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    • Learn & Listen Overview
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    • Library
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    • Mindfulness Overview
    • Foundations of Mindfulness
    • Mindful Living
    • Trauma-Informed Mindfulness
    • Guided Meditations
  • Community
    • Join Our Community
    • Initiatives
    • Journal
    • Start a Sangha
    • Wake Up (18-35)
    • Become a Monastic
    • Order of Interbeing (OI)
    • BIPOC Sanghas
    • LGBTQIA+ Communities
    • Lay Dharma Teachers
  • Visit
    • Visit Overview
    • Events
    • Types of Visits
    • Register for a Retreat
    • Volunteer
    • Contact Us
  • Bookshop
    • Overview
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  1. Home
  2. Plan Your Visit

Plan Your Visit

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Subscribe to our Coyote Tracks newsletter on Substack to receive event announcements, writing, art, music, and meditations from Deer Park monastics.

Support Deer Park

Donations are our main source of support, so every offering is greatly appreciated. Your contribution helps us to keep the monastery open to receive guests throughout the year.

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  • INITIATIVES
    • Thich Nhat Hanh Museum
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Plum Village Practice Centers

  • Blue Cliff Monastery

    3 Mindfulness Road
    Pine Bush, NY 12566
    United States 

  • Deer Park Monastery

    2499 Melru Lane
    Escondido, CA 92026
    United States

  • Magnolia Grove Monastery

    123 Towles Rd 
    Batesville, MS 38606 
    United States

  • Stream of Compassion Mindfulness Practice Centre

    670 Concession 20 W, Tiny, ON L9M 0H6, Canada

  • Plum Village

    437 Chemin du Pey
    
24240 Thénac
    France

  • European Institute of Applied Buddhism

    Schaumburgweg 3 Germany
    D-51545 Waldbröl
    Germany

  • Healing Spring Monastery

    2 Rue Pascal Jardin
    77510 Verdelot
    France

  • Maison de l’Inspir

    8 Rue des Fans
    77510 Villeneuve-sur-Bellot
    France

  • Thai Plum Village

    Pong Ta Long
    Pak Chong District
    Nakhon Ratchasima 30130
    Thailand

  • Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism

    Lotus Pond Temp, Ngong Ping
    Lantau Island
    New Territories
    Hong Kong SAR China

  • Stream Entering Monastery

    530 Porcupine Ridge Road 
    Porcupine Ridge VIC VIC 3461
    Australia

  • Mountain Spring Monastery

    2657 Bells Line of Road
    Bilpin NSW 2758
    Australia

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Guests are welcome to visit Deer Park for Days of Mindfulness, multi-day overnight retreats, and other special events.

Visiting Hours

We welcome people with all levels of meditation experience — including none at all. However, please plan your visit for times when the monastery is open and receiving visitors. If you have registered for an overnight retreat, plan to arrive on your designated arrival day. The monastery gate is closed outside of these times.

  • Drop-in visits are unavailable at this time
  • Visit during a Day of Mindfulness. Advance registration is required.
  • Visit during a multi-day overnight retreat.
  • Special events, such as evening classes or fundraising activities. View all upcoming events on the Events Calendar
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Upcoming Events

View All
  • Happy Farm 73
    Aug23
    Saturday / 8:45 am - 1:30 pmHappy Farm Community Work Day: August 23
  • IMG 7885
    Aug24
    Sunday / 9:00 am - 2:00 pmDay of Mindfulness: August 24

    We welcome you to join us for this day of practice.

  • IMG 7061
    Aug24
    Sunday / 1:00 pm - 4:00 pmMindful Walking & Book Signing in Escondido: August 24

    Mindful Walking and Hiking Zen Book Signing with Brother Phap Luu at Barnes & Noble in Escondido, CA

  • 54264 DAE B195 4 DD2 A7 C3 010584 F0 E913 1 105 c
    Aug29
    August 29 / 4:00 pm - September 1 1:30 pmAlaska Mindfulness Retreat

    Join Deer Park Monastics in Alaska for the "Peace is Every Step" Mindfulness Retreat, in partnership with Floating Leaf Sangha.

  • IMG 20250209 025541
    Aug31
    August 31 / 9:00 am - 2:00 pmDay of Mindfulness: August 31

    We welcome you to join us for this day of practice.

  • IMG 20250209 025606
    Sep07
    September 7 / 9:00 am - 2:00 pmDay of Mindfulness: September 7

    We welcome you to join us for this day of practice.

Mindful Conduct

Practicing the Mindfulness Trainings

Please keep in mind that the monastery is a spiritual space intended for relaxation, reflection, healing, and transformation. Observe the Five Mindfulness Trainings to ensure a respectful and harmonious atmosphere for all.

