Facilities Rental
Lost Valley Educational and Event Center could be a wonderful place to host your next retreat! Our facilities are suited for many different kinds of events. We have a history of holding retreats and workshops for emotional healing and release, teenage empowerment, and primitive skills; examples include Heart of Now, True Colors (a Wings Seminar), ISTA, Permaculture Convergence 2019, Kindle Cascadia, Regenerative Roots, Cascadia women’s retreat, ecstatic dances, grief rituals, meditation retreats, outdoor schools, our own Holistic Sustainability Semester, and much more. Our land is a very powerful environment for transformative, explorative and healing workshops and events. If this sounds like the venue you are looking for, scroll down to learn more about our meeting spaces, our food and lodging options, and the land we live on.
As of January 2020, the months of June, July and August are fully booked, but we still have space for events in April, May, and September. Email events@lostvalley.org to speak with our Events Coordinator today!
Meeting Spaces:
Large Classroom
The large classroom is one of the largest and nicest of our rental facilities, and the one most commonly used. It features locally harvested and naturally finished Douglas Fir floors. A clerestory and large windows provide natural lighting, and a combination of fluorescent overheads and cozy floor lamps are available for evening use. Electrical baseboard heating keeps the room warm in the winter, and window air conditioners and box fans are available in case of summer heat. Measuring 23′ x 40′, the room is approved for up to 63 people seated with tables or up to 100 people auditorium style or on the floor. In addition, we offer free wi-fi access across the campus and offer audiovisual equipment and stereo systems for rent.
Small Classroom
Featuring the same beautiful wood floors as its bigger sibling, the small classroom is half the size (19′ x 23′) and comfortably suits 10-25 people. It provides a more intimate environment for group discussions, workshops, and projects. The small classroom is equipped with large windows, full lighting, and electric heat. Both classrooms are right next to a set of bathrooms and situated at the edge of the woods, with two trails into our “back 40” starting immediately there. There is also a grassy area right outside the building that is available for use as well.
Lodge
The Lodge is the largest indoor meeting space available on campus (39′ x 29′). It is connected to the commercial kitchen and is the usual eating location (unless people choose to sit at the picnic tables outside). The vaulted ceiling, wood floor, and open rafters provide a rustic charm, and the glass-fronted wood stove gives ample heat during the winter months. The space serves as a great site for games, dancing, music playing, dining and other group activities. It is also the best place to interact with Lost Valley residents, getting to know what each other is doing.
Lodge Kitchen
Our main kitchen has been maintained vegetarian for the duration of Lost Valley’s history. We have served groups of up to 360 people from it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It features commercial-grade propane stove, oven, and griddle, sanitizer, walk-in refrigerator, large chest freezer, haybox, and expansive counter space. While our in-house kitchen staff prepares meals for most groups, select events have rented the kitchen facilities to cook for themselves — this requires special arrangement. Whatever you choose, we’re confident you’ll be well fed here.
Eco-resource Room
This is a community lounge but can be rented for events. It features a beautiful Claylin Earthen Floor that was installed during a workshop led by Sukita Reay Crimmel. The earthen floor retains heat in the winter, feels nice to the touch, and looks fantastic (picture at left). The room includes two sitting areas, a standup piano, and a sink. It has electric baseboard heaters and large windows, and suits up to 25 people. During the evening, 15 ceiling lights can be controlled in groups of 3 to offer whatever lighting experience you desire.
Sacred Yurt
The Sacred Yurt’s hardwood floors have played host to many meditations, yoga classes, personal growth workshops, private dance lessons, small presentations, and massages during its years at Lost Valley. Being a yurt, it is subject to wide temperature swings, mediated by the wood stove. It receives direct sunlight all day, and is located a distance from all other buildings, on the far side of the meadow. It is our one off-grid indoor rental area; outdoor spaces like the meadow can be used/rented as well. This venue has a special feel and serves up to 25 people.
Meals & Lodging
Lost Valley is known for its delicious, abundant, organic vegetarian cuisine, prepared in an atmosphere of caring service. Meals are served buffet style, typically feature vegan and gluten free options, and can easily accommodate restricted diets.
Dorms
Two rustic but comfortable dormitories provide indoor accommodation. The Small Dorm (available year-round) has up to four beds in each room and a capacity of 28 guests. The Large Dorm (available only in summer) has mostly double occupancy rooms, with a capacity to sleep up to 35 guests. A few rooms with double/queen/king beds are available in both buildings. Full bathrooms are located on each floor. An enchanting short walk leads to the Lodge and, further on, the meeting rooms. When the season is right, 100+ guests may camp in our beautiful meadow. Learn more about our Food and Lodging.
The Land
Lost Valley Educational & Event Center is nestled on 88 acres of diverse, renewing forest at the foot of the Oregon Cascades in Dexter, 18 miles southeast of Eugene. The mild climate makes our conference and retreat facilities enjoyable (and green!) year round. Get close to nature and learn about the permaculture approach of ecological design and restoration used on our land. This is a welcome escape from city life, though easy to get to. The feel is rustic and natural, not a typical conference center venue.
Our land offers a diversity of ecosystems and places to gather for groups, large and small — including an oak savanna meadow, year-round stream and riparian area, pond, forested campus, and regenerating ‘back 40’ forest. In several locations there are vegetable and perennial herb gardens, beehives, fruit and nut trees, and berry bushes. In addition, we have a vast network of hiking trails, swimming hole, solar shower in the meadow, wood-fired sauna, and hot tub.
Lost Valley is surrounded by small farms, ranches, and country homes in the rural community of Dexter, OR. Located halfway between the coast and the crest of the Cascades, groups can access old growth hiking trails and wilderness recreation in the Willamette National Forest or visit the Oregon Coast, with its amazing vistas, camping, whale watching, and dune play. We are also 30 minutes from Eugene, sometimes considered the greenest city in America.