October is Ash Release Month
A Compassionate Invitation to Families Holding Cherished Cremains
October is an opportunity to find healing during Ash Scattering Amnesty Month. This special, compassionate initiative invites those who have lovingly preserved the ashes of their loved ones, perhaps for years, or even decades, to finally find a meaningful way to say goodbye.
Have Cremains on Your Shelf or in an Urn? You’re Not Alone
Across the country, countless families hold onto the ashes of loved ones—sometimes tucked away in a drawer, displayed proudly in an urn, or stored in a special keepsake box. For some, these cremains represent treasured memories too precious to release. For others, life’s demands, distance, or uncertainty about how to scatter ashes have delayed the farewell.
Ash Scattering Amnesty Month offers a gentle, compassionate invitation: a moment to honor your loved one’s story, reconnect with cherished memories, and embrace a meaningful, healing ritual. This is a chance to transform what has been waiting silently on a shelf into a living act of remembrance in nature’s embrace—whether that means the calming waves of Puget Sound Bioluminescence, the majestic peaks of Mount Rainier, or the tropical serenity of Hawaii.
Families who are ready to scatter ashes but need a secure, worry-free way to send them can use the USPS Cremated Remains Kit, designed to transport ashes safely and compliantly.
By participating, families can finally move from holding onto loss to creating a sacred moment of release, turning grief into a tangible, symbolic act of love. It is not about letting go of memory—it is about giving it a place to live freely, carried by the wind, water, or mountain air, and allowing healing to take root.
For many, scattering ashes becomes not just a farewell, but a transformative experience: a way to honor the life that was, preserve the love that remains, and find closure in a way that feels authentic, personal, and profoundly comforting. To learn more about the ritual, logistics, and destinations, see our guides on Planning the Perfect Ash Scattering Ceremony and How BONAVENTURE’s Ash Scattering Service Works.
Why Participate in Ash Release Month?
Transform years of holding onto ashes into a powerful act of remembrance and peace. Scattering ashes can provide closure, allowing families to move forward while keeping memories alive.
Choose a stunning, meaningful destination. Whether you dream of the tropical serenity of Hawaii, the majestic peaks of Mount Rainier, or the glowing waters of Puget Sound Bioluminescence, BONAVENTURE offers breathtaking places to celebrate life.
Make an eco-friendly choice. BONAVENTURE plants 10 trees for every scattering ceremony, turning farewell into new life and restoration.
Trust an experienced, family-run team who partners with current and former park rangers to ensure respectful, compliant, and heartfelt ceremonies.
Affordable and convenient. We handle all logistics, including safe shipping with the USPS Cremated Remains Kit and permit securing, so you can focus on honoring your loved one.
How to Join Ash Release Month
Gather your loved one’s ashes. Whether held for years or just recently, now is the time to find peace with their scattering.
Select your preferred BONAVENTURE destination. Explore options designed to reflect your family’s story and your loved one’s spirit.
Schedule your scattering ceremony. We’ll manage every detail, guiding you through a sacred farewell in nature’s embrace.
A Time to Remember, A Time to Release
Ash Scattering Amnesty Month is more than a campaign—it’s a nationwide movement to heal, honor, and reclaim the natural cycle of life and memory. If you’ve been holding onto ashes, uncertain about when or how to say goodbye, we invite you to take this tender step forward with us.
Why Ash Release Month Matters
In the rush of life, plans to scatter ashes can get delayed. Sometimes, families aren’t sure how or when to say goodbye. Others face the burden of distance, complicated logistics, or uncertain legalities. October is a gentle invitation to take that next step—to move from holding onto ashes, to a meaningful release that honors a loved one’s legacy.
This amnesty month is about:
Healing and closure: Helping families find peace by celebrating life in nature’s embrace.
Environmentally conscious farewells: Choosing scattering options that nurture the earth, with BONAVENTURE planting 10 trees for every scattering ceremony.
Simplicity and support: BONAVENTURE handles the complexities—shipping, permits, and sacred ceremony—so families can focus on remembrance.
Why Ash Scattering Is Healing: Helping Families Find Closure and Peace
Losing a loved one is one of life’s most profound challenges. As families navigate grief, they seek ways to honor memory, find peace, and move toward healing. Ash scattering has become a meaningful choice for many, offering both emotional comfort and a sacred act of farewell.
The Healing Power of Nature and Ceremony: A Guide to Scattering Ashes
Why Saying Goodbye in Beauty Holds Healing Power
When a loved one dies, grief can feel isolating and overwhelming. Yet when we step into nature, we’re reminded that everything has its place in a larger, ongoing rhythm: the river continues its course, the seasons turn, the stars rise each night. Scattering ashes in such spaces allows families to witness this continuity and to place their farewell within a setting that whispers of renewal, not finality.
