Venues · Manchester
OZ Farm
An off-grid, certified organic farm and retreat center on 240 acres along the Garcia River, north of Point Arena.
41601 Mountain View Road, Point Arena · four miles north of Point Arena, 1.65 miles up Mountain View Road after the Garcia River bridge. About 15 minutes from Point Arena and three hours from San Francisco.
OZ Farm is a working organic farm and retreat center: 240 acres bordered by redwood forest, with the Garcia River running through it, about two miles from the Pacific as the crow flies. It’s off the grid, running on solar and wind, and it’s been certified organic since 1990. The heart of it is a barn rebuilt in 2016–17 from redwoods milled on the farm, with a big open room for events, a hand-built bar, a loft and the cider mill. The farm sits on the traditional land of the Pomo People.
Kitchen reality
There’s no in-house catering: you bring your own food, drink and caterer. The farm’s own words on the kitchen are worth reading exactly, because they’re honest:
What that means from the kitchen side: this is a camp kitchen with a very good stove, not a catering kitchen. Everything cold arrives in coolers, and the cooking equipment arrives with your caterer. The farm is off-grid, so its generator covers the basics but there are no extra electric appliances and no outside generators allowed. Plan the menu around that, not against it.
And plan it around fire. There’s a wood-fired pizza oven (with firewood for one meal), a barbecue and a fire pit, and the farm’s own photos show an outdoor kitchen in use for a rehearsal dinner. A live-fire menu, cooked mostly outside and finished on that stove, suits this place far better than a plated reception trying to pretend it’s in a hotel. Fires are only allowed in the stoves, the oven, the barbecue and the fire pit, and fire risk is extreme from May to October.
Cooking from the farm
This is the part a chef gets excited about. During the wedding season the farm grows a wide range of fruit, vegetables and flowers, and will give you and your caterer a list of what’s available. Caterers’ orders need to go in two weeks ahead. There are more than fifteen heirloom apple varieties, the farm presses its own hard cider, and it bakes organic apple pies. Guests can’t pick from the fields themselves.
Capacity and the stay
- Weddings Thursday 3pm to Sunday 3pm. The rental covers up to 100 day guests including 30 overnight (20 without the Domes); up to 150 day guests and 60 overnight for an extra fee.
- Where people sleep Seven cabins and yurts (2–9 people each), the Domes (8–10, open June through October depending on the river), the Community House, and camping in a private redwood grove. Cabins have wood stoves, basic kitchenware and outhouses.
- Ceremony and party Ceremonies in the redwood grove or on Tai Chi Hill; the party runs through the barn, the Community House and the bath house. If it rains, the barn holds the whole thing.
- Sound No noise curfew on Friday and Saturday for amplified sound; 10pm on other nights.
- Getting here About 35 cars can park. There’s no Uber, Lyft or taxi service out here, so plan carpools or a shuttle.
- Dogs Discouraged at weddings; $50 a dog if they come, leashed. There’s a resident farm dog.
- Cost (as published for 2027) Weddings $19,965 with the Domes, $18,865 without, plus a required $3,000 OZ Farm day-of coordinator. The FAQ page shows older figures, so confirm with the farm.
Retreats
Retreats run Thursday to Sunday (or Monday on long weekends) for up to thirty people overnight: family reunions, milestone birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette weekends, corporate and non-profit retreats, and workshops in yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, cooking, art and river studies. Published rates start at $7,000 for Thursday to Sunday without the Domes.
Meals aren’t provided. The farm’s rule is that occupancy includes your teachers and your cook, so a retreat here brings its own. That’s exactly the work we do: retreat cooking, from what’s growing on the farm that week.
Our read
Best for a group that wants a farm weekend together, not a turnkey reception: a small wedding, a retreat, a family gathering that cooks and eats outside. The kitchen is limited, the fire is generous, and the produce is right there. Book it knowing that, and it’s one of the most memorable places on this coast to cook.
What to ask OZ Farm before you book
- Which produce will be ready that weekend? Get the list early, and have your caterer order two weeks ahead.
- Which kitchen and fridge space is ours, and when? One fridge covers the whole rental, so coolers and ice need a plan.
- What will the generator run? Off-grid means no extra electric appliances. Check anything your caterer plans to plug in.
- What are the fire rules on our date? Fire risk is extreme May to October; the pizza oven, barbecue and fire pit are the only places for fire.
Cooking at OZ Farm?
We cook in the house you’ve rented, and at places like this: live-fire dinners, retreat meals and small weddings, built around what the farm has that week. Check your date.
Details from ozfarm.com (weddings, FAQs, rates, retreats, cabins, the barn). Checked September 24, 2026; confirm prices and policies with the farm. Photo: Sarah Stierch, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Manchester State Park, nearby). All venues.