A Private Yoga Retreat Campus in Florida for 2027 Groups
By Mike Sokol, Owner, Orange Springs Retreat Center
Yoga and wellness groups were among the first outside organizations to use this property after it became a year-round retreat venue. That history still matters if you are choosing a private campus for 2027.
Orange Springs Retreat Center is not a drop-in yoga studio and not a shared wellness resort. It is a 100-acre exclusive-use retreat campus in Central Florida. One group at a time. Your teachers. Your schedule. The property to yourselves.
If you already know you need a full planning checklist, rates, and a sample day, use the private group yoga retreat planning guide. This page is for organizers deciding whether this kind of campus is the right fit.
Featured in Florida Trend
Florida Trend’s article “Yoga Retreats in Florida” documented the early yoga and wellness business here after Camp Shalom became Orange Springs Retreat Center.
The magazine put the model in one sentence:
“Outside Ocala, Mike Sokol converted Camp Shalom, the sleepaway summer camp his parents had started, into Orange Springs Retreat Center the rest of the year and found yoga retreats in Florida and wellness groups the bulk of his first customers. They bring instructors and mantras; Sokol provides the open air, pool, bunks for 200 and a camp cook who does vegan as easily as kosher. (He now hosts team-building and church groups, too.)”
That line is still the operating model. Groups bring the program. The campus supplies the private setting, lodging, meals, and room to practice.
The same transition later appeared in The New York Times. Both pieces live on the Press page.
Who this campus is for
This works when the organizer already has the teaching team and needs a private place for a large group to stay together.
Typical fits:
- Yoga studios and teacher collectives taking 60–200 students off-site
- Wellness organizations that want one private campus instead of a hotel buyout
- Women’s, men’s, or mixed adult groups built around practice, rest, and time outdoors
- Retreat leaders who need indoor halls, outdoor lawns, pavilions, and a lake — without another group on the property
It is not a fit if you need Orange Springs to supply yoga teachers, a branded yoga curriculum, or a public retreat you can join as an individual. Those are not services offered here.
For the broader exclusive-use offer across churches, schools, and private organizations, see the private group retreat page.
What “private yoga retreat venue” means here
One group at a time. Always.
No shared cabins. No outside guests on the lake. No second retreat using the dining hall.
You bring the instructors.
Florida Trend had that right years ago. Your teachers run practice, workshops, and meditation. Staff handle lodging, meals, and the campus.
The group stays together.
Climate-controlled lodging for 200+, a dining hall that can work with vegan, vegetarian, and other dietary needs, meeting rooms, outdoor pavilions, lawns, and a spring-fed lake with a white-sand beach.
The setting does the quiet work.
The campus sits on more than 100 acres bordering the Ocala National Forest, about 35 minutes from Ocala and 40 minutes from Gainesville. Practice can move from pavilion to lawn to waterfront without loading a bus.
That combination is why yoga groups used the property early, and why large private groups still book it: the program stays yours, and the campus is not split with strangers.
Planning a 2027 yoga retreat
The 2026 calendar is full. New reservations are for Fall 2027 through Summer 2028, with a waitlist only if a 2026 date opens.
For yoga and wellness groups, the practical window is often September through April. Outdoor practice is easier in mild weather, and those dates usually have more availability than peak summer camp weeks.
Before you hold a date, lock three things:
- Headcount in the 60–200 range
- Whether you need a weekend, midweek, or week-long block
- Who is teaching — because the venue does not provide instructors
Then use the yoga retreat planning guide for sample days, venue questions, and current package structure. Rates and booking steps are also on the rates and availability page.
Shoulder-season timing is covered separately in the hidden benefits of off-season retreats.
What has not changed since that Florida Trend article
The magazine noticed the conversion from family summer camp to private retreat venue. That story started in 1971 as Camp Shalom and became Orange Springs Retreat Center in 2002. Read the fuller history on the About page.
What has stayed consistent for yoga and wellness groups:
- Exclusive use of the campus
- Lodging sized for a full retreat community, not a handful of villa rooms
- Meals that can follow the group’s dietary plan
- Outdoor space for practice and unstructured time
- A venue that does not try to become the teacher
If you are comparing shared resorts, hotel meeting rooms, or public parks, the difference is simple: your group has the property.
Next step
If you are organizing a private yoga or wellness retreat for 2027 or 2028 and your group is roughly 60–200 people, call or email with dates and headcount.
Mike Sokol
Owner, Orange Springs Retreat Center
(561) 221-7773
Email: campshalomfl@gmail.com
Contact / availability: orangespringsretreat.com/contact/
Start here for the full planner packet: Plan a Group Yoga Retreat in Florida.
