How Destination Ash Scattering Works: BONAVENTURE’s Process, Places & Purpose
Saying goodbye to a loved one is never easy, and finding a meaningful way to honor their memory is a deeply personal journey. One increasingly cherished option is destination ash spreading. This service offers families the opportunity to celebrate their loved ones in stunning, natural settings, providing a tribute that reflects the uniqueness of the person being remembered and creates a lasting, meaningful connection to nature.
Every life is unique, and every farewell should reflect that individuality. The team at Bonaventure offers families the opportunity to honor their loved ones in a truly special way— they handle the logistics of scattering ashes in some of nature’s most beautiful settings: Our team handles the permits, transportation, and ceremonial disbursal of the ashes.
FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED
FAMILY LEGACY IN THE NATIONAL PARKS
Bonaventure was born from generations spent walking the wild edges of this country—serving as park rangers, guides, and stewards of America’s most sacred landscapes. We’re three sisters—Sarah-Marie, Tessa, and Anna—joined by Joseph, husband to Sarah-Marie and gifted mountaineer. Together, we’ve planned ceremonies for royalty, navigated avalanches with radios slung over our shoulders, and stood beneath the northern lights waiting for the hush before dawn.
Our family has nearly a century of combined experience in the National Parks. We've climbed peaks, captained sailboats, and led thousands of guests through these extraordinary places. BONAVENTURE is our way of passing that reverence on—crafting custom tributes that honor each life with beauty, excellence, and care.
But through it all, what’s endured is story. The stories of those who came to these places to remember. To return. To let go.
We created BONAVENTURE to offer something worthy of that final chapter: a farewell not rushed or transactional, but reverent. Custom tributes crafted with intention. Ash scatterings carried out with park permission, environmental care, and deep personal respect.
We are foremost a family of storytellers. And in the story, the ending is what matters most.
A Farewell as Unique as Their Life
No two lives are alike—why should a final farewell be any different?
Whether you’re navigating a recent loss or fulfilling a long-held wish to scatter a loved one’s cremated remains, Bonaventure offers a way to say goodbye that is both meaningful and effortlessly managed. Our unaccompanied ash scattering services are designed to ease your burden while honoring your loved one’s story with reverence, beauty, and care.
Planning a memorial can feel overwhelming—especially when emotions are still raw. At Bonaventure, we take on the complexities so you can focus on what matters most: grieving, remembering, and healing.
From secure shipping of cremains using USPS-compliant kits to careful coordination with national parks and protected shorelines, our team handles every step with precision and compassion. Each scattering is conducted with:
Eco-conscious care
Precise GPS documentation
Handcrafted memorial plaques
A personalized tribute based on location and season
10 trees planted for every scattering
Our services are ideal for families who want a sacred, natural farewell without the logistical stress. Whether it’s a solo mountain scattering, a bioluminescent sea farewell, or a ceremony timed with butterfly or bird migrations, Bonaventure transforms farewell into legacy.
To learn more about how it works, see our Guide to Combining & Scattering Ashes or explore our available remarkable destinations.
Let your loved one’s story end where the sky is open, the wind speaks softly, and memory has space to soar.
Remarkable Destinations for Every Journey
Bonaventure offers more than places—we offer pilgrimage, presence, and peace. With 17 carefully selected locations across the country, each destination is handpicked for its natural beauty, spiritual resonance, and emotional significance. Whether you're drawn to the soaring cliffs of Zion, the gentle dance of dolphins at sunset, or the quiet power of a monarch butterfly migration, our destinations transform scattering ashes into a profound act of remembrance.
Want to scatter ashes in a national park? Consider our unforgettable offerings at:
Yellowstone National Park — a place where geysers rise and memories linger.
Glacier National Park — a sanctuary of sky, ice, and stillness.
Rocky Mountain National Park — a high-altitude farewell above the treeline.
Seeking something coastal and poetic? Explore:
Dolphins at Sunset in Pensacola — where ashes drift as dolphins rise.
Bioluminescence in Puget Sound — a glowing nighttime tribute beneath the stars.
Whale Trail off Ruby Beach — a West Coast farewell among migrating whales and crashing waves.
If migration and symbolism speak to your loved one’s story, we also offer seasonal ceremonies such as:
Monarch Butterfly Migration — a tribute carried on wings.
Sandhill Crane Migration — a sacred goodbye timed with nature’s ancient rhythm.
Each location offers a unique emotional experience—whether it's sunrise over Mount Rainier or the desert stillness of Zion National Park.
These destinations aren’t just beautiful—they’re healing. They allow families to scatter ashes in a way that honors a life’s passions, places, and presence. Our America the Beautiful package even allows for scattering across multiple National Parks, creating a legacy trail as unique as the person being remembered.
