Driving

Driving times are about one and a half hours from Santa Rosa, and two-and-a-half hours to three hours from San Francisco. If you need directions along the way, most locals know PPI as ‘Black Mountain Camp’ or ‘the old prison’. Note that mobile phones tend not to work for the last 30 minutes or so of the drive up. Gas stations can be found in Santa Rosa and Guerneville and Jenner, but not Cazadero.

NOTE: BE WARY OF GOOGLE ⁄ MAPQUEST DIRECTIONS - follow directions below to avoid little-used tracks through the woods!

Recommended route: For a beautiful coastal drive, drive to Highway 1.

From the River Road exit off of Hwy 101 north of Santa Rosa travel toward Guerneville where you pick up Highway 116 to Jenner (simplest).

From Hwy 116 West exit off of Hwy 101 at Cotati continue through toward Sebastopol where you can either:

1) continue west on Bodega Highway making a right turn north on Hwy 1 toward Bodega Bay and then travelling through to Jenner, (mostly coast) or

2) continue through on 116 to Guerneville where you pick up the directions in the first option above to Jenner (coastal/inland).

From Jenner: continue west then north following Highway 1. About five miles past Jenner turn right onto Meyers Grade Road. Follow Meyers Grade for about 4.8 miles then turn right again onto Fort Ross Road (a hairpin turn). Keep going about 3.6 more miles on this road through woods and uphill until you reach a higher, open stretch with a mail box, temporarily on the right due to construction, marked PPI. The entrance has a large sign saying 'Padmasambhava Peace Institute' and 'Black Mountain Camp' as well as 'Fort Ross Fire Dept'. The address is 23125 Fort Ross Road, Cazadero, CA 95421. Stay on this winding road all the way down until you reach a cluster of buildings. The office is the first long building on the right.

Caution: We strongly urge everyone to drive slowly on and around the property as there are many wild animals who cross the roads freely and unsuspectingly, and in the camp itself we have young children. Speeds of 20mph on the access road and 5mph at the camp are advised. Thank you for your co-operation.

Public Transport

For those coming from further afield, an airport bus operates every 90 minutes out of San Francisco and Oakland airports to Santa Rosa, a two-hour journey from either airport. One-way fare is around $34, with discounts for students and seniors. Click here for details: http://www.airportexpressinc.com

Groups can arrange car-pools from Santa Rosa up to PPI, about 80 minutes away. Buses run from Santa Rosa to Guerneville and Monte Rio, 40 and 30 minutes away.