About
Esalen Institute is one of the world's most storied retreat centers, a 120-acre property on the Big Sur cliffs founded in 1962 and central to the human potential movement, hosting thinkers from Aldous Huxley and Allen Ginsberg to Joseph Campbell and Buckminster Fuller. The defining experience at Esalen is the hot spring baths: natural geothermal springs emerge from the cliff and flow into stone tubs perched at the edge of the Pacific, 100 feet above the ocean — available to overnight guests 24 hours. The sauna and steam rooms complement the spring experience, and the cold shower provides invigorating contrast. Stays are typically tied to one of Esalen's extensive residential workshop programs in psychology, bodywork, meditation, or the arts, though accommodations are available to non-workshop guests. The organic farm produces much of the food for the communal dining lodge.
