Here is the blog that everyone is so curious about because I went off on my own trip to a place that doesn’t really fit my past travels. I decided to go into ‘hiding’ for my birthday this year. 31 never felt so personal and it was very much needed for myself. This birthday was a mix of emotions, lets just say the last 8 years have been spent with love, but this year was a little different… still with love. Just different.
Every weekend in June up until mid July, I had an event and it was back to back drinking, being social and long active hours/late late nights. No complaints, I made sure to live my summer up. Something I haven’t been able to do in a long time. I wanted something quiet, calm and to be with myself for one weekend. I was looking at all sorts of retreats and came across Wild Rice Retreat. It wasn’t as expensive as the others and I could also drive to it instead of having to pay extra for a flight and rental. Flight prices are a little insane right now. Wild Rice Retreat was also running a 5 year anniversary promo, so that also sealed the deal. Let’s get into the greatness of my weekend at Wild Rice Retreat! ♡
TRAVEL
Wild Rice Retreat is in Bayfield, Wisconsin about a 9-12 hour drive from Grand Rapids, Michigan depending on the route you take and if you hit traffic. I chose to drive there for cost and I simply wanted to be able to drive to and stop at whatever caught my interest.
On my drive to the retreat, I chose to drive out of Michigan, through Indiana to Chicago, Illinois to Madison, Wisconsin and up to Bayfield, Wisconsin. I left at 3 or 4 am and did not hit traffic at all, so it was only a 8-9 hour drive. Something I’m use to when driving to Minnesota. I did stop to take a nap in Chicago, so I was on the road for 12 hours total. This route took me on a tour of Wisconsin. I can say that I have seen about 70% of Wisconsin now. Wisconsin has a lot to offer in the northern region. I would have loved to stop in some of the towns to explore. The towns were on the lake and beautiful. One thing I did not like about this route was the last 3 hours of the drive. The last 3 hours has you driving through these smaller towns on a freeway, going from 50 mph to 25 mph. I’m a Michigander, we go 80 mph everywhere!!! I was trying so hard to not speed and to not get mad at how slow everyone was. I was getting irritated for sure, but nice towns did help me a little.
On my way back home from the retreat, I chose to drive the other route, so essentially I drove in one big circle. This time I drove along the northern part of Wisconsin into to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, passing through Marquette, Michigan over to the Mackinaw Bridge to enter the Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I also got lucky and did not run into any traffic at all. 90% of this route was along the lakes, like your driving on the highway and can see the lake the whole time. This only took me 8 hours, but I stopped at a lot of the scenic rest stops or overlooks to take in the beautiful views and spend a little bit of time on the beaches. Bonus: I got to see the sunset on the lake. I’m a sucker for a sunset by the water (take notes men). I have only been in the UP once, so it was super cool being able to drive through and see why everyone raves about it. I agree with them. I was also able to stop at 2 different spots to admire the Mackinaw Bridge before driving on it personally. There were so many moose crossing signs though. I was a little scared, but thankfully didn’t have to deal with moose. The speed limit in the UP is 80 mph, even faster than our 70 mph in the LP, so I was a happy girl.
LODGING
Wild Rice Retreat has a few lodging options for you to choose from for your time there. All the lodges are these beautiful, wooden, Scandinavian inspired stays where they can accommodate 1-8 people depending on what you choose. I was looking between the Ricepod or Nest for just myself. I chose the Nest for the extra sq ft, the king bed, the separate sleeping and living quarters, sofa and kitchenette. The Ricepod was more like a studio where it’s one big room, while the Nest felt more home like. I also stayed for 4 nights and 3 days, so I wanted something more. The lodges are in separate villages and while yes, you do have neighbors, it’s not wall to wall like hotels. You truly feel like you are in your own home. Every lodge also includes a mini fridge, sink, microwave, portable stove top, rain fall walk in shower, oversized windows, an outdoor balcony or patio and wifi. Don’t even get me on the Parachute Egyptian cotton linens, towels and robe they provide. That robe, I could have lived in forever.
