When you want to get to know yourself, go on a four-hour hike through quiet woods with no obligations or stressful distractions—just chirping birds, pretty trees, and bright green moss that blankets the impressive boulders you’re occasionally scrambling over. That’s the thinking behind The Ranch, a luxury wellness retreat just an hour outside of New York City. In fact, the highly trained wellbeing/spiritual/yoga/hiking guides explain this idea—of the value of reconnecting with who you are, not what you do or the accomplishments you’ve racked up in life—during a guided meditation on the first day you arrive. It sounds treacly, but it didn’t register that way. The tone is down-to-earth. In fact, for a fancy resort, the entire experience is pretty grounded. 

These daily Ranch-style hikes are renowned, due to the cult following of The Ranch in Malibu, their famed original west coast location, and they really are central to the stay, which focuses on getting your mind, spirit, and body in optimum, happy condition. They’re great workouts, and exceptional for kicking niggly worries out of your brain. Each morning my fellow “Ranchers” and I headed out (hiking, along with meals and activities are group ventures) into Ringwood State Park’s massive trail network, or drove to nearby Harriman State Park. You choose between a two-hour or four-hour trek. I always opted for the long ones, figuring, if I’m going to do this thing, let’s really do it.  

While the trails and landscape are gorgeous, especially when everything is in bloom, the hotel itself hardly plays second fiddle. An historic estate originally built in 1902 by J.P. Morgan as a wedding gift for his daughter, it’s a huge stone mansion with total Great Gatsby vibes. Picture detailed, carved woodwork everywhere, enormous fireplaces in cozy common rooms, and an elegant sweeping staircase. There are 26 rooms—mine looked out onto the property’s lake and let me imagine I was living in the gilded age. That’s not to say it was fussy, just wonderfully pampering.

Beyond the luxury, the truly most relaxing part of being at The Ranch is the fact that everything was already decided for me. The schedule is set. Meals are taken care of. There’s no clock-watching (there are no clocks!). I didn’t realize how much stress that removes until it was gone. And how much mental space it frees up to pay attention to…me. Meaning, that liberty lets you learn what truly makes you tick.  

To help you find that peace, the Ranch runs three or four-day programs. A typical day starts early, around 6 a.m., when a Ranch hand rings Tibetan chimes softly outside your door. Then, group stretch in the old ballroom in front of the fire in one of the massive stone hearths. After a light breakfast, we’d prep for the hike. There’s an actual footcare trolley that rolls out before everyone sets off, stocked with blister balm, wraps, tape, and anything else you might need. It’s life-saving.

In the afternoons, everything slows down. Massages are scheduled daily—which is as good as it sounds—and there are fitness and yoga classes if you feel like moving more, a solarium with hot and cold plunge pools and an infrared sauna (with a picture window looking out onto the property’s gorgeous lake), and a slew of wellness treatments like energy work and cupping. This is also when you get to dive deeper into guided meditation and journaling, both greatly facilitated by time spent in nature. 

And then there are the meals, plant-based and super creative. That first day, the thirteen of us Ranchers broke the ice over lunch by sharing what we were grateful for. From that moment on, our feasts became buzzy social scenes with nonstop chatter and laughter and genuine appreciation for where we were. Part of reconnecting with yourself, I realized, is watching how you come off—and connect—when turning strangers into fast friends. By the end, we were exchanging numbers and gratitude for each other. 

What stuck with me most during my stay was the reminder that fewer decisions, less noise, less input in general makes a huge difference. I left feeling mentally clearer than I had in a long, long time.