beacon lodge camp
Warrior Wellness Weekends
LAUNCHING SPRING 2027
Always free
for PA veterans & eligible family
12–15 people
small by design, so trust can build
Fri - Sun
three days, one cohort at a time
Some things are hard to explain to people who weren't there.
Warrior Wellness Weekends are free, trauma-informed retreats where Pennsylvania veterans and military families heal in the company of people who understand — guided by mental health professionals and veteran peers, in the quiet of 583 wooded acres.
What a weekend brings together
Clinical expertise, lived experience, and the outdoors - in one place.
Combat. Loss. Moral injury. The gap between who you were before and who you are now. A weekend can't undo any of it. But it can give you tools, language, and a few people who genuinely get it.
Clinically informed
Licensed, trauma-informed clinicians lead every retreat — using proven approaches like CBT, ACT, and grounding work, delivered where healing feels natural, not clinical.
Peer-supported
Veteran peer specialists who've carried similar weight co-facilitate alongside the clinicians. You get clinical depth and the kind of understanding that only comes from having been there.
Outdoor By Design
Nature isn't a backdrop — it's part of the work. Climbing, fishing, a guided walk, a campfire: real ground to practice staying steady when your body wants to do otherwise.
How a weekend works
Stabilize first. Build skills second. Leave with a plan.
Every retreat follows the same careful arc across 48 hours. You're never pushed deeper than you're ready to go - safety comes before depth, always. You decide how much you take part in.
FRIDAY
01 Stabilize
Arrive, settle in, lower the guard. Learn how stress and trauma move through the body — then practice breathing and grounding before anything heavier begins. A quiet campfire to close.
saturday morning
02 Understand
Plain-language sessions on what trauma, hypervigilance, moral injury, and burnout actually do — no shame, just literacy. Smaller breakouts go where your experience lives.
saturday afternoon
03 Practice
Take the skills outside. Climbing wall, zip line, fishing, or creative work — choose your track, notice what shows up in your body, and use the tools in real time.
sunday
04 Integrate
Build a plan you can carry home: your triggers named, your go-to tools, one 30-day step, and people to call. We check in a week later, too.
The retreats we're building for Spring 2027
Four retreats, each for a specific experience.
We keep cohorts focused so the people in the room truly share your road. Tell us which fits on the waitlist — or that you're not sure yet, and we'll help you find the right one.
Women Veterans Wellness
For women who've served and often feel caught in between — too "military" for civilian women, too "female" for veteran spaces. A place where your whole identity is seen.
- Transition and identity after service
- Military sexual trauma and harassment experiences
- Being a minority within a minority
- Accessing care in systems built primarily for men
Combat Veterans PTSD Cohort
A cohort series: the same small group of combat veterans commits to three retreats over six months, building trust deep enough to do the hard work together.
- Hypervigilance and difficulty relaxing
- Intrusive memories and nightmares
- Emotional numbing or explosive anger
- Survivor's guilt and moral injury
Why a cohort? Trust takes time. Three retreats with the same people means your group becomes your community.
Military Caregiver Respite
For the spouses, parents, siblings, and adult children carrying the medical appointments, the insurance battles, and the exhaustion that never quite lifts. You can't pour from an empty cup.
- Space for your own needs, without guilt
- Connection with others who understand the isolation
- Tools for burnout and compassion fatigue
- Setting boundaries while still providing care
Need coverage for the veteran you care for? Tell us — we may be able to help arrange respite.
Gold Star Families Remembrance
For families navigating a grief that mixes pride and devastation — and the quiet pressure to "be strong" and "move on." Here, you can be both proud and heartbroken.
- Surviving spouses and parents
- Children and siblings of fallen service members
- Complicated grief held alongside pride
- Feeling forgotten as the years pass
Completely free for Pennsylvania veterans and eligible family members.
Private cabin lodging, all meals, every activity, and professional facilitation — included. You bring comfortable clothes, your medications, and a willingness to show up.