Corporate Retreats

Corporate retreats allow for opportunities to grow together as a company, and for participants to join in team-building activities and share unique experiences. The River Dance Lodge in Idaho welcomes your company and provides a great location for your next corporate outing or corporate vacation. Our corporate retreat facility can accommodate up to 70 guests in our cabins and glamping tents, and we have several campsites available for even larger companies.

Corporate Retreats and the River Dance Lodge difference:

WHITEWATER RAFTING- What better way to build teamwork during a corporate retreat than to paddle the technical and challenging Lochsa River? On the Lochsa, teamwork is vital for success. You will need to paddle together as your guide calls commands. Your group will experience camaraderie as well as plenty of thrills as you navigate the pounding rapids. This experience will not only give your team plenty of memories and stories to tell back at the office but it will also create dynamic, focused, team players.

FLY FISHING- Relax and get to know your coworkers better during your corporate outing as you fish for trout or steelhead on the Middle Fork of the Clearwater or Selway Rivers. Your guide will provide instruction aimed at the novice or the experienced angler. A gourmet riverside lunch will be prepared for you. You’ll experience the calming lap of water on the sides of the boat as you cast your line. Not into a whole day on the water? Take our fly fishing clinic. Fly fishing can be a challenge, especially to the novice. Whether you take a clinic or enjoy a guided day on the water, fly fishing will teach your team how to problem solve, listen to directions, and experience the joy of success!

HORSEBACK RIDING- Take your business retreat on a half or full-day horseback ride. It is a great way to not only soul search but to have one on one conversations with various members of your staff. There will be sections that allow only one rider to pass at a time. This is a great opportunity to simply relax and enjoy the beautiful landscape. It also is a great chance for team members to think over assignments you might have created. In open areas, members can group together and discuss their thoughts. On wider paths, horseback riding is a great way to get to know those in your group. Learn something new about the employee next to you. Horseback riding is proven to be therapeutic. Provide an enjoyable and calming experience for your corporate retreat while viewing a beautiful section of Idaho. There are a couple of local outfitters available for this adventure.

FLOAT TRIPS- The Middle Fork of the Clearwater, which flows right past the River Dance Lodge, is a beautiful River that offers many recreation and team building activities. Enjoy the River on either a guided raft or via kayaks or inner tubes. This is a great chance to get away from the stress of the office. Want to make it a corporate retreat team-building experience? Your guide will have plenty of ideas to keep your staff motivated. Whether it be paddling, balancing or swimming, our professional guides know plenty of team building games that can be enjoyed on the water.

HIKING-The River Dance Lodge is adjacent to the 1.1 million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. There are countless hiking opportunities and several natural hot springs nearby that make for a pleasurable hike and a great day on the trails together. Call us at the River Dance Lodge and we will be happy to give you ideas for the best trails for your group.

BUSINESS- When you’re ready to ‘talk business’ use our meeting area which is located in the back part of the Syringa Café. We’ll provide you with an easel, tables, chairs, and a television with a DVD player which can be used for presentations. Plug your laptop directly into the TV for your customized PowerPoint presentations. Access the internet via our wireless connection or use our fax machine to communicate with the office.

MEALS- Dining is often a challenge when planning corporate retreats. Where will you get food? What will you serve? All of these questions pass by the corporate retreat coordinator eventually. Luckily our very own Syringa Café can cater your meals during your stay. We are happy to provide coffee, tea, and water service as requested during your meetings. Going on a corporate day excursion? We can prepare some brown bag lunches for your staff. Want to make it a family-style affair? Each cabin has its own two-burner propane stove and charcoal barbeque pit, and we provide the charcoal.

LODGING- Enjoy your evenings in our custom-built log cabins or glamping tents. Each cabin has a private hot tub, and our tents have a small deck with a soaking tub. Choose from our small cabin which will sleep four comfortably or book a large cabin which will sleep eight comfortably. Glamping tents accommodate two. One fantastic team building activity is to have a cook-off. Many locations will not allow outside cooking on their properties. Again, no problem here! Each of our cabins has convenience kitchens inside with a microwave, coffeemaker, dishes, an under-counter refrigerator, a two-burner propane stove with a griddle on the deck, and a charcoal grill out front. 

Corporate Retreat Activities and Corporate Team Building Ideas:

As an organizer, it's important to find effective team building and retreat activities to make your corporate outing worthwhile. Be sure to recognize that the entire retreat should not be packed with activities but to schedule them out accordingly and leave ample time for your corporate group to enjoy the outdoors, mingle with co-workers, and take in the experience. Employees should look forward to your corporate retreat and see it as a "fun bonus" for being a member of your company. Accomplish this by serving them the right amount and type of activities. Below are some of our suggestions.

Icebreakers:

  • Who am I? - You'll need name tags and a pen. Write down a list of celebrity names on name tags. Have each person pick a name tag and without looking stick it on his/her forehead. Now go mingle and find out who you are. Go around the group and ask "yes/no" questions such as "Am I a woman?" or "Do I have brown hair?" Only ask one question at a time and move on to another person. Great corporate retreat icebreaker!
  • Jedi Mind Trick - Stand in a circle with one person in the middle. The goal of the person in the center is to take another participant’s place in the circle. Members of the outer circle attempt to switch places without losing a spot in the circle to the person in the middle. To switch places, a participant on the outside makes eye contact with another member of the circle and then both members run across the circle and switch places. No talking or additional gestures can be used.

Team Activities

  • Egg Drop - You'll need fresh eggs. Using the materials found in the wilderness, the team goal is to build a structure that will support a free falling egg dropped from a predetermined height without the egg breaking.
  • Group Push Up - Work smarter, not harder. You do not need strength or athleticism for this game. The goal is to have the group (4 or 5 people) hold each other up with only their hands touching the ground.
  • Blind Square- The team forms a circle with arms outstretched, drops hands, and sits down. Team members put blindfolds on. The facilitator places the rope in the middle of the circle. The group is instructed to form a perfect square with each team member holding on to the rope. No team member can let go of the rope. When group members feel the task is completed, they can take off their blindfold to check the results.
  • Minefield- Create an area for the field with a start and finish line and side boundaries. (12x12 ft) Put our rocks for mines (10) and pine cones(5) to unfreeze team members. Blindfold the team member going through the minefield. Team members can orally direct the blindfolded member. If he/she steps on a mine or out of the boundary line, he/she is frozen. The next team member who goes through can "un-freeze" them by stepping on a pine cone. The game is over once all team members make it through the minefield. (for a competition, make two minefields, and whichever team gets through first wins)

Trust Activities

  • Slice and Dice - Form a line and spread about 3 feet apart from one another. (line should stand in shoulder to shoulder fashion) A person goes to the head of the line. People in the line lift out their arms straight in front of them. As the person walks through the line they move their arms up or down so they do not touch the person walking through. Walkthrough once. Then run through the line!
  • Tree Hugger- In a forested area, pairs take turns being blindfolded, lead to a tree (for touch and feel), and then lead away. After removing the blindfold, the tree hugger tries to re-locate his/her tree.

The River Dance Lodge in Idaho has plenty of ideas for corporate retreats. Please give us a call with any questions or request our lodge for your next corporate outing.