Morning sunbeams falling through a pine forest over a sea of palmettos

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The Hostel in the Forest

Treehouses, geodesic domes, a labyrinth, and a glass sanctuary on 140 acres of Georgia forest. A place to slow down, unplug, and remember what matters, open to travelers since July 4, 1975.

The brief

The forest does not hurry, and neither should its website. It needed to feel like arriving: calm, green, and quietly welcoming, with everything a first-time visitor needs to find their way.

Client: The Hostel in the Forest
Location: Brunswick, Georgia
Since: 1975
Scope: Website, print, care

Breathe in.Breathe out.

Phones stay in the car. The forest does the talking.

The place

A little village among the pines.

Tom Dennard came home from a backpacking trip through Europe dreaming of a hostel of his own. Fifty years later, thousands of loving hands have built it into a working eco-sanctuary, part retreat, part classroom, part family.

TreehousesScreened huts up among the pines, named and lovingly kept by generations of volunteers.
Geodesic domesCedar-shake domes, including the Library, with books and instruments for anyone who wanders in.
The labyrinthThe largest labyrinth in the Southeast, a slow walking meditation under the trees.
The Glass HouseA sanctuary of windows on the water, for yoga, movement, and stillness.
The lakeSpring-fed and quiet, with canoes and kayaks waiting at the shore.
The gardenGrown without pesticides, tended by guests, and shared at the dinner table.

Morning mist on a still forest lake with a wooden canoe at the shore

Young ferns unfurling on a mossy forest floor

Paper lanterns glowing along a forest path at dusk

Every evening

A bell rings near the dome. Everyone joins hands in a circle, listens to the forest, and says one thing they are thankful for.

Then a family-style vegetarian dinner, made with help from the garden.

The website

Built like the forest floor.

We have looked after the Hostel’s website for more than a decade, and in 2024 we rebuilt it: soft forest greens and warm stone, wide photographs from the land, gentle curved edges, and every corner of the place given its own page, from the treehouses and the Glass House to membership, events, and the chickens.

foresthostel.com

The Hostel in the Forest homepage on a phone

The Art Lab on the Facilities page, on a phone

Feature Chickens on a phone: Russell the Skittish Explorer

The Facilities page: canoes at the lake, and the Glass House — Facilities

The Mission page beside a photo of the forest — Our mission

Feature Chickens: Elain of the Prythian Fae and Russell the Skittish Explorer — Feature chickens

Membership cards

Printed on the forest’s terms.

Every member carries a card. We designed the first edition in 2011 on paper made carbon neutral from post consumer fiber, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and the back of the card says so. A fresh edition followed in 2021, numbered from 20000.