By Julia Duin | FāVS News Reporter
Pacific Northwest states like Oregon and Washington always score next to last in terms of attendance at houses of worship, yet there are non-traditional places one can go to pick up spiritual vibes.
True, there’s nothing quite like Mount Shasta, California, whose chamber of commerce actually has a “religion and spirituality” category in its directory. But there are a few places spread across two states and British Columbia with open-air worship spots, meditative gardens and even a monastic coffeeshop. This being the Northwest, the religion is subtle, but the message is the same: there is a There out there.
1. The Bishop’s Close (Elk Rock Garden), Portland, Ore.
Unlike many spiritual green places that solely rely on labyrinths for their link to the divine, this place has an actual setting for worship. Owned until 2022 by the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, the oldest private estate garden in the Pacific Northwest has a stone altar overlooking Mount Hood to the east.
The altar has a Chi Rho symbol etched in its base. Overhead is a grape arbor set on poles that gracefully cover the dais on which the altar sits. Meditative paths, gardens, overlooks and pools are scattered about the property in southwest Portland’s Dunthorpe neighborhood. The rest of the garden surrounds an immense lawn curved in front of a two-story 9,500-square-foot grey stucco manor house, banked by enormous sugar maples, weeping Katsura trees, sweetgums, dawn redwoods and Oregon white oaks.
A gravel path leads past Douglas firs and a grove of white magnolia trees. One path eventually leads to a fishpond with orange koi and from the pond flows a stream, flanked by ferns and white camellia bushes, that leads to a waterfall. The other path continues into a forest of madrona trees and a series of viewpoints over the Willamette River. I first discovered this place while a student at the nearby Lewis & Clark College many years ago, and I’ve been coming back ever since.
2. The Kathok Centre, Coombs, Vancouver Island
This Tibetan Buddhist meditation center is a two-hour drive north of Victoria and just west of Qualicum Beach. It is attached to the Longchen Nyingthig Dzogpa Chenpo tradition and under the patronage of the Traling monastery in Golok, Tibet.
I’ve driven up into the scenic and beautiful grounds of this place, but never in sync with its open-to-the-public self-guided tours, always on Sundays. There are open meditation sessions for all levels of practitioners. Although there are many Buddhist monasteries and centers around the Pacific Northwest, this one seems one of the more accessible.
3. St. John the Forerunner Monastery and Bakery, Goldendale, Wash.
An isolated spot in the mountains of central Washington state may not seem like the most logical place for a Greek Orthodox monastery, but that doesn’t stop the many visitors to the Holy Monastery of St. John the Forerunner. What the black-robed sisters are best known for are as baristas and bakers at an immaculate cafe filled with Greek pastries and books, greeting cards, baptismal candles, icons and incense just off Route 97 and downhill from the 3,100-foot Satus Pass.
Drivers speeding down the pass toward Goldendale will see a sign for “St. John’s Bakery” off to the left. I’ve been following these nuns since 2019 and was able to stay overnight in their guesthouse (usually reserved for Orthodox visitors only) so I could attend services at 4:30 a.m. the next day for an article in ReligionUnplugged.
As the years have progressed, more buildings have risen on their property and the monastery, which was founded by three nuns in 1995, just celebrated its 30th anniversary in June. As this is a women’s monastery, visitors aren’t allowed to roam about unsupervised, but if you make advance arrangements, a tour is possible. (Sometimes you can get a quick tour if the nuns at the coffeeshop aren’t busy; best times, I’m told, are between 10 a.m.- noon and 3-6 p.m.).
Visitors can also attend services at the stately Orthodox church on the hill in back of the bakery. Service times are listed here. Only Orthodox believers are allowed to enter the church; non-Orthodox must sit in the narthex (an outer hallway) during service but may walk about the sanctuary after services are over. Call (509) 773-7141 to reserve tours in advance and remember the coffee shop is always closed during Orthodox holidays.
4. The Sikh Heritage Centre in Abbotsford, BC
Sikhs helped build the Pacific Northwest, which I wrote about in a previous FāVS article. The soldier statues outside the Sikh Heritage Museum on South Fraser Way in Abbotsford, a Vancouver suburb, represent the first Sikhs to visit western Canada. The bottom floor tells the history of the Sikh presence on the continent; the top floor is a prayer room and the oldest Sikh house of worship in North America.
Although the location is on a busy street, there’s an effort to create some beauty in the patio areas surrounding the museum. The presence of roughly 250,000 Sikhs in British Columbia makes them the province’s second-largest religious group after Christians. Visitors are welcome to the free meals in their gurdwaras (worship halls), such as the one across the street from the museum, which we very much enjoyed. Or come to Surrey (another Vancouver suburb) to watch the annual massive Vaisakhi Day street parade — said to be the world’s largest — each April. Next year, it will be April 18.
The Vancouver area is a religious salad bowl of faiths that tourists can see during the annual Doors Open Richmond festival showcasing the many houses of worship in Richmond, a suburb just west of Abbotsford. The 2026 festival is June 6-7. Bus tours are available to take visitors to some of the 20 houses of worship along the No. 5 Road, informally known as the “Highway to Heaven.” Past stops have included the Az-Zahraa Islamic Centre, Lingyen Mountain Temple, Richmond Jamia Masjid and Vedic Cultural Centre. More information on the Sikh museum is here.
5. The meditation garden at the Westport Winery Garden Resort, Aberdeen, Wash.
If you’re seeking a spiritual place that adheres to no specific creed, check out the 15 acres of sculptures, outdoor displays, flowers and gravel labyrinth. Linked to a winery, restaurant and mermaid museum, the attached garden isn’t touted much on the winery’s website, but they’re my favorite part of this unusual resort. The spirituality is low-key, but once you begin reading the signs, certain themes pop out.
If the unusual arrangement of black and purple plants next to a glass-encrusted pillar with a troll atop it doesn’t make you stop and think, other mysterious statues (an angel with his head buried in his hands) will. Each portion of this immense garden comes with its own mood and color scheme.
Signs with quotes by everyone from C.S. Lewis and Dale Carnegie to Frances Hodgson Burnett and Henry David Thoreau are placed in strategic spots. A medicine wheel blessed by the late shaman from the local Cowlitz tribe is at one end; an immense guitar made out of driftwood is not far away. There are benches where you can sit and think and classical music playing softly in the background. Someone put some thought into this place.
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