Nestled just outside the small Idaho town of Cottonwood, against a backdrop of mountains with views of the Camas Prairie, is the Monastery of St. Gertrude. 

The full name, the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of St. Gertrude, includes a community of more than two dozen Benedictine Sisters who serve in a variety of capacities—as teachers, healthcare and pastoral care providers, artists, craftsmen, writers, and retreat and spiritual directors. 

The monastery offers more than visitors might expect. It has a museum, an inn, a Spiritual Retreat Center, and 1,400 acres of land, mostly forested, that the Sisters manage. They even have an Artist in Residence Program. 

The Benedictine Sisters came from Sarnen, Switzerland, originally securing living quarters in 1882 in Gervais, Oregon. They later moved to Uniontown and then to Colton, Washington. When they had outgrown their space in Colton, they moved to Cottonwood, Idaho in 1907 from the invitation of a local farmer, John Uhlenkott, who had two daughters that had joined the community. The monastery remains the only community of religious women based in Idaho. 

The present monastery was built in the 1920s using blue porphyry stone quarried from the nearby hillside. Over time, the monastery has added bedroom space, an assisted living floor, and a kitchen and dining room. The chapel is open daily for self-guided tours and is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

There is the Inn at St. Gertrude. It is a bed and breakfast that visitors can stay in to enjoy the monastery, Camas Prairie, and views of the often-snowcapped mountains of the Gospel-Hump Wilderness for longer than just a day visit. There is also the Spirit Center that welcomes people of all beliefs and is guided by the values of healing hospitality, grateful simplicity, and creative peacemaking. The Spirit Center can host groups of up to 120 people. With an eye toward environmental responsibility, the center utilizes partial solar power as well as geothermal heating and cooling.  

The Historical Museum at St. Gertrude features artifacts from popular Idahoans including Polly Bemis, Buckskin Bill, and Winifred Rose Emanuel—a vaudeville star from Denver, Idaho. The museum also features the history of the Idaho Benedictine Sisters, the Nez Perce Tribe, Chinese mining in Idaho, and other aspects of history from the Camas Prairie, Salmon River, Snake River, and surrounding areas. The museum has a 13,000-year-old Western Stemmed Point on loan from the Cooper’s Ferry Archaeological Site near Cottonwood. 

“We are a wonderful place for spiritual renewal. Also, a place to get in touch with the pioneer history of the area,” Sister Janet Barnard, who has been a part of the monastic community for 45 years, said.

The forest land at the Monastery of St. Gertrude is managed under a professional forest management plan approved by the Idaho Department of Lands. In 1994, the forest was accepted into the Forest Stewardship Program of Idaho and in 2001, they were awarded Idaho’s Tree Farm of the Year. The forest is a favorite area for retreatants to use for walking, berry picking, and relaxing. The monastery works to keep the area peaceful, attractive, and abundant with wildflowers and songbirds. Parts of the forest also provide a source of income for the monastery through timber harvesting. 

Selective harvesting to remove less fire-resistant and less disease-resistant trees, such as grand fir, and pre-commercial thinning of overcrowded areas are all strategies in the monastery’s forest management plan. Through these practices, the monastery is ensuring a healthy, fire-resistant forest by promoting the growth of native ponderosa pines, Douglas firs, and western larches. 

If that wasn’t enough, the sisters also host concerts with groups including the Idaho County Orchestra. They have an orchard and gardens and use the produce in their meals, and they have farming and grazing land they once managed and now lease to local farmers and ranchers. Historically, the pressing needs of pioneer families on the Camas Prairie and throughout the state called the sisters to respond in establishing and staffing schools throughout Idaho and called them to become active in healthcare—establishing hospitals and healthcare centers—many of which are still in operation today. 

The monastery is having an open house on August 1, 2026 from 1 – 4 p.m. with tours and a raspberry dessert.