MEET THE TEAM
Joseph and Sarah-Marie Sherbon Co-founded BONAVENTURE to help families pay tribute to their loved ones and find healing and closure in the most beautiful places on earth: National Parks.
Joseph
Mountaineer. Trailblazer. Quiet Force.
Joseph is a gifted mountaineer and lifelong outdoorsman. From the spires of Custer State Park to the Teton Traverse, he’s planned treks through some of the wildest and most remote terrain in the country. He brings calm under pressure, deep integrity, and a profound respect for every life he helps honor beneath the open sky.
Sarah-Marie
Founder. Guide. Tribute Designer.
Sarah-Marie has guided hundreds of people on hikes through America’s most breathtaking trails. Her life’s work has always been about honoring others—whether curating a banquet for the Crowned Prince of Saudi Arabia or organizing a remembrance journey to Vietnam for war veterans. With an eye for beauty and a heart for legacy, she designs tribute experiences that are as meaningful as they are magnificent.
Tessa
Leader. Visionary. Ceremony Architect.
Tessa has shaped the operations of our most iconic parks. As Director of Operations for Zion National Park, she orchestrated everything from celebrity weddings to elite events, and also served in leadership roles at Mt. Rainier and Olympic. She’s a master of logistics and sacred space, creating memorial moments that are seamless, sacred, and deeply personalized.
Anna
Adventurer. Captain. Voice.
Anna ran across America on foot, summited Mount Rainier, captains her own sailboat, and travels the country as a public speaker. She brings energy, heart, and tenacity to everything she touches—and her dedication to telling a person’s story with care is what makes every project she plans unforgettable.
A Lasting Keepsake: Handcrafted Plaques
As part of the service, families receive a personalized wooden plaque handcrafted by our skilled in-house artisan. This custom-crafted memento includes a scene from the scattering location, your loved one’s name, and the coordinates of the scattering. Additionally, there’s the option to enclose a small portion of the cremains within the plaque itself, creating a tangible tribute that holds both emotional and physical significance. This meaningful keepsake serves as a timeless reminder of the love and connection shared.
This plaque, provided at no additional cost, serves as a meaningful keepsake—a timeless tribute to your loved one’s memory and the beauty of their final resting place.
Respecting the Environment, Honoring the Memory
At Bonaventure, every farewell is more than a goodbye—it’s a promise to the earth as well as to the one we’ve lost. With a deep commitment to environmental stewardship, we work hand-in-hand with park rangers, local conservationists, and ecological experts to ensure that every ash scattering ceremony honors both memory and the natural world.
Whether the ashes are released into alpine air, sunlit waters, or wildflower fields, our team follows strict eco-conscious protocols, including:
No synthetic materials or invasive species
Adherence to all EPA and National Park Service guidelines
Site-specific timing to protect native flora and fauna
Sustainable, low-impact practices at every destination
We plant 10 trees for every scattering
We partner with park rangers to ensure the safest, most eco-friendly scattering possible
By protecting the sacred spaces where we scatter, we ensure they remain untouched and awe-inspiring—for your family, for future generations, and for the earth itself.
A Tribute to Remember, A Legacy to Cherish
From the snow-capped majesty of the Grand Tetons to the wildflower meadows of Mount Rainier, Bonaventure helps families craft a farewell that is as breathtaking as it is heartfelt. Imagine saying goodbye under the golden light of a monarch butterfly migration, or with whales breaching along the Puget Sound Whale Trail.
These aren’t just ceremonies—they are moments of connection. They are acts of reverence. They are legacies written on the wind, the water, the wild.
Bonaventure’s unaccompanied ash scattering services make these moments possible by:
Handling every logistical detail with grace and care
Ensuring legal compliance and environmental harmony
Providing optional memorial plaques and GPS tracking for your family’s peace of mind
Curating locations chosen not just for beauty, but for meaning
Throughout the journey, Bonaventure remains your quiet guide—offering a peaceful, poetic goodbye that blends remembrance with the timeless beauty of nature.
Whether your loved one found joy in the mountains, solace in the ocean, or wonder in the skies, their farewell can echo that same spirit. Bonaventure is here to help you honor, reflect, and celebrate—with beauty, with care, and with love.
A Tribute in Season: Best Time to Scatter Ashes in America’s Most Iconic National Parks
BONAVENTURE is proud to time our work around ensuring that your loved one receives the most beautiful tribute possible– with almost a century of shared experience on our team, we know the ins-and-outs of coordinating scatterings that reflect the most beautiful time of year.
But we also work hard to time them to protect the integrity of the moment: That means scattering in secluded, stunning places away from high traffic areas. That said, whatever you choose to do to honor your loved one, remember to plan for seasonality in ash scattering:
Monarch Migration (Midwest) – Scattered in early fall when the air is still warm and monarch butterflies drift south in golden waves, symbolizing transformation and return.
