Hello.

I'm wondering if anyone here would know where one could rent a secluded cabin in Canada or U.S for a few weeks for less than $20 a night.

Most cabin rentals are highly commercialized, the minimum being something around $60/night. I would be satisfied with something very basic, just a simple log cabin in the woods. A fireplace would be nice and a privy would be nice, but not absolutely necessary. It's not necessary for it to be insulted either as I'm planning to do this in the summer and not in an arctic region.

I would almost consider camping on crown land (BLM land in U.S) in a tent but my only concern is about the elements and wildlife. I wouldn't want to hear animals pacing near my tent in pitch black wilderness, let alone hearing that while in an altered state of consciousness due to deep meditation. 

I know it's fairly easy to rent cheap secluded cabins/ kutis in asia, but having to book a flight to get there in the first place defeats the point of sticking to a budget.

I am grateful for any suggestions anyone can think of.

If you use Google to search for "small rustic cabins under $XX a night" and include your preferred location I'm pretty sure you'll find something.

Did you check Airbnb? You can filter by location, price, home type.

Though, might be hard to find something that cheap... most are at least 30-40 a night

For US Forest Service operated cabins, you could try https://www.recreation.gov/

The PA state park system has an online reservation service for various types of cabins (and yurts!). I recently stayed at one of the "Rustic Cabins" and was happy with the experience. It ended up being about $30/night for a bare-bones, electrified cabin with bunk beds and table. I remember thinking that it'd be a pretty solid option for a solo or two-person retreat (though other campers might think you're a little strange if you're doing walking meditation outside in the campground). 

https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/StateParkPrices/CabinsandLodging/Pages/default.aspx

You might have better luck finding something cheaper off-season. Summer is when everything is going to be in demand.

I'm about to do a solo retreat in West Virginia. Found the spot through the app called Hipcamp. 

I'll be camping on someone's land and they have a meditation hut that I will use. Only $25 per night. 

There are other spots as well. Shenandoah National Park in Virginia has cabins for quite cheap. 

A previous thread on this subject https://www.dharmaoverground.org/discussion/-/message_boards/message/6842740 offered a number of recommendations:

• https://goingonretreat.com
• https://tatfoundation.org/retreat_centers.htm
• https://tatfoundation.org/retreat_centers2.htm
• https://thehermitageretreats.com

Another previous thread https://www.dharmaoverground.org/discussion/-/message_boards/message/2993428 suggested:

• https://www.karmecholing.org/programs/cabin-retreats

   No off season in hawaii. Lots of land to camp on the big island. Plenty of ocean noise and fresh air. And aloha.

   Just sayin...

terry

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Campground/Horns-Cabins-2036277673109314/

It certainly would be nice to visit the beach in my user image terry, but ideally I'm looking for more budget friendly where I'm based.  

Lots of great suggestions here. Lot's of web links I've never seen and suggestions I never thought of. I think other people may find something useful in what's been mentioned so far.

I see there are some decent cheap cabin rentals in Nova Scotia at the shambhala centres, but one of the requirements listed is that you need approval from your authorized teacher to rent their cabins. I've never had a "personal authorized teacher" so I guess that's not an option unfortunately.

I was going back to my original idea to just camp on crown land, but maybe also buy a small electric fence that could be setup around the campsite. Wildlife, such as bear are my biggest concern while sleeping alone in a flimsy tent in the middle of nature. Though I'm also not sure how reasonable this concern is since I haven't yet experienced camping outside of a public campsite.

Come to think of it, I just remembered there is a list of "Retreat Centers and Places to Practice" on the DhO wiki, but not many people update it.

I just found a place called Buddhayana Forest Retreat in Nova Scotia. They offer free retreat cabins for self-directed practitioners. Very rustic. Dana model obviously applies. It's nice to finally find a place that isn't commercial! http://buddhayana.ns.ca/

Rustic? Oh yeah:

Take a look at my recent post, here.

In general, I have had pretty good luck with some of the Forest Service cabins. They can get pretty cheap and are certainly rustic. The savings really starts if you are willing to go off-road in the winter.