Welcome to Green Oak Ranch

We’re so glad you’ve chosen to stay with us!

Checkout

Your vacation is more than just time away when you stay on the ranch because the money you’ve spent here goes directly to subsidize our men’s recovery program, keeping the prices accessible for all. In this sense, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine your vacation playing an important part in saving someone's life. Thank you! 

Before you go, we have a few things we ask you to do:

  1. Please leave the keys where you found them. No need to lock the door behind you.

  2. The check-out time is at 11:00 am. If you haven’t left the house by then, we’re going to have to charge you a late fee of $30. (We need time to get the house ready for our next guests, so please be considerate of check-out times)

  3. Check under the bed for any belongings you might have left behind.

  4. Turn off all the lights and the heater (the thermostat is to the left of the TV behind the chair).

Have a great journey wherever your travels take you next! If you enjoyed staying here, please consider leaving us a review on Airbnb. 

Thanks again!

Front Gate

The gate is manned from 6:00am-10:00pm daily and left open through the night. Tell the gatekeeper your first name and that you’re an Airbnb guest and they will let you through.

Need assistance?

Message us via the Airbnb app anytime during your stay. We are available from 8:00am - 8:00pm.

WiFi

Our WiFi can be spotty in your location so we don’t advertise it as being available on Airbnb. However, if you can get a decent signal and want to use it, the login credentials are:

    • Network: Gormguest

    • Password: GORMGuest!

Restaurants Nearby

Coming in from out of town? Here are some of our favorite local places to eat:

  • Armando’s Mexican Food | $ - Hands down the best authentic street tacos around. Only a ½ mile away and open late. 

  • Eugenio Italian Ristorante | $$$ - The best Italian food we’ve ever had in a warm atmosphere. Reservations recommended.

  • Le Papagayo | $$$ - Upscale Mediterranean & Latin fusion.

  • Onny's Thai Restaurant | $$ - Very good Thai food with generous portions.

  • Prager Brothers Artisan Breads | $ - Local bakery with all the good sweet treats, loaves, and sandwiches too. 

  • The Yellow Deli | $$ - Healthy food in a one-of-a-kind building. Worth the trip just to enjoy the space.

Miscellaneous

  • The small ants that live on the ranch are very good at finding any food left out. Please be mindful to put all of your food away in the fridge/freezer or a sealed container to avoid any trouble. 

  • If you’re interested in hiking on the property you can find a map at greenoakranch.org/info. 

  • As in any natural setting there are wild animals that live on or near the ranch including rattlesnakes, coyotes, and bobcats. We don’t see these often but do be mindful that they’re around. You’ll likely hear the coyotes at night.

  • The Nature Center is available for you to walk through at anytime and most animal enclosures are open from 8:00am-2:00pm daily if you want to get real close to any of them.

About us

Green Oak Ranch is a privately owned and historic retreat center where people have always discovered help, hope, and personal transformation. There are two complementary initiatives here on the ranch:

  1. The retreat & event center: Green Oak Ranch offers the experience of an isolated, mountain retreat within 5 minutes of a major freeway. We host church groups, community groups, corporate events & Airbnb guests like yourself. Our facilities can accommodate up to 250 people in cabins and up to 500 when tent camping and RVs are included.

  2. A residential recovery program: The Green Oak Ranch Recovery Program is a 9-month, community-based, Christian, residential recovery program for men. The program combines spiritual development, recovery meetings, servant-leadership work ethic and lifestyle, and personalized support as a path to long-term recovery.

History of Green Oak Ranch

Look around at the beautiful, undeveloped hills around Green Oak Ranch and feel the spirit of this historic property. The 142-acre Ranch was part of the original 2,288 acre “Rancho Buena Vista,” Mexican Land Grant from the early 1800s. You can almost still hear the clatter of the stage coach rolling into the stop right here on the property (those yellow buildings across from the basketball court were the original stagecoach stop), connecting people with the vital information of the day.

The Great Depression was a bleak time for Americans. Yet, hope and recovery rose out of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” – a massive public works program that sustained families, revitalized the economy and restored dignity to millions. The most popular “New Deal” program was the Civilian Conservation Corp, or CCC, which provided jobs to young men, veterans, and Native Americans. The CCC was launched under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. Green Oak Ranch was home to the local CCC here in San Diego. The CCC is credited with improving the physical condition of these men, heightening morale and increasing their employability. It also increased public appreciation for the environment, and the need to manage and protect our natural resources. Original buildings from 1835 are still in use today at the Ranch.

In 1942, the Ranch became “Camp Vista,” leased by the U.S. Army as a base for the Western Defense Command, responsible for protecting our coastline from attacks by land, air and sea. As many as 800 men were stationed here at one time. After the Allied victory, the Camp also housed the Navy while they worked on a local water conservation project. We are proud to be part of the history of the U.S. military and honor that history as we continue to serve veterans. 

The Union Rescue mission had a vision for not just rescuing men from a life of addiction and homelessness, but to keep them from ever getting there. And in 1950, the Camp Vista Property was purchased and renamed “Green Oak Boys Camp,” as a Christian retreat for at-risk-youth, employing men in recovery as “ranch hands,” to work the camp. In this natural setting beyond the harsh inner-city, many found faith and a vision for their lives. From this era the ranch continued to grow and change into what it is today.