some basics EVERY GROUP at Thousand Pines needs. Everyone
needs housing (if your program is an overnighter), meals (unless you make
other arrangements), and a place to meet (depending on group size and goals
of those meetings).
Housing: In terms of housing, we have several types of accommodations. By taking
a look at our Guest Group information sheet, you can best pick which housing
options will suit your needs. We have all types of accommodations available,
from rustic tent style camping, to modest mid-grade cabin options, to deluxe
Leadership housing available for those VIPs you need to take care of. Give
us a call to see what housing we have available for your specific dates.
Meals: Thousand Pines has a reputation for serving great food at extremely reasonable rates. Included in your package will likely be 3 meals daily. Our meal times are subject to change, but in general we serve breakfast at 8:00, Lunch at 12:00, and Dinner at 5:30. We typically serve nutritious and well-rounded meals complete with drink stations, dietary options, and delicious deserts. Custom options are available, and with proper coordination with our Guest Relations staff, almost anything is possible. Check out the dining hall link for more information.
Meeting Spaces: We have several meeting spaces available to meet the custom needs of your group. We have everything from large group meeting areas like Jensen Chapel (440 max) and the main Amphitheater (500 max), to medium (100-150 max) and small (20-50 max) group spaces available. Priority to the larger venues is based on the size of your group. but we have enough meeting spaces, indoors and out, to meet just about any need. So whether you need a large area for general sessions, smaller spaces for break-out times, or just a place to have a fire and some intimate conversation, we’ll work to suit your needs. In addition almost all our meeting places have the option of amplified sound and multimedia presentation to suit your programming needs.
Adding Activities: Once you get the basics of your schedule down (Housing, Meal times, and Meeting times), you can start to add activities. Again, this all depends on the demographic you are working with. If you’re working with children, you’ll likely want tons of activities with lots of structure involved. Reserving the recreation fields for specific times might be a good addition here. If you’re working with teens, you’ll likely want all the venues and hangout options available for them to choose from. Venues like the pool, skatepark, the arte shoppe, paintball, ropes course, malt shop, and underground rec den are places your students will likely hope to have the opportunity to experience. And if you’re working with adults, you’ll likely want to plan for as many options available that build relationships. So having the Malt Shop and Coffee Shops open as often as possible, and having the dining hall available after hours for hanging out or playing games might be a good option for them. The bottom line here, is simply to think about what your group would desire to experience the most, and then add activities that will be a hit and will work with your program. Thousand Pines is known for having tons of activities and tons of fun stuff to do. So when you talk to our Guest Relations staff, ask tons of questions to see what options are available. We have everything from organized team building events, to free-form sled hill inner-tubing, to guided Mountain Bike rides, to individual arte projects in the arte shop, to fast paced high intensity paintball games. We have tons of relaxing and serene locations like the Pate Pond, Inspiration Point, and all the various hiking/walking trails on our 250+ acres. So as you put your group’s schedule together, make sure to plan activities that work with the rest of your schedule and meal times provided. Follow the activities link for more information.
Additional Details to Consider: After getting through the previous steps provided and putting your basic schedule together, there are some final details you will need to consider. These are all the little things that Thousand Pines excels at to make sure your retreat has that special touch of excellence. We make availability for lots of custom add-ons. Things like Communion, Baptisms, and venues like the McKee Prayer chapel can be used for spiritual exercises that augment and add a special touch to your custom program. In addition we try to think of all the little things like drink stations, special snacks between meals, special needs guest amenities, break out rooms, health care facilities, and late night or other timed activities. We desire to meet all your needs to make your custom retreat as special of an experience as you can dream up. One of our Core values is “to Say Yes Whenever Feasible.” So go ahead, put us to the test. When you talk to our Guest Relations staff, feel free to request just what you need to make your retreat a memorable success.
Current Pricing: Thousand Pines is known for top-notch service at competitive rates. Some of our prices are listed on this site, but because our pricing has a great range due to our great range of services and options provided, we encourage all inquiries to give us a call or fill out our Guest Inquiry form. Our pricing starts at $117 for our classic Weekend Retreat Special. Only $117 per person for lodging and food for an entire weekend?! Yes- you read it right! Additionally, our great recreation and other activities can be added (Some fees may apply). *We also appreciate service groups to help maintain and improve the grounds and facilities- we offer a $50 per person for a 2 night/5 meal Voluntary Service Retreat option (6-8 work hours, 30 person maximum. Call for more information!). Thousand Pines is available for Guest Group rentals all 52 weeks of the year. We’re open almost every weekend of the summer, and we’ve have guests here weekly. Our pricing also varies in peak and low seasons. So give us a call to get a quote on your Custom Retreat, or click on the link to our Guest Inquiry page and COME TAKE A TOUR!
Other Opportunities: Thousand Pines is available for all kinds of other functions and programs. Here are some other events we have hosted in the past:
- Day-Use Recreational Venues (ie paintball or ropes course group sessions)
- Corporate or Team events
- School Field Trips
- Weddings
- Family Reunions
- Banquets
We are here to serve in whatever way we can, so feel free to bring your ideas and needs to our Guest Relations team at (888) 423-2267.