Ash scattering reconnects us to the natural world — the earth, the wind, the water — elements that remind us of life’s unbroken cycle.
What Scattering in Nature Offers
A tangible connection. Ashes become part of the living landscape—riding the wind, settling into soil, or mingling with water. Families often describe a profound sense of closeness when they see their loved one’s presence returned to the beauty of the earth.
A pause for reflection. Unlike a funeral home or chapel, a scattering site offers quiet expansiveness. A mountainside, meadow, or shoreline invites stillness, giving mourners space to breathe deeply, reflect on memories, and let their emotions unfold naturally.
A collective act of letting go. Families and friends may take turns scattering or speak words of remembrance together. This shared act softens the sharp edges of loss and replaces them with connection, memory, and solidarity.
In this way, nature itself becomes a companion in grief—offering peace where words may falter.
How Ash Scattering Facilitates Closure
Closure is not forgetting—it’s finding a way to carry memory without the heavy weight of grief. Scattering ashes creates a physical and symbolic transition from holding on to letting go.
Why It Helps
A physical release of grief. The gesture of opening an urn, watching ashes join the wind or water, marks a turning point. Families often describe it as the moment when the reality of loss is accepted and transformed into remembrance.
Personalized meaning. Choosing a location with personal resonance—whether it’s a favorite hiking trail, a beloved beach, or a national park that reflects a spirit of adventure—makes the ceremony feel authentic and deeply honoring.
Storytelling and ritual. Scattering often invites words—stories spoken aloud, poems read, songs shared. These rituals stitch memory into the moment, making it as much a celebration of life as a farewell.
When families take this step, many find that lingering feelings of unresolved grief begin to soften, replaced by a gentle peace and a sense of forward movement.
Benefits for Families
Gather without constraint. Families can meet in small circles or large gatherings, free from strict schedules or formal settings. A scattering may be intimate, with just one or two people present, or expansive, with relatives and friends gathered under open skies.
Remove financial strain. Without the cost of burial plots, headstones, or perpetual care, scattering remains one of the most affordable options, giving families freedom to invest instead in meaningful travel or shared time together.
Create ongoing traditions. Many families return to scattering sites on anniversaries, birthdays, or moments of remembrance. These places become touchstones of memory, spaces where grief is acknowledged and love is renewed.
Affordable and Accessible Ways to Heal Together
One of the reasons ash scattering has become increasingly meaningful is its accessibility. Unlike traditional burial, which can be financially burdensome and bound by cemetery rules, scattering is both simple and liberating.
Steps Toward a Healing Ceremony
If you’re considering ash scattering as part of your healing journey, here are some gentle steps to guide you:
Reflect on the right place. Ask yourself: where would my loved one feel most at home? Was there a landscape, park, or shoreline they cherished?
Invite loved ones to participate. Decide whether the scattering will be private or shared. Each person can take part—releasing ashes, speaking words, or simply bearing witness.
Add a personal ritual. Read a favorite poem, play music, or share stories. These simple acts enrich the ceremony and deepen its meaning.
Giving Back. Choose eco-conscious scattering options. With BONAVENTURE, each ceremony contributes to reforestation, planting 10 trees in your loved one’s honor.
Allow for silence. Sometimes the most profound healing comes in the quiet moments—watching the ashes rise on the wind or drift into the water, feeling grief ease into peace.
Why Families Choose BONAVENTURE for Healing Ceremonies
At BONAVENTURE, we understand that scattering is not just a service—it’s a sacred act of release. Our family-run team partners with current and former park rangers to ensure each ceremony is conducted with care, compliance, and reverence for the land. We take on the logistics—permits, safe shipping of ashes, and ceremony coordination—so families can focus on what truly matters: remembrance, storytelling, and healing together.
Browse all destinations to find the one that best honors your loved one’s story and legacy.
Step 3: Schedule Your Scattering Ceremony
Once you’ve chosen your destination, BONAVENTURE will take care of the details:
Handling all necessary permits and approvals.
Planning and conducting a respectful, meaningful ceremony tailored to your wishes.
Providing clear communication and support from start to finish.
The Most Beautiful Destinations to Scatter Ashes
Choosing a scattering location is both a practical and deeply emotional decision. The setting becomes a final resting place, but also a living memorial where family and friends can return for comfort. Bonaventure offers ash scattering ceremonies at some of the most breathtaking destinations in the United States—places where nature itself becomes part of the farewell.
Ash Scattering Mount Rainier National Park
Rising over Washington with snow-capped majesty, Mount Rainier offers a dramatic backdrop for an ash scattering. Its alpine meadows, glaciers, and endless vistas symbolize endurance and renewal, making it an unforgettable place to honor a loved one.