Glacier National Park (Montana) – Late summer provides the clearest skies and fullest wildflower meadows—offering a dramatic, peaceful alpine farewell.
Mount Rainier National Park (Washington) – Scattering takes place when the snow has melted but the mountain is still crowned in white, and fields are bursting with lupine and paintbrush.
Puget Sound Bioluminescence (Washington) – Held on moonless summer nights when bioluminescent plankton shimmer with celestial glow—a magical, almost mythic goodbye.
Badlands National Park (South Dakota) – Scheduled during the cooler mornings of early fall, when the sun carves soft shadows into ancient rock and the wind is still.
Grand Tetons (Wyoming) – Coordinated for peak fall color—when the aspens blaze gold and the mountains reflect in still, glacial lakes.
Zion National Park (Utah) – Late spring or early fall ensures accessible trails and golden canyon light—ideal for a farewell surrounded by red rock majesty.
Pensacola Sunset & Dolphins (Florida Gulf Coast) – Timed for warm evenings when dolphins crest the waves and the sky burns rose and violet.
Devils Tower (Wyoming) – Scheduled for late summer when the grasses sway and the sun casts long, ceremonial light over the sacred butte.
Whale Trail at Ruby Beach (Washington) – Aligned with whale migration seasons, allowing families to say goodbye as gray whales pass just offshore.
Why Timing Enhances the Tribute
By thoughtfully aligning each ceremony with nature’s calendar, BONAVENTURE ensures:
Unmatched Beauty: Your loved one’s farewell unfolds in nature’s finest hour—when wildflowers bloom, the light turns golden, or the sea glows with bioluminescence.
Peace and Privacy: We schedule scatterings to avoid crowds, closures, and extremes—ensuring a quiet, undisturbed experience.
Environmental Integrity: Seasonal timing helps protect delicate ecosystems and habitats, preserving these sacred landscapes for generations to come.
Seasonality is more than practical—it’s poetic. BONAVENTURE honors not just where your loved one rests, but when. Each ash scattering is timed with care to unfold in a moment of natural grace—offering a farewell that is reverent, resonant, and profoundly connected to the rhythms of the earth.
Frequently Asked Questions About Destination Ash Scattering
What is destination ash scattering?
Destination ash scattering is the practice of releasing a loved one’s cremated remains in a meaningful natural location—such as a national park, coastal shore, or scenic wilderness—rather than keeping them in an urn or scattering them locally. At Bonaventure, we help families say goodbye in awe-inspiring places like Yellowstone, Mount Rainier, or even during the bioluminescent tide in Puget Sound.
Do I have to travel to attend the ceremony?
No. Bonaventure specializes in unaccompanied ash scattering—we handle every detail on your behalf with reverence and care. You simply send the ashes to us using a secure, USPS-compliant kit. We perform the ceremony in your chosen destination, document it with GPS coordinates, and return a beautiful summary to you and your family.
Is it legal to scatter ashes in national parks or natural places?
Yes—with permission. Bonaventure obtains all necessary permits and follows federal, state, and local regulations, including NPS guidelines on scattering ashes. We work closely with park rangers and environmental stewards to ensure every scattering is respectful and fully compliant.
Learn more in our Complete Guide to Ash Scattering.
How do I ship ashes safely?
Use the free, official USPS Cremated Remains Kit. This kit includes everything needed for secure, respectful shipping.
What if I want to scatter ashes from multiple loved ones together?
We can accommodate combined scatterings and offer options like the Partners Package for couples or family members. You may also request a custom ceremony for unique wishes—just reach out.
What is the memorial plaque or tribute?
We include handcrafted plaques that features the loved one’s name, the location of their scattering, and their life dates. This can be displayed in the home, shared with relatives, or kept as a private keepsake.
Why choose Bonaventure?
Because we believe every goodbye should be as beautiful as the life it honors. Our service is built on:
Reverence for people and places
Simplicity in process
Ecological care in every ceremony
A deep sense of story, memory, and love
With Bonaventure, you don’t just scatter ashes—you release legacy into the wild.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sarah-Marie Sherbon is a writer, mother, and a co-founder of BONAVENTURE, a destination ash scattering service devoted to helping families say goodbye in places that still feel sacred.
Her reverence for the wild was shaped over years in the national parks—kayaking through the rugged archipelago of Isle Royale, hiking beneath the emerald ballet of light in Mount Rainier’s rainforest, and breathing in the wildflower-sweetened stillness of Yellowstone’s hidden places. Today, she draws on those experiences to guide families toward tributes rooted in beauty, memory, and return—because some goodbyes deserve a view that takes your breath away.
For National Park Scattering: Permits & Resources
If you're considering a National Park as your scattering site, be sure to follow proper procedures. BONAVENTURE handles permits for our services, but families should be aware of:
