Visiting Us

Day Visitors

We welcome you to visit our Monastery. You are welcome to visit the Abbey and participate in any of the daily liturgical services being offered. Visitors of all faiths are welcome.

Overnight Guests

We accept reservations for overnight stays, with a minimum of two nights. Simple accommodations and meals are included with your suggested donation of $70 to $150 per night.

Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ… …let all kindness be shown them.”

-Rule of Saint Benedict

A letter to our visitors from the Abbot

Dear Visitors and Guests,

Blessings to you!  God’s peace and blessings.  WELCOME TO ALL!

As the Abbot of this Monastery, I extend a most warm, encouraging and welcoming invitation for all persons to visit us.  As a community of Benedictine monks we follow St. Benedict’s rule which asks us to treat each guest and visitor as Christ would be treated.  It is, therefore, our special privilege to have all people of whatever faith or belief, ethnic, or cultural background to come to our beautiful canyon and find a place of silence, solitude, and peace as the guests of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert.

It is in this setting and by sharing time with this community that I believe that you can experience that wisdom of the desert which has called so many seekers to come to a place of timeless beauty and profound realness.  Here you may well begin to see your life in new perspectives.  Here you may well taste and see that the Lord is good.  Here you will, I believe, be in a sacred space where those things that seem impossible for yourself are indeed possible for God.

Many who come here are of a different faith, or have none at all, yet all are moved by the experience.  They find a quiet, disciplined prayer-filled life guided by a few but clear rules for guests.  Yet it is in such a setting that there may be the rediscovery of a spiritual path once lost, or the finding of a greater meaning for life.

We make it possible for our guests and visitors to participate in scheduled prayers in the Abbey Church and to have their own time for prayer or reflection in silence.  On Sundays, we have a time for guests to meet with the monks following Mass while we all share some refreshments.

We are always delighted to offer our hospitality to the people who have made the journey to our Monastery. We offer a respite from the world of distractions, noise, and even superficial existence.  Here there is a sense of the community of all human beings, a place where true love of neighbor, of everyone really, seems possible by a wonderful gift or grace that is offered to all of us.  Welcome and blessings.

Your brother in the Lord,

Abbot Christian, OSB

Current Road Conditions

Updated on Monday, March 18th, 2024, 7:39 am

After rain/snow over the weekend, the Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery is currently wet & muddy.

Only high clearance four-wheel drive vehicles should be used for traversing Forest Road 151 at this time.

For those who travel the road, please be aware that there may be traffic traveling in both directions on the road, so round curves with caution. Be courteous and allow faster traffic ahead of you. Simply pull to the side of the road and let them pass.

Safe and peaceful travels.

Map / Driving Directions »

Meet Our Guestmaster


If you have questions about visiting us, feel free to contact, our guestmaster, via telephone at (575) 613-4233, or by using our contact form. Guide for Guests