Family Yoga, Nature, Fly Fishing Retreat Recap
My family dodged an early April, Northern MN snow storm (a foot of snow!), by traveling 5-hours down to the Driftless area of the state. We planned and prepared our final touches for the long awaited Spring Family Yoga, Nature, Fly Fishing Retreat! Our first ever!
The memories already have me smiling.
If I do say so myself, we really knocked it outta the park with our family yoga, nature, and fly fishing retreat at Whitewater State Park.
Our team that delivered these elements are top notch in their respective fields. I can’t thank them enough. I’ll gush over them more shortly. Bringing yoga, nature experiential education, and fly fishing together for a family weekend without cell service is a dream come true for all of us. This is such a unique and fulfilling offering. I’m just so happy and proud. Not only because we were able to successfully deliver it, but also because other families were excited about, and loved, the combination as well!
Bring the whole family for a weekend in a stunning setting nestled in the bluff valley. There will be a picturesque river wrapping around your huddle of camper cabins, trails in the woods in every direction, an outdoor campfire by the river with a backdrop of bluffs, and a fire in a gorgeous fireplace calling for you to sit by in the group center.
What is there to do? Everything. Not only will your kids play with the games our staff brought outside, but they will just find a stick or a walnut and make it cooler than any toy money can buy.
When they’re ready to head inside, they’ve got recycled arts & crafts, cooperative toys, and board games. By the end of the weekend, they’ll drag the yoga mats & blocks out by themselves to “play yoga”. Who should they play with? Well, their new best friend of course.
One of the coolest things to witness over the weekend was the connections the kids made with each other. They arrived as strangers, and very quickly felt safe in this environment to deeply bond and become camp best friends. They safely and comfortably free-ranged together both inside, and outside the group center. A screen free, simple-paced, fun-filled weekend of laughter and games that childhood truly is meant to be.
I think all of the millennial parents were having nostalgic flashbacks. Not only because I brought a large amount of beanie babies (lol… fyi they’re still a hit with kids. But the kids will NEVER understand how valuable they truly are *wink, wink*), but also because the kids were able to run around our private area of Whitewater State Park just like we did as kids. No cell phones, no ipads. Run and play until the meal bell rings, or the sun starts to go down.
Reviews from the kids on their experience were gathered by our 12-year-old retreat assistant. She reported back to us that….
The kids want the family retreat to be a week (not just a weekend).
The kids want the family retreat to happen once a month, or at least every other month would be acceptable.
And lastly, my 5-year-old has requested to have his birthday party at Whitewater State Park. He’d like everyone to come. See you in September for the big 6? Just kidding…
Soooo… you heard it folks!! Clearly this retreat was a hit!
The retreat was packed full of the highest quality structured programming options thanks to our team.
Nora Woodworth, environmental educator & lover of the outdoors (plus yoga teacher), gave our 6-12 year-olds a full-on Happy Dancing Turtle Eco Camp experience. In the morning the kids learned all about the birds that call the Driftless home, including why they leave in the fall (not enough food) and how important protected habitat on the Mississippi Flyway is with a game of Migration Hopscotch. They became birds on the hunt for worms & discovered how tricky camouflage can be and why some animals have bright “warning colors” instead! They also completed a scavenger hunt for 100 bird eggs and had to match them to the bird nest they came from!
In the afternoon they dressed one of their group mates up in a home-made fish costume, laughing and learning about the different anatomical parts of a fish, and how fish are adapted for their habitats.
They played a game of tag where the fish had to collect food as they crossed the river, trying to dodge fish predators and hungry fishermen and women, and explored predator prey population dynamics!
Lastly, they discovered that flowers “talk” to their animal helpers using different colors and tried their hand at pollination, reaching into the flowers for sweet nectar (a candy treat) and moving the pollen (Cheeto dust) from flower to flower as they searched for more treats.
Learning can be fun AND delicious! Many, many games of Ranger, Camouflage, Flood, and Porcupine were played throughout the day - ask your kids to teach you!
Alayna Sobieniak, early childhood education, nature school expert, and yoga teacher, gave our 2-4 year olds a mindfulness morning in the woods. They started off with a frog hunt inside one of the camper cabins. Upon entry they searched for little toy frogs, and played with stations set-up (i.e. duplo legos, a tent & camping set, nature bug puzzle, and more).
Alayna sang songs with them about being in the woods, and took them on a walk to notice “nature discoveries” like mushrooms, the sun creating our shadows in the grass, moss, and more. My favorite moments were Alayna pointing out a log the kids could balance and walk across (lots of smiles and laughter ensued), and then another log they all sat on to practice mindful breathing and quietly listening to nature.