Ash Scattering Hawaiian Shores
The Hawaiian Islands provide a serene and spiritual scattering option. Ashes carried on the trade winds or surrendered to turquoise waters reflect the islands’ long tradition of reverence for the sea, offering peace in one of the world’s most beautiful natural sanctuaries.
Ash Scattering Yellowstone National Park
Home to geysers, hot springs, wolves, and roaming bison, Yellowstone is one of America’s wildest and most iconic landscapes. Scattering here means becoming part of an untamed ecosystem that speaks to resilience, wonder, and the eternal cycles of the earth.
Ash Scattering Zion National Park
Towering red rock cliffs and winding canyons make Zion a place of awe and spiritual magnitude. Ash scattering among its sandstone temples allows families to say goodbye in a landscape carved by time and uplifted toward the heavens.
Ash Scattering Olympic National Forest
Misty coastlines, moss-draped evergreens, and alpine ridges define Olympic. Here, ashes can be released into one of the most ecologically diverse regions in the world, where rainforest meets rugged shore.
Ash Scattering Puget Sound Bioluminescence
A rare and extraordinary experience, the Puget Sound bioluminescent waters glow with natural light as ashes are scattered at night. This ethereal ceremony transforms grief into beauty, offering a memory that shimmers long after the moment has passed.
Ash Scattering Glacier National Park
At Glacier, rugged peaks, glacial lakes, and alpine forests create a breathtaking canvas. Scattering ashes here means leaving a loved one among some of the most pristine and enduring wilderness on earth.
Ash Scattering Pensacola – Dolphins at Sunset
For those drawn to the sea, scattering ashes at sunset in Pensacola as dolphins crest the waves is both healing and deeply moving. The ocean carries away grief while the horizon glows with light, offering a perfect symbol of transition and continuity.
Ash Scattering Whale Trail off Ruby Beach
The Whale Trail at Ruby Beach provides a dramatic coastal backdrop, where ocean swells meet volcanic rock. Families may even witness migrating whales in the distance, linking farewell to the great migrations of life itself.
Ash Scattering Devil’s Tower
Rising from the Wyoming plains, Devil’s Tower is both geologically striking and spiritually resonant. Scattering here ties remembrance to a site held sacred for generations.
Ash Scattering Badlands National Park
The Badlands are otherworldly, with layered rock formations and sweeping prairies. Here, the silence of the land offers a stark yet beautiful setting for remembrance.
Ash Scattering Rocky Mountain National Park
Snowy summits and alpine lakes define Rocky Mountain National Park, where scattering ashes means leaving a loved one among peaks that touch the sky.
Ash Scattering Grand Teton National Park
The jagged granite range of the Tetons rises dramatically above valleys and rivers. Families choose this destination for its majesty and the sense of permanence it represents.
Ash Scattering Special Migration & Sky Packages
Monarch Migration: releasing ashes as monarchs fill the skies in their autumn migration.
Sandhill Crane Migration: joining one of North America’s most extraordinary wildlife spectacles.
Hot Air Balloon Scattering: a breathtaking ceremony from above, ashes returning to the wind.
America the Beautiful Package: scattering across three major National Parks.
Return to Nature: Whispers of the Wild: a multi-location package honoring the deep bond between loved ones and the wilderness.
Heartland Journey: honoring loved ones amid the twin miracles of monarch and crane migrations.
Partners Package: for couples who wish to have their ashes scattered together, symbolizing enduring love.🌿
Why Families Choose Destination Ash Scattering
These destinations are more than beautiful backdrops; they are living memorials. Each place offers space for reflection, connection, and renewal—ensuring that a loved one’s story lives on in landscapes as vast and enduring as their legacy.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Visit Bonaventure’s destinations or contact us today to learn more about Ash Scattering Amnesty Month and start planning your loved one’s final farewell.
Resources for Planning an Ash Scattering
Scattering a loved one’s ashes is both an emotional and logistical journey. These resources can help you prepare thoughtfully, ensuring the experience is meaningful, legal, and safe.
Shipping Ashes Safely
USPS Cremated Remains Kit – The only safe and legal way to send cremated remains through the mail.
National Park Service Guidance
Apply for a Special Use Permit – Required for scattering ashes in most national parks.
Ten Essentials for Hiking Safety – A must-read for families scattering in remote or rugged landscapes.
EPA Guidance for Scattering at Sea
Notice of Intent to Scatter at Sea – Required when scattering beyond three nautical miles.
EPA Burial at Sea Overview – Federal guidance on eco-conscious sea scatterings.
