Green Gulch Farm Zen Center
Muir Beach, California

The location: An aromatic eucalyptus-wooded valley north of San Francisco that opens up onto Muir Beach and the Pacific Ocean. The 115-acre property includes several meditation and seminar spaces (one of them a spacious yurt), and a working organic farm and garden, where guests can attend workshops in organic cultivation, beekeeping, and edible plants.

The practice: Japanese Zen Buddhist meditation, of the traditional seated, silent variety, known as zazen. Those seeking intensive practice stay and work in the community for months at a time; others can choose shorter-term stays, where they participate in daily meditation sessions, seminars, and tea ceremonies.

The accommodations: 16 basic, streamlined single rooms with shared baths are available, most of them in the Japanese-style Lindisfarne Guest House with its skylit central atrium. There's also a single private cabin, Hope Cottage, set on a beautiful hillside a 25-minute uphill walk from the rest of the property.

Be mindful: Since Green Gulch is primarily a residential facility for serious zazen students, there isn't a lot of instruction at Green Gulch. Guests who already have a fairly developed meditation practice will feel most comfortable here.

More information: Green Gulch Farm Zen Center