If you’re not a “retreat person,” you’re not alone. Plenty of business leaders are skeptical of corporate retreat organizers’ wild-eyed promises of instant chemistry and productive breakthroughs. If we all need a vacation, the thinking goes, perhaps we should just close the office for a week and let everyone go their separate ways.

Maybe it’s time to revisit that thinking. There’s nothing quite like a well-planned, well-timed corporate retreat to revitalize a flagging team’s creativity and reinvigorate stale relationships, writes Influence & Co-founder Kelsey Meyer. Retreats are rare opportunities to bring together employees who rarely if ever, come into contact with one another — often with serendipitous results.

“Challenging employees from various departments to collaborate on a project can test everyone’s industry knowledge and requires them to adopt new mindsets,” writes Meyer. As you vie with dogged competitors for customers and investor dollars, this could mean the difference between success and failure.

Of course, you can’t hold your corporate retreat in the breakroom — that’s not much of a retreat at all. These five North American destinations, on the other hand, are more than up to the task.

1. Sapphire Mountains, Montana:

So named for their abundant semiprecious reserves, southwestern Montana’s Sapphire Mountains are among Big Sky Country’s prettiest. Plenty of backpackers trek through here, and there’s no shortage of car camping at lower elevations, but pampered corporate visitors flock to just one spot: the Ranch at Rock Creek, a 6,600-acre, four-season resort outside the charming little town of Phillipsburg.

2. Hecla Island, Manitoba:

Drive two hours north from Winnipeg, cross the causeway from Lake Manitoba’s western shore, and find yourself in another world. On your way up to Lakeview Hecla Resort, at the far end of the island, you’ll pass a frozen-in-time Icelandic fishing village, sandy beaches with stunning lake views, and marshes teeming with local fauna. For a lower-key experience, stop at

Manitoba entrepreneur David Janeson’s recently renovated Gull Harbour Marina.

3. Stone Mountain, Georgia:

This imposing Atlanta-area monolith has a complex and problematic history, but that doesn’t stop thousands of visitors from making the most of its vast grounds. Here, you’ll find a seemingly endless manmade lake, multiple golf courses, dozens of miles of hiking trails, and a gondola ride that promises sweeping views of north Georgia’s rolling terrain.

4. Whispering Pines, Rhode Island:

For convenience and serenity, it’s tough to beat Whispering Pines Conference Center, a rustic gem on 2,300 forested acres owned by the University of Rhode Island. Whispering Pines is less than two hours from Boston’s busy international airport — an irresistible prospect for multi-location teams.

5. Killarney, Ontario:

The drive up to Lake Huron’s northernmost inlets is well worth your team’s while. Here, one of Canada’s wildest provincial parks awaits — along with the Killarney Mountain Lodge, one of the province’s finest wilderness resorts.

Find Your Go-to Corporate Retreat Destination:

North America is a vast, beautiful continent with vacation destinations galore. No matter what sort of retreat you seek, there’s a very good chance you’ll find it within easy driving or flying distance from home. So, get out there and find the perfect corporate retreat for your needs — and make it a point to return whenever it’s time to recharge your team’s batteries.

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