Accommodations, Main Camp

Mendocino Woodlands Camp One has camping sites and rustic cabins that house four people. Each cabin has four cots with somewhat thin mattresses, a fireplace, a porch, and no electricity. If you desire more privacy, we suggest you bring a tent. Tents may be pitched in specified areas that are a short walk to the shared bathhouses, which have flush toilets, hot showers, and electrical outlets — but no storage space for personal items.

Food & Meal Information

Three enjoyable and nutritious meals are served each day, prepared mindfully by an experienced kitchen staff from quality ingredients. There will be vegetarian, vegan, and wheat-free (not gluten-free) options at every meal, and poultry or fish protein in at least one meal every day. Fine hot and cold beverages are on hand as well. If you have special needs, particularly food allergies, please let us know with your registration, and please check in with the kitchen staff upon arrival. You can also contact the kitchen master before camp if you like; contact info will be provided with your confirmation packet in early June, or you can request the contact info sooner from the registrar.

A small refrigerator outside the dining hall will be available if you have particular food needs, but there is no space for personal storage in the kitchen or pantry; please do not expect to use the kitchen for any personal cooking. Due to the extreme fire danger in the Mendocino area, please do not expect to cook over your own fire or stove.

Our Karma Yoga Program

Using the stuff that makes up your daily life as the vehicle for coming to Union is called Karma Yoga. — Ram Dass, Be Here Now

Over the years we have developed a program that involves and challenges us all in integrating daily tasks with our spiritual aspirations and practices. Our karma yoga program has proven to be a popular and fulfilling way of completing important but mundane chores within a community consciousness, so that, as Ram Dass put it, our every act becomes an act of waking up.”

After registering, campers aged 12–75 will be asked to sign up, in the right wing of the dining hall, for one to four job shifts for the week (depending on age*) in service of the smooth functioning and comfort of our camp community. Shifts vary in duration depending on the type of work. Part-timers will be asked to sign up for a prorated number of shifts. We invite you to take advantage of the times you are scheduled to work by using your efforts and energies to create love, harmony, and beauty in the ordinary world of dish suds, sparkling fresh bathrooms, and children at play.

* Adults 18–64 work four shifts apiece; those younger and older work fewer shifts.