Raven’s Retreat Hocking Hills is a 58-acre nature preserve dedicated to inspiring mental wellness and eco-conscious values. After Raven lost her little brother to mental health issues, she set out to create a retreat for people who need sustainable change. The art filled spaces and the biodiverse preserve is the perfect environment for reflection, connection, creation, team-building, and solitude. Over time, this rewilded property has become its own ecosystem, located where the Illinoian glaciers stopped. Raven’s Retreat boasts vast mixed hardwood forests, natural springs, creeks, hilltops, valleys, and ponds. It is home to abundant and diverse wildlife, including endangered species, and we take pride in considering their well-being and the habitat above all else.
You can feel good knowing, Raven’s Retreat profits support our animal rescue with over 100 animals, just 20 minutes away.
Our nature sanctuary at Raven’s Retreat is a wildlife release site for injured, sick, and orphaned animals that have been rehabbed and transitioned to be released back into the wild within our preserve. Much of this land has been rewilded.
This isn’t a policy, it’s a design choice. The wildlife on this preserve doesn’t perform for guests, it simply lives, and that only works in quiet. Adults-only protects that quiet. So does our approach to numbers: overnight stays are capped at 18 guests, because real reset doesn’t happen in a crowd.
The Raven’s Retreat Hocking Hills property was purchased in 1999 by Raven’s father and mother; they could not pass this land up because it so closely resembled West Virginia, where Raven’s mother is from.
Over time, the property was passed to Raven and her brother Dane through their father with specific instructions to take care of the property and protect it as a nature preserve.
In 2018, the Raven’s Retreat project began. Dustin Weatherby, Ravens Morgan’s husband, was the project lead. He and Raven dedicated 5 years of their lives designing buildings, artwork, trails, and a specific uniqueness that aligns with sustainability, creativity, and connection with nature. They want guests to have an epic stay and they are serious about that!
Owners, managers, and hosts, Dustin and Raven, met in a competitive martial arts gym (MMA Gym) in 2008. Dustin was afraid to ask Raven out because she was the only girl in the gym and he did not want to be, “that guy”. Raven took interest in Dustin because he was the kindest and most humble man she had ever met. One day, Dustin cooked dinner for her, and they have been inseparable since. They married in 2013. Known as a power couple, they seek to light a fire in others, helping people realize that compassion, creativity, adaptation, and rational thinking can change the world, one individual at a time.
Dustin graduated from Eastern Michigan University where he went to wrestle and studied sculpture; Raven had a scholarship to art school at CCAD but did not pursue it as her profession. Rather, she pursued a career in medicine and graduated from Ohio State University. Collectively, their passion for art plus mental and physical wellness is felt when speaking with them. They have been plant-based lifestyle coaches for over ten years. Creating this retreat is their way of helping guests escape the common overstimulated and disconnected lifestyle.
When people are able to decompress in nature and focus on what really matters to them, they can leave feeling inspired and motivated to be the best version of themselves. They do not want the retreat experience to end when guests leave; they want the elements guests were exposed to while in nature at the retreat to be applied to everyday life. Connection and mindfulness changes people, there is no doubt.
As a couple, they aim to raise human consciousness and help people better connect with themselves, partners, friends, family, and nature. The custom art and nature-inspired spaces at Raven’s Retreat are strategically created to provoke emotion, thought, and creativity. The goal is to raise awareness for nature’s true beauty and the power of a healthy human mind in a healthy environment.
All the spaces at Ravens Retreat Hocking Hills have been created by Sculptdecor. Sculptdecor is a custom sculpture business that creates any size of metal, wood, mixed media, food, animatronics, and ice sculptures.
Lead sculptor of Sculptdecor, Dustin Weatherby, has been sculpting for over 25 years. And he has designed and built over 100 different animatronics. The Sculptdecor Studio is on the Raven’s Retreat property; some guests like to stop by and check out what projects are in the works.
Dustin and Raven offer a warm invitation to stop by, should guests wish to do that.
We strive to provide you with the most peace and serenity during your stay. All our getaway cabins are in quiet, natural settings but only minutes away from town. We created this Hocking Hills Retreat to support healing and creativity. We are happy to provide guests with spaces focusing on low-light and sound pollution, sustainability, and wildlife preservation within our nature preserve. We are all about relaxation, nature, and art.
The quality, comfort, and one-of-a-kind art are of utmost importance to us. We want you to get the most out of your time while here at our retreat; this is why we have added so many amenities focused on a high-value experience. By exposing guests to an environment conducive to relaxation, discovery, joy, connection, and adventure, guests can really hit the reset button while here.
Our nature-based Ohio retreat invites guests to reconnect with purpose. We are confident that your experience here will be special. You will find custom art installations and modern design, some of our spaces include a hot tub, sauna and outdoor shower as well. All of our spaces include over a mile of private hiking trails, functional fitness stations, and meditation areas deep in the forest here on the property.
Raven & Dustin
Co-Founders
Ravens Retreat Hocking Hills
