7 Serene and Quiet Retreats Across the United States

In our age of technology-fueled overstimulation, silence might be the ideal solution for travelers in 2024. Enter silent meditation retreats, which offer places to relax and get fit by dampening noise. These retreats vary from religious to secular, from guided to freestyle, from total silence to partial silence. But they all offer calm as a possible way to improve our well-being.

Perhaps silence is indeed golden. Research has shown that it can help reduce stress and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. In a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, spending time each day in silence, particularly in mindfulness meditation, reduced insomnia and fatigue in older adults. Studies show that noise can disrupt sleep and trigger anxiety and depression, among other serious health problems. A study published in The BMJ, The Journal of the British Medical Association found that long-term exposure to traffic and railway noise in residential buildings in Denmark puts older residents at higher risk of developing all-cause dementia.

With the Global Wellness Institute forecasting 17% annual growth in wellness tourism through 2027, silent retreats meet this need by providing people with places where they can disconnect from the cacophony of modern life.

Here are seven facilities across the country that offer shelters without words.

Gethsemane Abbey, Kentucky

Famous for being the long-time home of the monk Thomas Merton, author of The seven-story mountainthe abbey is a community of around 40 Trappist monks, which has received guests in need of a quiet respite since its founding in 1848. Merton wrote of such a monastic setting that “all…need sufficient silence and solitude in their lives to allow the deep inner voice of their own true self to be heard.”

Gethsemane retreats are unstructured, meaning guests are free to design their own programs, although they may participate in the Eucharist and prayer of the monks. Retreatants should limit their speaking to designated areas only. But the monastery, located about an hour from Louisville, offers plenty of opportunities to silently commune with nature in the adjacent 1,500 acres available for long walks and hikes.

Appointment: Open all year round for individual retreats. Guests must stay a minimum of three nights for weekday retreats and two nights for weekend retreats.

Cost: Free. Contributions to cover meal and guest house accommodation costs are voluntary.

Drala Mountain Center, Colorado

Perched at 8,000 feet above sea level in the Colorado Rockies, Drala Mountain Center spans 600 acres of forests, meadows and wide valleys, making it an ideal refuge for embracing the sounds of silence. Its campus combines wilderness and clean mountain air with modern comforts, such as bathrooms with heated towel rails. The 108-foot-tall Dharmakaya Great Stupa sets the tone and is one of the most significant examples of sacred Buddhist architecture in North America. Experienced instructors lead two- and seven-day silent retreats, which may include sitting and walking meditation and meditation classes.