Church and youth group retreats with room to camp.

Leaders inside, group outside, one property

This is the arrangement most church and youth groups are actually looking for, and it is hard to find. Camps are booked out and rental houses have a bed count and a hard stop.

Here the leaders and the camp director sleep in the lodge, with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a kitchen. The group camps on flat, cleared pads on the land next door, a short walk from the door.

That means an adult can reach a camper in the night without driving anywhere. It means one check-in, one set of keys, and one address for a parent to have. It means the bathrooms and the kitchen are the same building the leaders are in.

Fires, woods, and somewhere to put an activity

There is a wide firepit by the pond with seating around it, and a hose on a water supply beside it. We provide split firewood, which matters when you run an evening every night for a week.

The field is level and cleared, and it takes a game, a large-group activity, or a tent. The forest behind it takes everything you would rather set up out of sight. Groups use the woods for stations, for a night activity, and for the quiet hour.

The disc golf course runs across the cleared land next door. The sport court is lit, so games run after dark.

Check the Coconino County fire restrictions before you light anything. In the driest weeks outdoor fires are banned and that is enforced. The indoor fireplaces are always fine.

Feeding a group, inside or outside

The kitchen is open, with an island, a full-size range, a dishwasher, and counter space for more than one cook. There are pots, pans, sheet trays, and mixing bowls sized for cooking in quantity.

The long table seats a group at one sitting indoors. The deck seats a group outdoors and covers about 750 square feet, half of it roofed. Two propane grills sit on it — a 5-burner and a flat-top griddle.

Bring the food. The nearest full grocery store is 45 minutes away in either direction, so plan one shop rather than four trips.

A safe place to bring other people’s children

The property is 10 private acres and you book all of it. There is no other group on site and nothing is shared.

The neighbours are a long way off and there is a lot of ground between the property and the nearest road. A camper who wanders does not walk into a street or a stranger’s yard. There is a gate at the entrance.

It is still working forest, so the real hazards are the ordinary ones: uneven ground, wildlife, and fire. Brief the group on those the way you would at any camp.

Storage and quiet hours

Use the barn or the detached garage for equipment during a retreat. Ask when you inquire and we will leave them open.

Quiet hours start at 10:00 pm, for noise and for outdoor lights. Sound carries a long way here at night. It has not been a problem for groups that plan the loud part of the evening before then.