Join retreat host Sophie Lyons (she/they) for a 3-night/4-day fall retreat at Willow. Designed for those who wish to deepen their yoga practice and spend intentional time immersed in community, you’ll wake up to morning yoga, enjoy delicious food, and spend the day engaged with optional activities. Hiking, a cooking class, meditation, journaling, and other workshops will help you unplug in the bucolic fall beauty of Vermont.
Starting Friday afternoon, October 24th, and running till Monday morning, October 27th, this retreat will be an opportunity to connect more deeply to your inner being. Together, we will use the practice of yoga to embrace the process of letting go: asana, meditation and a wide range of yogic practices will help us explore what the season of fall means to us.
This retreat is open to 13 participants.
The retreat will be led by Sophie Lyons
Fee Options
Double Occupancy: 12 spots available for $1117.34 each, inclusive of taxes and fees. You may book a room together with a friend or be matched with another participant by the retreat instructor. All rooms have two beds and one dedicated bathroom.
Single Occupancy: one spot is available for $1,359.85, inclusive of all taxes and fees. .
Fees include
Accommodations for three nights
Welcome dinner, three meals each full day, and brunch on departure day
Two yoga classes each day; yoga mats, cushions, clocks, straps and blankets are supplied by Willow
Other workshops and excursions are offered each day
A space to connect with community, make friends, and create memories to last a lifetime!
Payment schedule
A 50% deposit is due at booking. The deposit may be split into two payments of 25% when you book by phone.
The balance is due Friday, October 10, 2025
Refund Policy
We understand that travel plans may change. We offer a number of refund options.
Grace Window: Willow offers a full refund for cancelations made within 24 hours of booking.
Early Cancelation Window: When you call or email to cancel at least 60 days prior to a retreat, Willow offers a 75% refund of deposit(s).
Travel Insurance and Late Cancelations: Our travel insurance partner, ResNexus, offers partial to full refund options right up to the day your retreat starts. Travel insurance must be purchased at booking. If you opt not to purchase travel insurance at booking, refunds are not possible after the early cancelation window closes.
In very rare circumstances—such as a natural disaster or global pandemic—Willow may be required to cancel the retreat. If we cancel the retreat for any reason, you will receive a full refund of all payments made to date.
The Schedule
everything is optional
Friday
3-4pm Arrival
4-5:30pm Opening practice & intention setting for the weekend
6-7pm Dinner
8-9pm Evening Meditation/Restorative
9:30pm Quiet Hours till morning
Saturday
8-9:15am Morning Practice
9:30-10:30am Breakfast
11-12:30pm The Art of Letting Go Workshop
1-2pm Lunch
2-4pm Free Time
4-6pm Cooking Workshop Group 1
6-7pm Dinner
7:45-9pm Evening Restorative/Yoga Nidra
9:30pm Quiet Hours till morning
Sunday
8-9:15am Morning Practice
9:30-10:30am Breakfast
11-1pm Fall Hike
1-2pm Lunch
2-4pm Free Time
4-6pm Cooking Workshop Group 2
6-7pm Dinner
7:30-9pm Evening Meditation
9:30pm Quiet Hours till morning
Monday
8-9:15am Morning Practice
In between — pack up and strip beds etc
10-11am Closing Community Time - bringing the weekend intention back home
11-12pm Brunch & closing out rooms before heading home
Come home to yourself in the Green Mountains of Southern Vermont
Now is your chance to join retreat leader Sophie and Willow’s owner-operators Ravi and Tom., and other spirit journeyers on a retreat in bucolic Vermont.
What to bring
Water bottle
Clothes that you feel comfortable in to practice yoga
Swimsuits or not - Rock River swimming is clothing-optional
Artist supplies, journal or other hobbies for free-time segments
Slippers or house shoes. Willow is a shoe free household.
Hiking shoes and clothes
Headlamp or flashlight
Rooms and Amenities
Willow is a comforting and nurturing environment — furnished with a harmonious combination of custom contemporary and vintage furniture, rugs, artwork and crafts.