Intoxicants and Drugs on Campus Are Strictly Prohibited

This includes illegal drugs, marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, vapes, as well as illicit use of prescription and over-the-counter medications. Possession of these substances will result in immediate removal from the monastery.

Appropriate Physical Conduct

Respect personal boundaries and avoid behaviors that may make others feel uncomfortable or unsafe, including romantic advances, sexual gestures or comments, inappropriate physical contact (including touching, punching, or hugging), asking another visitor to go to an isolated place away from the Sangha, or disregarding dress code guidelines.

Dress Code

Dress modestly and comfortably in loose-fitting clothes that cover shoulders, midsection, and knees. Avoid wearing shorts, tank tops, and fragrances.

Pets Policy

For the protection and safety of all, guests cannot bring pets to our practice center.

Reporting Misconduct

Please report concerning or inappropriate behavior to any monastic resident or email us here.

Getting Here

To navigate to Deer Park using a GPS, mobile device, or rideshare service put in either 2499 Melru Ln, Escondido, CA or 1 Deer Park Ln, Escondido, CA.

Once you arrive at our Main Gate, drive up the road about one mile. Go past Clarity Hamlet and park in the Main Parking Lot — a large gravel lot on the left side.

Get Directions
Deer park map
Foggy mountains

Ways to Get to Deer Park

Deer Park is located about 40-miles from downtown San Diego and six miles from downtown Escondido. We are closest to I-15 and HWY-78.

Taxi in Escondido: To take a cab from Escondido, you can contact either All City Taxi Cab at 760-747-8888 or A1 Taxi Cab of Escondido at 760-690-2080.

The nearest airports to Deer Park include:

  • San Diego International Airport (SAN) is about 40 miles away with a typical travel time of about an hour by car. From there you can travel by car, train, or bus. More details below.
  • John Wayne Airport (SNA), located to the north in Orange County, is about 75 miles away with a typical travel time of about 1.5 hours by car. From there you can travel by car, train or bus.
  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), located to the north in Los Angeles County, is about 115 miles away with a typical travel time of 2.5 hours by car, depending on traffic. From there you can travel by car, train, or bus.

The Escondido Transit Center is serviced by SPRINTER Light Rail. SPRINTER travels between Oceanside Transit Center on the coast inland to the Escondido Transit Center.

Visitors traveling south can take Amtrak or Metrolink to Oceanside. 

Visitors who land at San Diego International Airport can take the COASTER Rail (after a short bus ride) to Oceanside.

You can use the North County Transit District Trip Planner to get information on travel times and rates for both SPRINTER and COASTER.

Most buses arriving in Escondido and traveling within Escondido, start and terminate at the Escondido Transit Center including Greyhound Bus service.

Within Escondido, the closest bus stop from the monastery is located 3-miles away from the transit center at the corner of Rincon and Broadway. This is serviced by Route 358/359 of the BREEZE bus service operated by North County Transit District. Travel time is about 2O minutes.

It is possible to take a Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) bus from the San Diego Airport to downtown San Diego and transfer to a bus that takes you to the Escondido Transit Center. Total travel time is about 1.5 hours.

When planning to visit Deer Park, many friends ask about carpool or rideshare options. Our community is very supportive of finding alternative means of transportation. We use our community platform below to help visitors self-organize offering and requesting rides.

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Types of Visits

To get more information about your type of visit, see our Types of Visits page. There’s useful information there for you if you are:

  • Visiting for a Day of Mindfulness
  • Visiting to attend a multi-day overnight retreat
  • Visiting to volunteer at a multi-day overnight retreat
  • Attending the Teen Camp
  • Attending the Rains Retreat
  • Visiting for a special event
More Details
Donation spread
On-site Donations

We welcome you to attend our Days of Mindfulness on a donation basis. There are donation boxes available in the Dining Hall and Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall, or you can click here to donate online.

Visitors for events and retreats are welcome to donate as they are called to and are able. There is a donation table located near the Registration Office on the day of events or the last day of retreats.

Alms giving (food donation) has connected the monastic and lay communities since the time of the Buddha. If you would like to make a donation of vegetarian food to the monastery, you may come to the kitchen on a Day of Mindfulness so that we can receive your gift.

All donations are greatly appreciated.

Explore Online Courses

From time to time we offer multi-week courses related to mindfulness, the teachings and life of Thich Nhat Hanh, and a variety of similar subjects. Please see our schedule of upcoming courses.

Upcoming Courses
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Plum Village App

Take the Deer Park Monastery and Plum Village community with you wherever you go. The Plum Village app is designed to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, and joy through guided meditations, deep relaxations, practice poems, bells of mindfulness, and other practices — all through a mobile device.

Open Plum Village Mobile App in the App Store
Open Plum Village Mobile App in the Google Play Store