FAQs

  • We announce early access to our trips through our newsletter, which you can sign up for here. Registration is first come, first served. You pay and register for the trip at the same time through the check out process. There is an option to pay in full or to commit to a payment plan to split up the costs through a third party company called Klarna. The registration process includes a medical and dietary form as part of your participation. If you have questions about whether the trip is right for you, please email commonground@notsorryproductions.com before you register. 

    After you register, a member from our team will reach out within three business days with further details about start and end points and more logistics for the trip. 

    Once the trip is sold out, you will have the option to sign up for the wait list. 

  • We announce new trips, release registration, and send updates about open spaces primarily through our newsletter. If you are interested in any current or future trips, we highly recommend you sign up for it. We are also on Instagram @commongroundpilgrimages. 

    We do not currently offer any ways to pre-register or reserve spaces for people. The best way to make sure you have a spot on a trip is to subscribe to our newsletter, as we notify that list 24 hours before public registration goes live!

  • Refunds are considered on an individual basis and are only possible if a replacement participant joins in the canceled participant’s stead. Once a replacement is found, the participant receives a 90% refund of the paid tuition. No full refunds are offered.

    If a participant cancels within eight weeks of the trip start date, we are not able to look for a replacement participant. 

    For more information on our terms and conditions, look here. 

  • Each person arrives with different goals and leaves with a unique sense of fulfillment. A Common Ground pilgrimage might be right for you if…

    • You’ve always loved the book we’re exploring — or have always wanted a reason to read it.

    • You’re craving space to reflect, celebrate, or navigate a transition.

    • You want to connect with peers in meaningful conversation.

    • You’re seeking beauty, ritual, and wisdom — without the baggage of traditional religion.

    • You simply love to walk, to read, or to be immersed in art and nature.

  • Pilgrimages vary in physical activity level depending on the location and the length of the trips. For most trips, we recommend that folks prepare themselves for walking anywhere from approximately 5-12 miles per day, come rain or shine, with changes in elevation. Walking around a track will not accurately replicate most of the wild walking we do on trips. We maintain a sense of flexibility as a group because on occasion, the walking we set out to do alters whilst on route depending on weather conditions, blocked paths, mud, and endurance of the group. Some of the walking is on paved roads within the towns we visit, and some of the physical activity is hiking across beautiful countryside with varying terrain. We rate each pilgrimage in one of three categories: leisurely, moderate, challenging.

  • Common Ground creates an environment which encourages people to make meaning through secular texts, treating novels and other forms of non-religious media as sacred. We approach secular texts with rigor, expecting that the more time spent with a text, the more gifts it will return to us. We use sacred reading practices, selected from a variety of faiths, and also treat our walks, class time, meals, and chaplaincy sessions as sacred practices, reclaiming what religion has unfortunately made exclusive for and intolerant of so many. In that way, we offer pilgrimages, chaplaincy, blessings, etc. without prayer, religious text reading, or traditional "worship." 

  • “Chaplaincy,” as Common Ground uses it, means an opportunity to speak one-on-one with our trip chaplain, an individual trained to listen deeply and provide effective, non-judgmental emotional support. You will bring a specific question (e.g. “Should I quit my job?” or “Am I ready to start dating again?”) and talk it through with them, finding new insights together. In fact, you can hear what it's like by listening to our podcast The Real Question.

  • Unfortunately, we're not able to accommodate day participants on these trips. We consider these pilgrimages immersive time for reflection in small groups. Much of the wisdom we gain from one another happens during unstructured interactions between meals, on the way to class, etc., and we want all participants to be able to enjoy those experiences. Additionally, our contracts with venues are established based on a capacity of guests on the property and would not permit for individuals to only join our programming.

  • Most folks who join Common Ground pilgrimages arrive solo without personal relationships to anyone else on the trip, but occasionally, people do register together and request each other as roommates. We are happy to accommodate people who wish to share a room so long as we have the availability to do so! We encourage people to join even if they don’t know anyone else. Common Ground is sensitive to this anxiety, and we strive to create a safe space for bringing your whole self to a group of like-minded strangers.

  • Feel free to check out our page about accessibility! In brief, our pilgrimages are expensive because of the intimate group size, the cost of paying our staff a fair wage and the quality of programming and housing our trips provide.