If you ever drive north from San Francisco toward Stinson Beach, you have probably noticed it: A wooden sign reading “Zen Center/Green Gulch Farm/Wheelwright Center.”
But what is this mysterious Marin county property? A few weeks ago, I had the chance to find out.
Green Gulch Farm is a dreamy escape tucked bewteen Highway 1 and Muir Beach. It’s surrounded by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. You can stay there for a personal retreat, or join a “Zen-inspired” weekend retreat. Or you could just pop in for a couple hours for a Dharma Talk. You can even live and work there.
You can also check out Green Gulch by hiking through on the Middle Green Gulch and Upper Green Gulch trails, from Muir Beach or from Coyote Ridge Trail. But if you pass through, you’re supposed to stay on the trails and you can’t check out the dining hall or other facilities.
Or, you could do what I did: Join a retreat organized by another organization. This post will tell you all about what it’s like to visit Green Gulch Farm, and what it’s like to stay at the Zen Center at Green Gulch Farm!
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What’s it like to stay at Green Gulch Farm?
This oasis has a similar feel to a Girl Scout camp. It’s green — of course — and redolent with the scent of pines. I slept in an octagonal wooden guesthouse that looked out onto endless greenery. You navigate from the guest house to the dining hall on winding dirt paths (I got lost every time). Outside the main Zen Center area are extensive gardens and connections to some hiking trails. In short, staying at Green Gulch Farm is like a dream. I loved it.
Arriving at the Zen Center
Since it’s just off Highway 1, Green Gulch is easy to pinpoint on Google Maps. At the wooden sign, you turn sharply to the left, then drive down a long, narrow, sometimes bumpy path. A line of trees shields you from the drop-off to your right.
At the end of the long drive, there’s a parking lot. From there, it’s just a few steps to lodging, including the Lindisfarne Guest House, where I stayed, and a yurt. As I unloaded my car, I met a few members of a yoga retreat who were staying the yurt.
Eating at Green Gulch Farm
They ring a gong-sounding dinner bell when meals are ready. Everyone eats in a communal dining hall, where they serve three vegetarian meals per day. At breakfast, guests remain completely silent. At lunch and dinner, silence reigns for the first ten minutes.
The menu is posted on the wall inside the dining hall, behind the long buffet table. I enjoyed all the dishes we ate there. I also found them adequately filling despite the absence of meat. (I’m not a vegetarian, but I love veggie-forward dishes.) We had tacos with beans and cheese (and I think some type of protein like tempeh). Another dinner included shishito peppers and brussels sprouts, which I love, and “beetballs” (think meatballs, but made of beets), and mashed caulflower topped with mushroom gravy. Green Gulch used to be famous for its home-baked bread, but they’re no longer baking bread at this time.
The people working in the dining hall are “Kitchen Apprentices are actively engaged in Zen Buddhism.” You may notice that they have a solemn air. The staff may even give you that “prayer hands” greeting that Buddhist monks do. (It’s called “mudra,” apparently.) Although my weekend stay didn’t involve any meditation or Dharma talks, meeting these Zen practitioners added a feel of cultural adventure to my weekend.
Walking and hiking around the property
Once you’ve checked out the winding paths around the conference center, dining hall, Japanese tea house, gift shop, etc., check out the gardens. Tall wire fences protect the produce from deer. Against a backdrop of Marin hills grow neat rows of lettuce, squash and many other vegetables. A small orchard grows apples. These gardens feed the residents and guests on the property. They also supply Greens vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco. Rows of flowers, which you’ll see in bottles all over the center, also grow here.
At the end of the gardens, you’ll emerge outside a paddock with a few horses. Here, multiple trails branch off, including the trail to Muir Beach. From the Zen Center to the beach is only a 20-minute walk. I gratefully walked that path twice during my weekend stay, thrilled to stand on the beach and let the surf bathe my toes while I thought about the writing project I had come to work on.
During my perambulations, I met one deer, one coyote and only a few humans
Staying in the Lindisfarne Guest House
I adored my private room, where I spent hours of the retreat writing. The entire outside-facing wall was made of floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out on leaves and sunshine. The simple furnishings included a small desk, two chairs, two twin beds connected together and a large closet. Just outside my door, a half bathroom served my room and the room next door. I appreciated the door that separated our two rooms from the common area, so that I could slip off to the bathroom at night without running into anyone.
The octagonal building sleeps 12. It has a central common area with a wood stove, a tiny kitchen, and just one shower, located on the upper level.
While I loved my room and the overall asthetics of the wooden building, there were also aspects of staying here that were a bit uncomfortable. In an all-wood building where every room faces the common area, noise carries. To counter this, we were instructed to remove our shoes indoors and whisper. Slippers were provided for us to borrow. This enforced silence, while useful for work and sleep, made me feel terribly self conscious if I accidentally made a sound. I felt the same way during the 10-minute silence period at the outset of lunch and dinner. I didn’t go to the all-silent breakfasts.
Guests can also use two infrared saunas on the property. I didn’t check those out.
Another place to stay near Green Gulch Farm: Marin Suites Hotel
If you don’t end up booking a stay at the Zen center, but you want to visit Green Gulch and hike the area, there are of course other hotels and lodgings in Marin. Check out my review of Marin Suites Hotel, a cozy and spacious place to stay in Corte Madera.
What really is Green Gulch Farm?
While you don’t have to practice Buddhism to visit, Green Gulch Farm is also known as Green Dragon Temple, a Buddhist practice center in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition. The 115-acre property includes a residential monastery.
Its history seems rooted both in Zen Buddhism and in the communal farm vibe of the late 1960s and 70s. The San Francisco Zen Center bought it from a rancher in 1972, and members built some houses there. I saw a family that appeared to be living in a single-family house on the property, with an adorable little girl.
Will I return to Green Gulch Farm?
I absolutely adored walking around the property, the scent of the trees, and the proximity to Muir Beach. It was a lovely little adventure and a true retreat. I plan to hike to the Center from Muir Beach sometime.
But I think once was enough for an overnight stay for me. While I can be a pretty quiet person, the expectations of silence made me feel self conscious.