4-Day Writers Retreat Outside Yellowstone: Guided Writing Workshops & Mountain Quiet

The retreat takes place at Thomas the Apostle Retreat Center in Cody, Wyoming, a property in the high country just outside Yellowstone National Park. Guests stay in spacious rooms on site, and the center has dedicated writing studios, a labyrinth, hiking trails, and plenty of quiet indoor and outdoor spaces to work in. Meals are prepared by on-site staff using a farm-to-table approach and served in a dining area with mountain views.

The writing programme runs on two separate tracks. Nonfiction writers work with a local facilitator who has experience helping writers move from an early draft through to publication. Fiction and poetry writers meet with Mary Dominick Chivers, a published author and poet. She opens her sessions by talking about her own path as a writer, takes questions, and closes with a prompt or open writing time. The rest of the day is yours to use for writing, resting, or walking the grounds.

Sunday afternoon is deliberately unstructured. You can hike a local trail, visit a hot spring, try snowshoeing, or stay at the center and write. The team provides a list of off-property activities and arranges transportation for anyone who wants to go further into the surrounding Wyoming wilderness. The retreat is seasonal, running in late winter and early spring, and the atmosphere is unhurried.

Accommodation is in spacious rooms at the center, with three pricing options depending on whether you want a private room with a private bath, a private room with a shared bath, or a shared room with a shared bath. All meals during the retreat are included, as are the facilitated sessions, access to the writing studios and grounds, and transportation to off-property activities. If you want more time, you can add an extra night.

This isn't a fitness retreat. It's a writing retreat with a lot of walking available on the trails and optional snowshoeing and hot springs nearby. It's for people who want to write and have some guidance while doing it, in a quiet place with few distractions.

What's included

- Facilitated nonfiction writing sessions - Fiction writing class with Mary Dominick Chivers - Farm-to-table meals - Spacious on-site accommodation - Access to studios and retreat grounds - Transportation to off-property activities

What's not included

- Travel to and from Cody, Wyoming - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Optional extra night extension - Items not explicitly listed as included