Esalen Reopens May 3

Visitors are currently able to access Esalen as well as other businesses, parks, and trails in northern Big Sur via twice-daily convoys on Highway 1 operated by Caltrans.

Convoys run only at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. each day. These are the only opportunities to travel into and out of Big Sur, so visitors must plan accordingly.

Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the alternate route directions.

Esalen opens May 3, 2024

Visitors are now able to access Esalen as well as other businesses and trails in northern Big Sur via twice-daily convoys on Highway 1 operated by Caltrans.

Convoys run only at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. each day. These are the only opportunities to travel into and out of Big Sur, so visitors must plan accordingly.

Esalen in the News

Press /Media Requests: Members of the press who require assistance, please email marketing@esalen.org. Kindly allow 1–2 weeks for a response.

Carmel Magazine

Inside Esalen: 60 Years of Exploring Human Potential

Journalist Dina Ruiz explores and reflects on the Institute's 60 years of growth, transformation, and healing through the pursuit of human potential.

Travel Tuesday: Travel for the Soul

Travel expert Justin Walter shares his favorite festivals and locations that “feed the soul,” including Esalen Institute, Burning Man, and Lightning in a Bottle.

Maejor Unpacks Sound, Psychedelics, and Wellness in New Podcast Series

Post '60s Psychedelics Renaissance: Stan Grof developed the consciousness-altering practice of Holotropic Breathwork while living at Esalen. Stacia Butterfield, a Grof student-turned-Esalen faculty, led an unprecedented experience.

The Bay Area Reporter

Queer African-centric retreat coming to Big Sur

Marques Redd, PhD and Mikael Owunna return to Esalen for a workshop focused on African cosmological traditions using imagery, movement, writing, and rituals to help participants transcend personal blocks and move forward.

Business Insider

Esalen Instructor Talks About Why Silicon Valley Comes There

Justin Michael Williams on how his workshops help people expand their human potential, which can help increase their productivity and improve their performance.

Integral Life – Deep Transformation Podcast

The Human Potential Movement: Then and Now (with Michael Murphy)

Esalen co-founder Michael Murphy speaks about the birthplace of the human potential movement, transformational practices, and Soviet-American Citizen Diplomacy with Roger Walsh and John Dupuy of the DEEP Transformation podcast.

How a Famed New Age Retreat Center Helped End the Cold War

Discover how “dreamers in hot tubs” organized the first Soviet-American “space bridge” — the 1980s version of video chat — and brought astronauts, writers, and politicians together to “thaw out” then-frozen international relations.

Catching Up With Professor Kesha

Pop music’s most unpredictable player chats about the Esalen community, becoming an artist in residence, and The Alchemy of Pop Music, the songwriting course she led during her two-and-a-half-week stint on campus.

Freakonomics Radio

Mr. Feynman Takes a Trip — But Doesn’t Fall

Voices of Esalen’s Sam Stern and Stephen Dubner discuss the noted genius and theoretical physicist’s time at the Institute and his 1984 “Tiny Machines” lecture.

Discovery Channel

California: Innovation Nation, Episode 2

Inside Don Draper’s Big Sur Nirvana: The Esalen Institute

Meet 2 sisters on a mission to beat burnout

Scientific American

Can Mysticism Help Us Solve the Mind-Body Problem?

Michael Murphy

Deep thoughts with Michael Murphy: On the 50th anniversary of 'Golf in the Kingdom'

The Invention of Wellness

Houston Chronicle

The Rice professor who saw cosmic consciousness

Carmel Magazine

Transformation at the Pacific's Edge (pdf)

The New York Times

Where Silicon Valley Is Going to Get in Touch With Its Soul

Losing Clothes, Finding Zen

Lookout Santa Cruz

My Esalen experience: Big Sur’s ‘one-of-a-kind, you-gotta-be-kidding-me, is-this-a-dream?’ kinda day

Into the mystic: Golf in the Kingdom’s magical power still inspires, as does its visionary author

San Francisco Chronicle

What’s next for the Esalen Institute?

The Mercury News

Esalen’s survival story: A tale of transformation

San Francisco Chronicle

Esalen refreshed for another new age

Wellbeing Project Reveals Changemakers’ Need for Personal Support

Institute for Cultural Evolution

Reflections on Esalen’s 2014 Conclave on Political Polarization

Huffington Post

Moving Conflict Beyond Words

MASSAGE Magazine

A Happy Song: Esalen Massage

US News & World Report

Human Potential Hits 30 (pdf)

Los Angeles Times Magazine

Esalen at 25 (pdf)

The New York Times

Esalen Wrestles With a Staid Present

Profiles New Paradigms: Michael Murphy (pdf)

Inhibitions Thrown: A new movement to unlock the potential of what people could be — but aren't (pdf)

The New York Times Magazine

A Trip to Esalen Institute — Joy Is the Prize

Psychology Today

Esalen: Where It's At (pdf)

Mentions

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Dermalogica Founder Jane Wurwand Invented Hype-Free Skincare

7 Meditation Retreats to Experience in the U.S.

Harper's BAZAAR

The 67 Best Gifts for Couples to Enjoy Together

Thermal celebrates "vast experience and rich heritage" of bathing culture

Women's Health Magazine

The 2023 Women’s Health Travel Awards Are Here

Best Spa and Wellness Hotels on the Monterey Peninsula

Knowledge and Science Bulletin Board System

Unlock Your Potential with These Top-Rated Personal Growth Retreats Near Me

The New York Times

Want to Fix Your Mind? Let Your Body Talk

Global Viewpoint

11 Best Retreat Centers in 2023: Where to Host + Attend a Retreat

The Best Hotels in Big Sur

Love Yourself, Treat Yourself: 8 Retreats For Solo Travelers

Big Sur Village, California: A Traveler’s Guide

Walnut Creek Magazine

California's Healing Hot Springs

Relax and unwind at the best yoga retreats in the U.S.

