Unplug and Renew With a Relaxing Vacation

Ghost Ranch
Abiquiu, N.M.
$390 to $834 (six nights)

About 130 miles north of Albuquerque, this 21,000-acre desert haven sweeps through the rouge-and-coral mesas of the Chama River valley, immortalized by artist Georgia O'Keeffe, who lived and worked at Ghost Ranch for 50 years.

Where to sleep
The quarters range from rustic bunk-bed dorms to Santa Fe-chic rooms with private baths. But you'll find no in-room clock, radio, television or Internet.

How to unwind
Situated about the grounds are a beautiful, new two-story adobe worship center, a charming 16,000-volume New Mexico — style library (including Shirley MacLaine's extensive spirituality collection) and a dinosaur-filled archaeology museum. The paleontology museum features a large block of rock, taken from a Ghost Ranch site, that's being carefully excavated by experts. Some 200 annual workshops allow you to try your hand at fly-fishing, bird-watching, photography, yoga and beadwork. You can also hike to an 8,000-year-old rock shelter — or get lost in thought walking the half-mile stone-lined labyrinth. (877-804-4678; GhostRanch.org)

Kadampa Meditation Center
Glen Spey, N.Y.
$35 to $105

This 82-acre Buddhist retreat in a spruce forest (80 miles from Manhattan) was founded by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, an 81-year-old Tibetan monk, and offers secluded trails where you might see white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and even, yes, black bears.

Where to sleep
You can choose from a shared dormitory or a simple single room with a desk and sitting area. Meals are served family-style in a log house.

How to unwind
Catch up on all things Buddhist at the Kadampa Book and Gift Shop, or enjoy a cup of really good tea and dessert (don't miss the scrumptious cherry pie with homemade whipped cream) at the World Peace Cafe. Temple talks include simple breathing meditations. Those visitors who are not attracted to Buddhist precepts can enjoy the center's many creeks and ponds.(845-856-9000; kadampanewyork.org)

Jessica Maxwell wrote the award-winning memoir Roll Around Heaven.

Also of interest:

• 6 hidden away destinations for a peaceful getaway.
• How meditation grows your brain.

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