Off-grid.
On purpose.
Opening January 1, 2027
Now welcoming retreat inquiries for 2027.
An intimate, off-grid retreat setting taking shape in the Sylvan Dale backcountry near Loveland, Colorado.
A place to get away. A place to get somewhere.
Taking shape along Cedar Creek in the Sylvan Dale backcountry, Cow Camp Retreat Center will pair simple accommodations with remarkable surroundings for small, intentional groups. Bring your own retreat, design one with Heart-J Center, or join a program to reconnect with people, place, and purpose.
Your group, your goals, our backcountry
Bring Your Own Retreat
For nonprofits, educators, facilitators, wellness professionals, businesses, and retreat leaders seeking a distinctive off-grid setting. Bring your participants, facilitators, and curriculum. Heart-J Center provides the setting and coordinates appropriate logistical support.
Build a Custom Experience
Work with Heart-J Center to shape a retreat around your group's goals. Options may include:
- · Transportation and backcountry access coordination
- · Horseback trail rides
- · Guided day hikes and backcountry exploration
- · Meal planning, cooking, and food-service support
- · Outdoor education and fieldcraft
- · Land stewardship and conservation activities
- · Wildlife observation
- · Facilitated leadership and team experiences
- · Nature-based wellness and reflection
Offerings depend on staffing, season, and logistics, and are arranged individually. Not every option is included with every retreat.
Join a Heart-J Experience
Cow Camp will host selected Heart-J Center and partner programs.
- Fieldcraft Institute →
One of the Institute's primary backcountry base camps.
- H.U.N.T. PATH →
Seasonal turkey hunting, outdoor heritage, and stewardship programming.
- Veteran & First Responder Retreats
Peer connection, reflection, resilience, and facilitated wellness.
Program availability varies. Not all programs are currently accepting registrations.
Small groups doing meaningful work
- Veterans & First Responders
- Peer connection, reintegration support, resilience, facilitated wellness, and restorative time outdoors.
- Leadership & Teams
- Leadership development, organizational retreats, facilitated planning, and intentional group work.
- Wellness & Reflection
- Mindfulness, stress reduction, nature-based wellness, and personal reflection with qualified facilitators.
- Education & Fieldcraft
- Wilderness skills, navigation, backcountry leadership, ecological literacy, and experiential learning.
- Conservation & Stewardship
- Wildlife observation, watershed education, land stewardship, and conservation service.
- Outdoor Heritage & Adventure
- Horseback riding, hiking, seasonal hunting experiences, and backcountry exploration.
Cow Camp is not a clinical treatment facility. Specialized trauma-informed or mental health services are provided only through qualified facilitators or partner organizations.
Simple, durable, and built for the backcountry
Construction is underway on Cow Camp Retreat Center, a Heart-J Center for Experiential Learning initiative. Practical canvas tents on elevated wooden platforms will provide simple backcountry accommodations. The facilities below are planned and under construction.
Rustic, low-impact infrastructure throughout. The 24-person figure reflects planned sleeping capacity, not a permitted maximum occupancy.
Cedar Creek Near Cow Camp Retreat Center | Spring
40.42°N · 105.20°W
Truly off-grid
Cow Camp sits among forested foothills, wildlife habitat, and conservation lands, part of roughly 960 backcountry acres stewarded by Heart-J Center and Sylvan Dale Legacy. Hiking, wildlife observation, and exploration are possible where access is authorized.
- No conventional electrical service
- No reliable cellular reception
- Remote backcountry access
- Rustic, low-impact facilities
Arriving prepared matters out here. Prepare for Your Visit →
Wild neighbors
Elk, mule deer, wild turkey, black bear, coyotes, and foxes move through this landscape. Sightings are an opportunity, never a guarantee.
Meet Our Wild Neighbors →A different experience in every season
Cow Camp is envisioned for use across the year, including cold-weather fieldcraft, winter hikes, and seasonal retreats. Operations will depend on access, weather, facilities, staffing, and safety.
Opening January 2027
Cow Camp Retreat Center is taking shape. With construction underway, we're preparing to welcome small groups for purposeful backcountry experiences beginning in January 2027.
Inquiries and advance retreat planning are welcome. Tell us about your group, your goals, and the experience you have in mind.
explore@heartjcenter.org
Invest in the Future of Cow Camp
Cow Camp is taking shape, and the work continues. Your support helps us complete and strengthen this backcountry retreat center while creating lasting opportunities for veterans, educators, community organizations, and others to connect through meaningful experiences on the land.
With Appreciation
Special thanks to Lowe's of Loveland, Colorado, for supporting the construction of Cow Camp's tent platforms through donated building materials and additional materials provided at cost.