We provide comfortable overnight accommodations in double occupancy rooms. All rooms have dedicated ensuite or hall baths. We are outfitted with all the comforts of a typical guest house — linens, blowdryers, individually controlled heating and air conditioning. Our mattresses, pillows and furniture are exceptionally comfortable. Our soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions are organic. We support local craftspeople by supplying Willow with handmade and high quality goods — everything from lamps to rugs have been made by hand. You will feel very much at home.
The Colonial Revival main house offers open living space on the first floor: a grand foyer with sitting area and library, a spacious and light-filled living room with fireplace, a sunny veranda, a dining room, and a 14-person yoga studio painted in soft colors of the willow tree. The studio is fully outfitted with yoga mats, cushions, straps, blocks and blankets.
Meals
Meals are provided throughout the retreat, including dinner on arrival day, 3 meals each full day, and brunch on departure day.
Our menu is Indian, Tex-Mex and American-inspired vegetarian dishes with balanced proteins, fats and carbs. Our meals are healthy, filling, and made of local organic and natural ingredients. Please let us know at registration if you prefer vegan or gluten-free options. Please let us know if you have any food allergies. We cannot accommodate last minute requests during the retreat.
Coffee is served with breakfast at no charge. Tea is available all day at no charge.
Espresso, cappuccino, and fresh-pressed juices are available for purchase throughout the retreat. A menu of options will be posted in the dining room. Charges will be added to your account and billed at the end of the retreat.
Meet our cats
Willow is home to two sweet and friendly cats, Bear and Scratch. They love our guests and they absolutely adore being petted. But we ask that guests not pick them up. Too much of that and they will become stressed little souls.
We do our best to keep cats out of the guest rooms so that people with allergies can comfortably stay with us. Please help with this by discouraging the cats from entering or napping in your room.
Want to stay longer? Extend your retreat experience!
Willow encourages retreat participants who wish to stay in the area longer to book rooms or book the treehouse on nights before and after the retreat at sharply reduced rates. Extended bookings include a hearty continental breakfast.
Individual rooms are $150-375/night for up to two people. A discount of 10% automatically applies to bookings of 3 or more nights.
Traveling to Willow
Willow is located in the beautiful and quintessential village of South Newfane (population 300), a satellite of Newfane (population 1,700). We are located 20 minutes northwest of Brattleboro, 20 minutes northeast of Wilmington, and 20 minutes east of Dover and Mount Snow.
By car:
From Brattleboro, take Route 30 north about 9 miles. Go left on Depot Road where the West River and Rock River meet; travel 2 miles on Depot Road until you cross a small bridge over the Rock River; go left on Dover Road through the village of Williamsville; after passing through Williamsville you will cross a covered bridge. Willow is exactly 1.2 miles on your left. If you come to a stop sign you have gone 300 feet past our driveway.
From Wilmington, take Route 100 north toward West Dover about 3.5 miles. A half mile past the River Valley Market, take a right on East Dover Road; travel 1 mile. Take a right on Dover Hill Road; travel 8 miles on Dover Hill Road and E Dover Road (they are continuous) until you reach a 3-way stop sign in the village of South Newfane. Willow is 300 feet past the stop sign on your right.
By train: the daily Amtrak Vermonter stops in Brattleboro as it travels from Washington DC to Montreal and back. You can pick it up in New York, Hartford, Springfield to the south or in Montpelier to the north. Taxis are available in Brattleboro or Willow’s owners will pick you up in Brattleboro on the Vermonter’s arrival at 5pm (note this is after check in time).
By plane: Travelers may find Hartford (BDL—64.4 miles, 90 minutes) and Boston (BOS—85.7 miles, 2 hours 20 minutes) to be most convenient. Other nearby airports to check are Rutland VT (RUT, 55 miles, 1 hour 20 minutes), Manchester NH (MHT—85 miles, 2 hours), Albany NY (ALB—73 miles, 1 hour 40 minutes), and Worcester MA (ORH, 81 miles, 1 hour 50 minutes).
A note on driving: We are located in rural Vermont! You may have spotty cell service in areas throughout our area. Be sure to set your GPS before leaving from home. Set it by typing our business name “Willow Vermont Retreat” into your search bar. Please don’t use our address, as most GPS engines get rural addresses wrong. But don’t worry one bit, just remember this: following our guidance will land you safely with us; following Google to our address will lead you 4 miles off target.