The high desert has been a sound destination since long before it was a weekend one. What the desert adds is the silence underneath: there is almost no traffic floor out here, so the quiet between the tones is as much of the session as the tones. Sessions range from a bowl circle in a tipi to the Integratron, and each one is run by the person who plays it.
Meditate to resonant frequencies
Run by Kaleidoscope Desert, in Morongo Valley, CA, $65 per person, 1h, up to 10 guests.
Immerse yourself in an hour of resonant tones made by the Gamelatron Tangan Ke Hati, a sonic kinetic sculpture featuring 15 robotically played gongs.
Books on the operator's own website.
Live crystal bowls in the famous Landers dome
Run by The Integratron, in Landers, CA, $62.89 per person, 1h.
A 60-minute session in the dome: around 35 to 40 minutes of live quartz crystal singing bowls, then quiet time to lie still while the room rings. Public sessions book out weeks ahead. The Integratron closes Sunday through Tuesday each week and takes a summer maintenance break that runs into early September, so check their calendar early. Listed from their public information. Booking happens on their own site.
Books on the operator's own website.
Up to twelve gongs, ten people, one hour
Run by The Gong Room, in Yucca Valley, CA, $65 per person, 1h, up to 10 guests.
A 60-minute sound bath built around as many as twelve gongs plus crystal bowls, capped around ten people so nobody is lost in a crowd. Several public sessions run each week, with breathwork combinations and private group sessions also on the calendar. Advance online registration is required. Listed from their public information. Booking happens on their own site.
Books on the operator's own website.
Small groups in a 36-foot tipi in Morongo Valley
Run by Kyle Martin's Joshua Tree Sound Baths, in Morongo Valley, CA, $85 per person, up to 7 guests.
A shamanic sound bath for groups of two to seven inside a 36-foot tipi: sage smudging and time by the fire, then the sound bath itself. They also run a two-hour session inside a boulder cave in Pioneertown and private one-on-one table sessions. Everything is by appointment, booked by phone, text or email. Listed from their public information. Booking happens on their own site.
Books on the operator's own website.
You lie down, usually on a mat with a blanket, and a practitioner plays gongs, bowls or other instruments for the length of the session. There is nothing to do and nothing to keep up with. Most people are somewhere between very relaxed and asleep by the middle of it.
Layers, because you cool down fast lying still, and whatever makes the floor comfortable for you. Most operators provide mats and blankets and say so on the listing. Some ask you to bring your own.
The well known sessions fill weeks out, especially on weekends in spring and fall. Smaller sessions often have room the same week. Availability on each listing is the operator's own calendar, so what you see is what is open.