9 places to escape the crowds on New Year's Eve

10 Luxury Wellness Resorts To Help You Relax, Reconnect And Recuperate

Trips to Discover

The 20 Best Wellness Retreats in California, Based on Google Ratings

How to Pack for the Great Outdoors

Great Escapes: A Road Trip Along California’s Rugged Coast in Big Sur

Los Angeles Times

23 miles of Highway 1 near Big Sur are closed. Repairs will take months

6 Solo Wellness Trips to Book in 2021

Esalen evolution: A retreat for the next age

As election 2020 stirs up stress, anxiety and anger, some people are tuning out entirely

The San Francisco Chronicle

At Esalen, famous Big Sur retreat center, hands-on healing goes digital during coronavirus

Monterey Herald

Esalen, near Big Sur, set to reopen with renewed focus

The California Road Trip All Book Lovers Should Take

Condé Nast Traveler

The Biggest Wellness Travel Trends: Sound Baths, Tickling Helmets, and More

11 Places to Recoup After the Holidays

Want to really improve someone’s life? Buy them a gift that helps them unplug

San Francisco Chronicle

Top 10 things to do in Monterey

San Francisco Chronicle

Q&A: Esalen co-founder Michael Murphy

Good Housekeeping

10 Dreamy Meditation Retreats for Your Most Relaxing Vacation Ever

The Best Hot Springs in the United States

12 Beautiful Hot Springs in California

San Francisco Magazine

Anna Halprin's Curtain Call

Travel + Leisure

The Best Reason to Be Out at 2 a.m. if You’re Not a 23-year-old Club Kid

The New York Times

California’s Highway 1, With Memory Riding Shotgun

Los Angeles Times

Noise causes stress. Here’s why you need to seek out some silence

Los Angeles Review of Books

The Queerness of It All: An Interview with Jeffrey Kripal

6 Gorgeous Meditation Retreats That Will Leave You Feeling Like a Million Bucks

The Best Yoga Retreats In The U.S. Will Help You Unplug & Unwind On Your Next Vacation

Kellyann Chippendale's 'Meisnered' Featured at Big Sur Esalen Institute Inspirational Film Festival

10 Transformative Yoga Retreats in the US

National Geographic

15 Ways that Travel Inspires Creativity

Weekend escape to Big Sur

Witness the ‘pink moment’ and take a spiritual journey in the Ojai valley

KSBW Action News 8

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is open

Travel + Leisure

You Can Still Take a Big Sur Road Trip This Year — Here’s How

Big Sur's Esalen Reopens After Record Long Closure

Big Sur Landslides Leave Small Canyon Town Stranded

Landslide buries California’s scenic highway in Big Sur

Time Out Los Angeles

How can you get to—and around—Big Sur right now?

The Mercury News

Beleaguered Big Sur institutions turn to crowdfunding

Esalen Update: from Rain to Renewal

The Hollywood Reporter

How the Industry Is Dealing With Big Sur Closures From February Storms

The Mercury News

At Big Sur, a sudden taste of isolation

The Washington Post

Big Sur usually can’t keep people away. Right now, it’s practically deserted.

The Seattle Times

The 7 best hot springs in the U.S.

Big Sur, California: Zen Central

A Culture Lover’s Guide to Big Sur, California

Trips to Discover

18 Most Blissful Meditation Retreats Around the World

Condé Nast Traveler

The Best Fall Yoga Retreats

Inland Empire Business Journal

Esalen: Slow Down and Increase Productivity

This planet is a great adventure to explore human potential.

The New York Times

A Big Sur Bath by the Light of the Moon

Sunset Magazine

Top 22 Wellness Retreats

Press Releases

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May 13, 2020

Esalen Institute Sets Goal of Re-opening in July after COVID-19 Quarantine Lifts

May 17, 2019

Esalen to Host 9th Annual Blue Mind Summit

April 12, 2019

Annabel Teal Appointed to Esalen Board of Trustees

January 26, 2017

William Donius, Author of "Thought Revolution", Named to Esalen Institute Board of Trustees

October 17, 2016

Ken and Maddy Dychtwald Receive the 2016 Esalen Prize for Advancing Human Potential of Aging Population

February 19, 2016

Esalen Institute Elects Noted Scholar and Author Jeffrey Kripal Chairman of its Board of Trustees

May 19, 2015

Esalen Appoints Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Ben Tauber to Board of Trustees

March 12, 2015

Esalen to Celebrate Lodge Renovation & Campus Renewal Project on Saturday, March 14th with Groundbreaking Ceremony

September 24, 2014

Press Release: Esalen Tackles Political Polarization and Gridlock

August 19, 2013

Esalen Selects Arkin-Tilt Architects to Renovate Lodge