At Fortitude Ranch, the cabin is for vacationing. The shelters are for surviving.

Fortitude Ranch occupies more than 50 acres within the George Washington National Forest. Its serene setting belies talk of catastrophe. On a recent tour, there were green mountain vistas just below the clouds and a stillness broken only by the soft patter of rain on leaves.

Members, who pay about $1,000 per person per year to be a part of the community, are encouraged to use the ranch’s two large rustic cabins here as vacation lodgings. In the event of emergency, however, they would head to 10-by-10-foot, claustrophobia-inducing rooms in underground shelters, some of which are constructed of metal culverts. Altogether, the compound here can hold up to 500 people.

The organization also has two sites in Colorado. It’s working to set up a fourth in Wisconsin. The motto: “Prepare for the Worst — Enjoy the Present.”

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