If you noticed in the photos, you don’t see a television at all. That’s right, the lodges are television free. It’s a retreat for your mind, body and soul, so they cut out the technology to help. However, they do have free wifi for those who need to do work. If you know me, you know I’m a huge sucker for huge windows and letting the sun in my space. I woke up early every morning to the sun and started the day feeling so refreshed. It was probably the best sleep that I have had in a while. I can be such a homebody, it was perfect. Plus I had to be a homebody a bit that weekend. Since it’s located in Bayfield, Wisconsin, basically the tippy top of Wisconsin I was only a lake away from the fires happening in Minnesota and Canada. The air quality was pretty bad there and you could see the smoke/fog/sot. My eyes would get irritated if I was outside too long sometimes. My Nest provided for me.
AMENITIES
What attracted me in choosing Wild Rice Retreat was the amenities that are included or the extra options to be added on during your stay. The retreat is about nurturing individual creativity, human development, and meaningful connections. Just like the lodges, the amenities also ground the mind, body, and soul.
Dining/Food
A lite breakfast, brunch and dinner are all included during your stay. Yes, you read that right – all included. Food was served buffet style at Root, the onsite kitchen. They kept the nourishing mission throughout the retreat, the kitchen included. Wild Rice does farm to table, so all the food you get is fresh and only the best. They cater to all sorts of dietary needs and restrictions. Everyday, I went to all three meal times and tried everything they put out. Not one bad thing, I loved it all. Not only were there fires causing bad air quality, but bad lettuce going around causing illness. So I was super excited that the retreat grew their own vegetables and I wouldn’t have to skip the wonderful salad spreads they provided. Water, hot tea, and coffee are available all day at Root for all guest and alcoholic beverages and mocktails are available for purchase. You do receive 1 complimentary mocktail ticket upon your arrival.
Brunch and dinner are different everyday and some of my favorites were: the gluten free midnight brownie, the lemon parsley chicken, fish cakes with yogurt dill garlic dip, ponzu roasted salmon, the apple cake, kimchi egg scramble, roasted vegetable hummus wrap, summer chicken salad wrap and all the house made vinaigrettes with the salad stations, carrot ginger, tomato, berry and house.
Wellness and Movement
There are plenty of wellness amenities included with your stay like a 24/7 sauna with a rain fall shower room and an outdoor fire pit and cold plunge bucket. It is it’s own building and every guest has access to it by using their lodge keys. It’s very spacious and with the open hours you can time it out just right to get the sauna and shower room all to yourself!
There are also daily wellness and movement classes to sign up or drop in for, most are free and a few have a class fee. Every week classes are changed and every day offers various classes to attend. The class schedules are on their website. I had a list of classes to drop in, but I ended up doing none due to being too comfortable in bed and taking to to enjoy my Nest. I also bought a lot of activities or crafts with me to do just in case the air quality canceled any of the outdoor classes. I know I was there to relax, but I caught up with some things I needed to do for my job. It was still relaxing enough, I didn’t want to leave.
Some classes that caught my interest: Morning intention setting, new dawn vinyasa, cultivating vitality: a mid-summer well-being check in, the breathing experience, somatic float aerial yoga, pilates & stretch, self guided forest bathing, grief and gratitude fire ceremony, chakra balance, mixology mocktail, and summer nature therapy walk.
Adventures
Wild Rice Retreat has a few trails to walk along Lake Superior, Marty’s Landing to sit at and adore Lake Superior and some patios with seating with a higher view of the lake. All very beautiful. I visited Marty’s Landing and walked partial on the trails. I know I’ll be back and hopefully when there’s no air quality issues.
The town of Bayfield is not very far from Wild Rice and you can drive over to explore it. From what I drove through, it looked very charming. I’d very much would love to explore the area as well in the future.
My trip to Wild Rice Retreat was what I needed and I would recommend it to everyone. Take time to be with yourself, take time to slow down. This trip wasn’t the typical Sally travel, but it helped me personally in many different ways. I wish I had a discount code to give out to my blog readers, but I do not. I wrote this because I really loved it at Wild Rice Retreat and share all that it has to offer. Please check them out for your future travels. Until the next adventure ♡
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