Heartwood Mountain Sanctuary - Garberville, California

Eric Rosete

Heartwood is a great place to escape the noise of modern life and crowded campgrounds. I like to come here to take little work retreats to get back into a focused and creative flow. The staff is friendly, welcoming and very accommodating. The kitchens have almost everything you need (you bring your own food of course) and the sauna is nice and toasty with a great view.

I highly recommend this place to folks looking to get away, isolate and focus on thinking, creating, meditating, in the beauty of nature.

Andrew Kang

First, I want to give a shout out to Nathan Wise. He was an exceptional host! He greeted me when I got in on the first night. He was very hospitable and showed me around the campus. We exchanged a few stories and then called it a night.

Now, onto the campus. It really is as the name suggests: a sanctuary. If you’re looking for an off-the-grid experience, this is the place for you! I also want to note that I was the only one who booked a stay that weekend (Oct. 20-22), so I had the whole place to myself! I opted for the camping option because it was little cheaper and I wanted to have the whole outdoor experience. The first morning I was greeted by a hog, who was scrounging around for his breakfast. It was a nice moment when we locked eyes and enjoyed the silence together. Then, I moseyed down to the hot tub to enjoy the view. All in all, it was just the experience I was looking for.

The one thing I do want to add is getting to this location can be a bit of a challenge. Since there’s no service in the area, you will want to download the map offline. It took me on a different route when I was first getting there and it was all off road for my poor little car. There is another route that’s not as bad, which I discovered when I was heading out to visit to the Avenue of the Giants. Just be careful as there are mostly narrow roads, so you’ll be aware of other cars/trucks. It can be daunting when you see the mountain drop off to the sides of you and there aren’t many shoulders to pull over on. Fortunately, I made it through okay going to and fro.

Anyway, it was 5 out of 5 experience and definitely recommend this place!

Kelly Krause

I booked this place for the night because it was cheaper than most of the other hotel/motels near the redwood forests, and (I thought) closer. Well, it wasn’t necessarily closer ( it takes 51 minutes to drive the 22 mile and often narrow and winding road up into the mountains to reach the sanctuary). Once you get to the place nestled in the mountain tops, it’s breathtaking. This place was hit hard by the pandemic years, and is not getting the clientele it used to, but it is still well kept and lovely. We enjoyed our stay - the pool and sauna were wonderful, as were the rooms and access to the kitchen and deck off the kitchen area where we ate our food. We met Nathan (our host) who proudly showed us around, and George, a ceramic artist who is currently living there. If you can handle rather intense mountain drives ( I happen to hate heights while driving, so the drive up and down was a bit much for me even in our trusty Subaru crosstrek) and love a retreat like atmosphere, it would be a wonderful place to stay for a few weeks. Make sure to email first so you know what to bring as they no longer provide food to customers and this is a very lovely but remote location. They are in the process of selling the place and I hope they find a buyer that can restore it to its former glory. It’s truly a magical spot. Wish we could have stayed longer!

Duncan Chapman

Me and my wife stayed for one night but we wished we could have stayed longer. The view at the top was beautiful. The pool and spa were wonderful and our host Lucy Jo was very accommodating. We will definitely be coming back!

Peter B. Hilley

Heartwood Mountain Sanctuary is a beautiful place to visit. The facilities are nice and well kept. Linens, towels, bedding are nice and the spa facilities are wonderful! The staff were all very cool. The community kitchens are a great idea. A great place to stay around Garberville if mountain driving is a sport you enjoy.

Michael F

A truly beautiful and mesmerizing sanctuary. An amazing loving staff and beautiful facilities. I’m grateful to have been able to spend my time there healing and relaxing.

Nathan Zeke

Incredible venue and healing center, Large Pool, Sauna and Jacuzzi

MadMan Dale