Friday-sunday, May 15-17, 2026
The Biennial Retreat is our premier community-building event. For 2026, we’ll be returning to Westminster Woods, the site of our 2022 Retreat. Westminster is a beautiful setting among coastal redwoods in Sonoma County. Over three days and two nights, we’ll celebrate Shabbat together and engage in a wide variety of activities, social events, and learnings for all ages and families. It’s a chance to connect with old friends and make new ones!
Please review the information below then, to register, go to the registration form. Please see programming, logistics, and cost details below. For any questions, please email the Retreat Committee.
For more information about the Westminster Woods site, including pictures of the grounds, accommodations, and facilities, please visit the Westminster Woods website.
Programming
Join us for a beautiful weekend with a variety of programming offered for adults and youth. Last retreat’s “Limmud style” format worked beautifully, and we’re excited to continue learning from different members of our community. The registration form has a space to indicate what types of sessions we are looking for and to propose your own ideas. Please let us know!
There will be plenty of time to enjoy Westminster Woods’ facility (swimming pool, ropes course, hikes in nature, playground) and downtime to connect with other participants. And of course, we’ll daven outside and enjoy Shabbat together. Whether it’s your first or tenth retreat, we’re confident you’ll have a great time.
Activities at Westminster Woods include:
- Youth Programming for all ages
- Outside davening
- Saturday afternoon pool party
- Congregant-led specialty sessions
- Hiking (plenty of trails!)
- Activities on large playground and sports field
- Ropes course (available on Saturday for additional fee – more information below)
- Relaxation!
Additional details about children’s programming and supervision will be available soon and will be added to this site.
Ropes course
The registration form includes optional sign-up for a 2½-hour Ropes Course. There is an additional fee of $60/person for the course. The course is conducted by trained facilitators from Westminster Woods and is tailored to all ages and abilities. Depending on numbers and ages who sign up, the course will be either in the morning or afternoon or both, and may be organized by age group. We will announce final scheduling as soon as possible. The Ropes Course requires a minimum of 10 to register. In the unlikely event we do not reach that number, we will refund you the fee.
For complete information about the course, please visit: https://www.westminsterwoods.org/challenge-course-about
Logistics
We ask all retreat participants to arrive between 4:00 and 5:30pm, Friday, May 15. For driving directions, and map, please visit https://www.westminsterwoods.org/directions. A suggested packing list, and more details on logistics, will be added to this site soon.
Meals
Registration includes 5 meals: Friday night dinner; breakfast, lunch, dinner on Shabbat; and Sunday breakfast. The registration form will ask you about any food allergies or other dietary restrictions.
Westminster Woods is not a Jewish organization and their food service cannot meet the same standard of kashrut as the Congregation Netivot Shalom kitchen. Meals at the retreat will be strictly vegetarian, primarily catering to children’s palates (think: pasta), but their ingredients will not necessarily have a kosher certification (hechsher).
Volunteer
The registration form includes space to let us know about any special skills that you want to share with our community or ideas for sessions you would like to lead. Please let us know if you would like to lead services, a sunrise or starlit hike, or a session of your choosing. Please volunteer!
We are also looking for volunteers to greet upon arrival, to help move supplies for the pool party, assist with Saturday night campfire, and more. If you are willing to volunteer, please indicate this when prompted on the registration form.
Accessibility
Westminster Woods offers a variety of accommodations. Our goal is to match peoples’ needs with the available accommodations, so when you register, you will be asked about any accessibility needs you have. We will take these needs into consideration when making housing assignments. For example, we will work to assign people with more limited mobility to the cabin locations with flatter accommodations and reserve hilly areas for people who do not have mobility limitations.
Westminster Woods has a paved roadway connecting cabins to the main camp and ramps into the buildings. Some areas may require walking on gentle inclines or uneven surfaces.
If you have any concerns or questions about accessibility, please contact the Retreat Committee.
Accommodations
You will be able to choose between three types of accommodation. See below for description, pricing, and diagrams/maps. For additional pictures of accommodations, please visit the Westminster Woods website. There is also a day-rate registration option (come for all the events, including meals, but don’t sleep at Westminster).
Options
1. CAMPING (bring your own tent)
- Shared bathhouse with sinks, toilets, and showers
- Outlets in the bathhouse
2. CABINS with bunk beds (majority of accommodations)
- Includes electrical outlets
- Bring your own linens
- Shared bathhouse with sinks, toilets, showers, and outlets (a very limited number cabins have their own bathroom)
3. DELUXE HOUSES: A very limited number of Deluxe accommodations are available inside a house. These include bedrooms with varying bed types (bunk beds, twin beds, etc.). These require an additional fee.
- Bathrooms are in the house
- Linens provided
4. DAY RATE: Attend retreat, including all meals and activities, but do not stay at site over-night.
NOTE: There are 2 ADA-accessible cabins. Each sleeps up to 4. Each includes its own bathroom. You may indicate need for these on the registration page. We will assign these based on need and order of registration.
We will take your accommodation preferences into account but cannot make guarantees pending final assignment. Final assignments will depend on the mix of people who register.
Pricing
See grid below for retreat fees. The fee covers meals, accommodations, and all activities (except the Ropes Course – which is an additional $60/person). These prices are for Netivot Shalom members. Non-members are warmly welcomed. There is a non-member surcharge of $100 per adult, $50 per child. This will be added at time of registration.
When completing the registration form, you are asked to either pay in full or pay within three installments (first installment due at registration; complete payment before the retreat).
We have tried to keep fees as low as possible, keeping as close as possible to actual costs. We want everyone in our community to be able to attend the retreat.
A limited amount of financial support may be available for those who would otherwise not be able to attend. Please reach out to Executive Director Ken Schnur at ken@netivotshalom.org to request assistance.
| Per Person Rates | Adults (College and above) | Children/teens (K to high school) | Young Children (4 and under) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camping (use central bathhouse) | $200/person (after May 1: $225) | $90/person (after May 1: $100) | Free |
| Cabins (use central bathhouse) | $225/person (after May 1: $250) | $100/person (after May 1: $250) | Free |
| Deluxe Housing (2-4 people per room – bathroom in house) | $325/person | $150/person | Free |
| Day Rate (do not stay overnight) | $200/person | $90/person | Free |
If you are not a member we ask that you contribute $100 per adult and $50 per child (17 and under) to cover retreat costs.
Here are the most common layouts for the cabins:
Click here to view layouts of Deluxe Accommodations.