Forest Therapy Guide Training Retreat
Forest Therapy Certification Retreat
Hickory Cohort
Thursday, October 8 – Sunday, October 11, 2026
Rocky Creek Ranch in Statesville, North Carolina
An Accelerated, Embodied Journey on Sacred Ground
Heartwood’s forest therapy guide certification retreats offer a grounded, experiential journey for those who learn best through presence, connection, and hands-on practice. This accelerated pathway blends a 4-day in-person training with a month-long at-home practicum, offering a powerful, unplugged immersion into the heart of Forest Therapy.
Here, you will connect deeply with the land, your cohort, and yourself, guided by our collective of experienced lead instructors.
Join us for a four-day immersive training retreat: an in-person experience of learning, practicing, growing, and belonging.
Within the arc of this retreat, not only will you experience a deep somatic relationship with the landscape, but you will learn how to masterfully guide others in an embodied, relational, and trauma-informed way anchored in reciprocity with the land. You’ll leave with both personal transformation and professional growth: clearer and grounded in yourself, more confident as a guide, and more able to support the kind of connection you feel called to bring into the world.
Your Retreat Experience Includes:
Heartwood’s Forest Therapy Guide Certification Program
4 weeks mentored practicum
Daily guided forest bathing
Community dinner on Saturday evening
Fire circle ceremony on Saturday evening
A copy of The Nature Reset and The Forest Therapy School Guidebook
A virtual Meet & Greet and pre-retreat support
Lifetime access to program materials via our online learning hub
An invitation to the Heartwood Collective
Rocky Creek Ranch is one of those rare places that instantly shifts your internal landscape.
Set in the foothills of North Carolina, about 50 miles north of Charlotte, this property spans roughly 500 acres, with open grasslands, protected hardwood forest, a small lake, and creek corridors that weave through the landscape.
Rocky Creek Ranch is recognized as a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat, which you can feel the moment you arrive. There’s a reverence woven into the stewardship here, the landscape is protected, well-tended, and vibrant. Winding trails, native meadows, and pollinator gardens invite a slower pace, helping you settle into sensory presence and deep listening.
In addition to the immense wildlife that call this landscape home, there are the horses, donkeys, and goats, all incredibly well-loved and cared for. Even without formal interaction, simply sharing space near a herd in a peaceful pasture offers something subtle and powerful. Their grounded presence becomes part of the atmosphere: steady, regulating, and relational.
