Your Dickinson Ranch Weekend 

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your relationship is get away from the place where everyday life keeps happening.

Away from the laundry.

Away from the unfinished projects.

Away from the schedules, errands, work, phones, and all the little things competing for your attention.

Not because getting away magically fixes a relationship, but because changing your surroundings can give you something that is surprisingly hard to find at home:

Time to focus on one another.

This September, couples attending the Hold Me Tight® Couples Workshop will have three days to do exactly that at Dickinson Ranch near Cedar City, Utah.

The workshop takes place September 4–6, 2026, and includes the relationship-focused Hold Me Tight® program facilitated by Rachel Christensen, LCSW, Marriage Counselor, special guest experiences with Zosha from Sound Will Heal, scheduled meals, and rustic lodging right at the ranch.

Instead of attending a workshop for a few hours and immediately returning to everyday responsibilities, couples can settle in and make a weekend of it.

A Quiet Southern Utah Setting for Reconnecting

Dickinson Ranch sits outside Cedar City in the Southern Utah landscape, surrounded by open space, sagebrush, mountains, beautiful skies, and the kind of sunsets that invite you to stop for a minute and actually look at them.

It's intentionally different from a hotel conference room.

The accommodations are rustic, and we mean that in the genuine sense of the word.

Couples will have access to on-site lodging, including the small cabins at the ranch and available bedrooms in the main house.

We want couples to know what to expect before they arrive, which is why we're sharing photographs of the actual accommodations. This isn't intended to be a luxury resort weekend. It's a comfortable, informal place to settle in, slow down, and concentrate on why you're there in the first place:

Each other.

Lodging Is Included With Your Workshop Registration

You don't need to register for the workshop and then begin searching for a hotel.

Rustic on-site lodging at Dickinson Ranch is included in your couples registration.

The ranch offers three small cabins as well as additional sleeping accommodations in the main house.

Refrigerator, stove, and basic food-preparation amenities are available if you'd like to bring personal food items with you.

Couples are welcome to arrive anytime on Friday to get settled before the weekend officially begins. Friday meals are on your own, with light snacks and drinks available during the evening workshop session.

Scheduled meals on Saturday and Sunday are included as part of the weekend.

That means once you've arrived and unpacked, you can stay put.

Three Days Set Aside for Your Relationship

Of course, the setting is only part of the weekend.

The heart of the experience is the Hold Me Tight® Couples Workshop, facilitated by Rachel Christensen, LCSW, Marriage Counselor.

Based on the work of Dr. Sue Johnson and Emotionally Focused Therapy, Hold Me Tight® helps couples recognize the negative patterns that can leave them feeling disconnected and begin creating new ways of communicating and responding to one another.

Throughout the weekend, couples will participate in discussions, watch videos, and complete private exercises with their own partners.

The goal isn't to create a perfect relationship in three days.

It's to create time and space to understand one another a little differently, recognize patterns that may be getting in the way of connection, and begin having conversations that can continue long after the weekend ends.

Something Special Has Been Added to the Weekend

This year's Dickinson Ranch experience also includes special guest Zosha from Sound Will Heal.

Zosha will lead traditional tea ceremonies during the weekend as well as sound healing experiences using singing bowls, gongs, and other instruments.

These sessions create a different kind of space within the weekend — moments when couples can stop talking, become quiet, and simply experience something together.

Friday begins with a welcome and traditional tea ceremony before the first Hold Me Tight® session.

Saturday includes another tea ceremony before the day's workshop and a sound healing experience afterward.

Sunday brings another tea ceremony before the final workshop session, followed by dinner and a final sound healing experience that evening.

It adds another dimension to a weekend already centered around slowing down and reconnecting.

Turn Your Couples Retreat Into a Southern Utah Getaway

One of the advantages of coming to Cedar City for the workshop is that you're also arriving in one of the most beautiful parts of Utah.

If you're traveling from outside the area, consider coming early or staying an extra day or two.

There's plenty to explore together.

See a Performance at the Utah Shakespeare Festival

You don't have to be a Shakespeare scholar to enjoy this one.

Utah Shakespeare Festival is a professional repertory theatre festival held in Cedar City on the campus of Southern Utah University. Its 2026 season runs from June 18 through October 3, so it will be in full swing during the Hold Me Tight® weekend.  

And yes, there really is a beautiful Shakespeare theatre.

Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre is an open-air, Elizabethan-inspired theatre where audiences can experience live theatre under the Southern Utah sky.

In fact, several Festival events and performances are scheduled during September 4–5, including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, She Loves Me, Something Rotten! and Twelfth Night, although couples should check the current schedule and consider arriving early or extending their stay since workshop sessions overlap with many performance times.  

See the 2026 Utah Shakespeare Festival schedule

Explore Kolob Canyons

If you'd rather spend your extra time surrounded by red cliffs than sitting in a theatre, Southern Utah has you covered.

Kolob Canyons is part of Zion National Park, but it is separate from the much busier Zion Canyon area near Springdale.

Even better for couples staying near Cedar City, the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center is only about 17 miles south of Cedar City.  

The National Park Service describes a five-mile scenic drive through this section of the park, with pullouts providing views of dramatic crimson canyons and cliffs reaching roughly 2,000 feet. There are also opportunities for hiking if you have more time.  

That makes Kolob particularly appealing if you want to add some spectacular Southern Utah scenery to your trip without committing an entire day to sightseeing.

Spend an Extra Day at Zion National Park

If you do have an extra day, you can venture farther into Zion National Park.

Zion Canyon is a different area of the national park from Kolob Canyons. The National Park Service notes that Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyons are approximately 40 miles apart, so don't make the common mistake of thinking you'll see the famous Zion Canyon sights by simply stopping at Kolob.  

Zion's towering sandstone cliffs and canyon landscapes have made it one of Utah's iconic destinations.

If you've traveled a long distance for the couples workshop, adding a day for Zion can turn the trip into a memorable Southern Utah getaway rather than simply a drive to and from a three-day event.

Just plan ahead. Parking inside Zion Canyon is limited, and the National Park Service notes that when lots fill, visitors may need to park in Springdale and use the shuttle system.  

What About Bryce Canyon?

Yes — Bryce Canyon National Park is another possibility if you're turning the workshop into a longer Southern Utah vacation.

And it's considerably closer to Cedar City than some estimates you may see.

The National Park Service lists Cedar City Regional Airport at approximately 80 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park.  

Bryce is famous for an entirely different landscape than Zion: its extraordinary concentrations of colorful rock spires called hoodoos.

This is more of an extra-day excursion than a quick trip between workshop sessions, but if you're already traveling to Southern Utah and have never experienced Bryce Canyon, it can be a wonderful addition to your itinerary.

You Don't Have to Go Anywhere

There's another option, too.

Do nothing.

You don't have to turn every available hour into an excursion.

You can sit outside.

Watch the sun go down.

Talk.

Take a walk.

Drink something warm.

Look at the stars.

Sleep.

The point of coming to Dickinson Ranch isn't to see how many Southern Utah attractions you can squeeze into three days.

The point is to give yourselves some room.

And sometimes the most meaningful part of getting away together is simply having nowhere else you need to be.

What's Included in Your Hold Me Tight® Weekend?

Your couples registration includes:

• Admission for both partners for the full three-day workshop
• Hold Me Tight® workshop sessions facilitated by Rachel Christensen, LCSW, Marriage Counselor
• Workshop discussions, videos, and private partner exercises
• Traditional tea ceremonies and sound healing experiences with Zosha from Sound Will Heal
• Rustic lodging on-site at Dickinson Ranch
• Friday evening light snacks and drinks
• Scheduled Saturday and Sunday meals
• Access to refrigerator, stove, and basic food-preparation amenities for personal food items

Everything is designed to make it easier to arrive, settle in, and concentrate on the weekend rather than coordinating a dozen different arrangements.

Make This September About the Two of You

There will always be another project.

Another obligation.

Another busy week.

Another reason that spending meaningful time together can wait.

The Hold Me Tight® Couples Workshop at Dickinson Ranch is an opportunity to deliberately put that time back on the calendar.

Come for the workshop.

Stay at the ranch.

Experience the tea ceremonies and sound healing.

Watch a Southern Utah sunset.

And, if you'd like, add a little Shakespeare, a scenic drive through Kolob Canyons, or another day exploring Zion or Bryce Canyon.

But most importantly, come for each other.

The Hold Me Tight® Couples Workshop
September 4–6, 2026
Dickinson Ranch
17845 W. Harmony Lane
Cedar City (Iron Town), Utah

Early Registration: Save $100 with coupon code HOLDTIGHT through August 24, 2026.

Space is limited.

Register for the Couples Workshop