In the afternoon, yours truly (yoga teacher, LICSW, previous elementary school social worker) and my talented sister-in-law Katie Ryan (high school counselor, with years of early childhood and elementary experience, plus a yoga teacher and musician) led our program for the littles. We started with sing-along-songs outside in the grass, sitting on a tarp. Katie played her native flute + ukulele. Group singing and dancing in the Spring sunshine ensued.
I pulled out a parachute tarp to play with as a group. We gathered walnuts to sprinkle onto the tarp, and ripple it to watch them fly in the air. Later we played with the games and toys in the camper cabin for a bit, while some of the kids took a potty break.
Then we romped through the forest on the trail, laughing and squealing as we played red light-green light (with yoga poses!) and follow the leader. We ended our time together inside the group center with a provided snack and story time. Then we moved our way to the yoga area with yoga books, yoga poses, and mindful breathing exercises.
What were the adult retreaters doing during this time? While their kids were well-cared for and well-entertained for a couple hours, they got to fill their own cup!
We held adult yoga classes for them inside the group center. They went hiking, or read a book by the fire. We had our fishing guides on site to help outfit them, and get them on the water for a world-class fly fishing experience right there on the Whitewater River. They caught rainbow and brown trout!
Lance Prado and Alayna Sobieniak own and operate Root River Rod Co. in Lanesboro, MN. They are so great at what they do! We were so lucky to have them at our family retreat. They brought fly rods, tackle, waders, boots, and nets for the full experience for our families onsite. Practice fly rods for adults and kids to experience casting at the beginning of the weekend was a fun activity all weekend long as well.
The adults were able to fish on their own, and/or bring their kids. Catching a fish on a picturesque river is thrilling.
But watching your 6-year-old or 10-year-old catch their first trout on a fly rod? There’s nothing like it. Lance brought his knowledge and expert guidance to the river. Our group was able to benefit immensely from this, and enjoy a soothing and fun day by the water.
My husband Dan Ryan, fishing guide and environmental educator, worked alongside Lance for the weekend.
Photo: casting practice for families on the lawn!
In his younger years he fished the rivers of Southern Minnesota, even teaching kids fly fishing through the Minnaqua program. Nowadays he spends his time on Northern Minnesota lakes, guiding folks to catch walleyes through his business Dan Ryan Guide Service. But for this weekend, he suited back up in waders to bring adults and kids to the Whitewater River, happily seeking the elusive trout.
I’m not even exaggerating when I tell you that our team for the weekend is exceptional in their respective fields. As a parent, I’m over-the-moon that my 5-year-old got an A+ nature education with Nora Woodworth, and my 3-year-old was so well introduced to early childhood nature education with Alayna Sobieniak. The fact that all of the kids got to experience Katie Ryan’s music and playful movement was extremely special. Not to mention, anyone that got to fish with Lance Prado or Dan Ryan?! A sincerely exceptional fly fishing experience just steps from where we were staying and playing!
In the evenings, families had guided options to choose from. Younger kiddos and their parents joined Alayna and Katie for sleepytime yoga, stories, and native flute and ukulele music.
Older kiddos, and a few parents, joined Nora for a mindful nature walk. The older kids were thrilled to climb the bluffs on the trails and look out at the never-ending scenery, with the river far below.
On the first night, Bryana co-led the walk with Nora. We stopped at an overlook to review our 5 senses + journal on different things we saw, heard, felt, tasted, and smelled on our walk. Tuning in to our senses in nature is a great mindfulness “superpower” and helps us to stay present and experience a sense of calm.
In the mornings, families sleepily entered the group center for a cozy fire, arts & crafts, coffee, and breakfast. Kiddos got to greet their new best friends for the morning and build excitement for the day of play ahead.
On Sunday morning we woke to a fresh covering of frost, the sun peeking out over the bluffs, and robins singing.
Our final morning included an adult yoga class inside the group center, and a kids’ nature program outside.
The kids were guided in wooden boat races on the river! Every kid received a hand cut & sanded wooden boat (thank you Nora!). They were able to decorate it and add leaves as a sail to their wooden skewer mast. Then they took to the river to send it downstream. Another one of the kids was waiting down river (with Lance) with a fishing net, and scooped them up!
Overall the weekend was a hit. One of our frequent adult retreaters, first time bringing her whole family along, summed it up well:
“When I come to your retreats, I always leave feeling like my cup got filled. This weekend, my husband was able to leave feeling refreshed because he got to fly fish the whole time. I feel fulfilled because I got to practice yoga and go hiking, and spend quality time with my family outdoors. And I know my kids have their cup filled as well from their time playing and learning in nature.”
Everyone left asking: will you please do this again?
We are working on confirming a 2026 reservation! Stay tuned on the blog for the announcement!
