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The Best Wellness Retreats in Minnesota, From a Silent Hermitage to a Lake Superior Spa

The best wellness retreats in Minnesota lean on the thing the state has most of: water and woods. The spa retreats sit on Gull Lake in the Brainerd Lakes area and on the Lake Superior shore, while the quieter options are an hour or so from the Twin Cities, from a hermitage with no electricity to a Buddhist meditation center on a prairie lake. Northwoods yoga weekends fill the gap in between. Every place below was checked against its own website in September 2026 to confirm it is still operating.

Minnesota retreats at a glance

The spa retreats

1. The Spa at Grand View Lodge, Nisswa

For: the most complete resort spa in the Brainerd Lakes. Grand View Lodge sits on Gull Lake near Nisswa, about two and a half hours north of the Twin Cities, and its spa, formerly called Glacial Waters Spa, describes itself as a "year-round, lakeside sanctuary". The menu covers massage, skin care, body treatments, soaks and halotherapy, and the resort offers spa packages that bundle rooms, treatments and dining, plus wellness retreats for groups. It is a big family and golf resort in summer, so a spa-focused stay works best midweek or out of season.

2. The Spa at Madden's, Brainerd

For: a straightforward stay-and-spa weekend. Madden's on Gull Lake is a long-established resort whose spa overlooks Wilson Bay, with a relaxation room facing the lake. Its Stay & Spa package includes a daily breakfast buffet and a $50 spa credit per adult, per night, which makes it easy to work out what a weekend costs. The spa is open from 9am every day, closing at 5pm Sunday to Thursday and 6pm on Friday and Saturday.

3. Waves of Superior Spa at Bluefin Bay, Tofte

For: combining spa time with real wilderness. Bluefin Bay is a group of resorts on the Lake Superior shore at Tofte, between the Sawtooth Mountains and the lake, and its Waves of Superior Spa serves all of them. There are private treatment suites including one for couples, locker rooms with saunas, indoor and outdoor relaxation areas, and upstairs an indoor heated lap pool, hot tub and fitness center with a lake view. The draw is the setting: the Superior Hiking Trail and North Shore state parks are minutes away, and fall color on the ridges peaks from mid-September into early October.

The contemplative retreats

4. Pacem in Terris, St. Francis

For: anyone who wants genuine solitude. Pacem in Terris is a hermitage retreat center north of the Twin Cities where each guest stays alone in a small cabin in the woods, with no electricity or plumbing. A gas light and candles provide light, a gas heater keeps it warm in winter, and a basket of bread, cheese and fruit is left for each guest. Showers and indoor bathrooms are in the main building. The center is Catholic in inspiration and open all year, seven days a week, and it recommends at least two nights. The suggested donation is $140 a night, and there is a $50 fee for cancelling within 14 days of arrival. Demand is high, so book well ahead.

5. Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center, Farmington

For: a personal retreat with some comforts, close to the cities. Mount Olivet, about 30 minutes south of St. Paul, offers self-guided personal retreats as a day, an overnight or a full week, with a private room and home-cooked meals using local produce where possible. Guests have five miles of trails, an indoor heated pool, a whirlpool and sauna, a chapel, a meditation room and an outdoor labyrinth. Optional spiritual direction sessions can be booked. It is Christian in background but open to guests of any faith or none. Prices are given on enquiry.

6. Metta Meditation Retreat Center, Janesville

For: learning or deepening meditation. Metta sits on 37 acres of woodland and prairie on the shore of Lake Elysian outside Janesville, about 20 minutes from Mankato and an hour from the Twin Cities. It runs day, weekend and personalized retreats through the year, rooted in early Buddhist teaching, including a seven-day residential Vipassana retreat in July with silent sitting and walking meditation. If you are new to silent retreats, start with a weekend; our page on what a silent retreat involves explains what to expect.

The yoga weekends

7. Boreal Bliss Yoga Retreats, the Northwoods

For: a small-group yoga weekend that makes the most of each season. Boreal Bliss runs retreats at rented venues across northern Minnesota, mixing yoga and meditation with hiking, paddling and creative workshops. Its current schedule includes Flow at Longville (October 1 to 4, 2026, waitlist), Friluftsliv on Burntside Lake near Ely at the edge of the Boundary Waters (January 7 to 10, 2027, waitlist) and a Rest retreat at Deep Portage Learning Center near Hackensack (February 19 to 21, 2027). Winter weekends built around snow and saunas are the distinctively Minnesotan option.

How to choose

• Want to be looked after? Pick one of the three spas and book a package, which usually works out cheaper than paying for treatments separately.
• Want quiet above all? Pacem in Terris is as quiet as it gets. Mount Olivet is quieter than a resort with more comfort than a hermitage.
• Want to learn a practice? Metta for meditation, Boreal Bliss for yoga.
• Short on time? Pacem, Mount Olivet and Metta are all around an hour from Minneapolis and St. Paul; the lake spas take two to four hours to reach.

Minnesota winters are long, and several of these places are at their best in them. Check what is open in the off season, though: resort facilities and activity programs shrink outside summer. For costs, see how much a wellness retreat costs; for the wider region, our Midwest retreats guide and the neighboring Wisconsin and Michigan lists. More at the Retreat Central homepage.