Summer Camp for Adults?! Here’s our Top 5

From Boozin’ to Detoxing—You’re Never Too Old For Summer Camp!

Written By: Nanda Dyssou Summer Camp for Adults?! Here’s our Top 5

When you think of summer fun, do you picture beach days, bonfires, and BBQs – the same old things you did last year? If you are ready for a change of scenery and some excitement, read on. According to the American Camp Association, over one million adults attended a camp last year. And why wouldn’t they? Summer camp is just as much fun now as it was when you were a kid. Below are five of the best all-inclusive camp experiences under the sun that cater strictly to adults; no kids, no pets, no work, no responsibilities. Dive in.

 

Camp Grounded: The Digital Detox

If you’ve spent more time gazing at your phone or computer screen today than looking into another human’s eyes, you may be in need of a digital detox. That’s exactly what Camp Grounded offers: a chance to put away your devices, log out of your social media accounts, and spend four days in the forest, relearning the deteriorating skill of making real life friends. The founders of Camp Grounded believe that disconnecting from technology will help you reconnect with the world around you, your community, and yourself. You will join three hundred fellow recovering technology addicts and social media fiends in over fifty playshops, wellness, and sport activities. There will be camp dances, daily communal dining, a talent show, and a game of color wars. Bring your best slumber party outfit and extra sheets for joining the camp’s PJ Brunch and blanket fort building activities. You might win a prize.

You’ll leave your work identity behind and choose a nickname to use instead of your regular name and title. You will be treated to healthy gourmet meals three times a day and have the option to take part in any of these activities: stilt walking, acroyoga, rockwall climbing, archery, and more. As a bonus, no one will Instagram your clumsy attempts at solar carving, screen printing, or comic book drawing. Welcome back to the idyllic era of your childhood.

Native Knowledge: Upon arrival you will head to Tech Check, where the highly skilled specialists of The International Institute of Digital Detoxification will take all your devices and place them in tightly sealed biohazard bags, then transport them to an undisclosed location. Your technology withdrawal symptoms should decrease in a day or two.

Details:

4 days/3 nights from $645

Local Upcoming Dates:
Keep your eye out for when the camp returns to Medinico, CA next May!

Soul Camp: Adult Sleepaway Camp for the Soul

Do you want to take charge of your spiritual wellness under the guidance of renowned experts and teachers? Are you ready to go deeper, know more, and feel better? Then pack your bags, you are heading to Soul Camp.

Soul Camp promises to be “the most transformative sleepaway camp for adults, ” offering 50 different workshops a day, including fear burning ceremonies, intuitive readings, breathwork workshops, oneness meditation, Kundalini yoga, and inspirational “SoulVersations.” Between sessions you will bond with other campers over healthy canteen snacks, such as crunchy kale chips, lemon fig bars, and watermelon lemonade.

You will have your choice of communal rooms or private cabins, and menu options cater to all dietary needs. Alcohol is not part of the offerings, and there won’t be Wi-Fi access, so prepare for a detox.

Sixty-five percent of Soul Campers are women but founders Michelle Goldblum and Ali Leipzig encourage men to join the fun too. They believe that you are never too old for camp and that it’s never too late to get on the path to perfect mind, body, and spiritual wellness.

Native Knowledge: If you cannot attend Soul Camp in person this year, you can still join the fun online, through Soul Camp In Your Home. This choose-your-own-adventure style online group offers virtual campground discussions about spirituality, purpose, freedom, vitality, wellness, resilience, and self-worth.  

Details:
4 days/3 nights from $999

Local Upcoming Dates:
October 25-29, 2016 – Sanger, CA – West Camp

Camp No Counselors: Camp for Grownups

For the most outrageous nightly theme parties, choose one of ten locations of Camp No Counselors, the ultimate playground for grownups. How about a few mimosas and Bloody Marys for breakfast, beer and wine at lunch, and cocktails with dinner? Camp No Counselors has a full service open bar, which makes them the only 21 and over camp on this list. Each evening world class DJs and bands play for campers, elevating your nights far beyond the usual campfire experience. And to make sure that you never forget these epic nights and days, a professional photographer is hired to snap perfect Instagram-worthy photos of you and your best buddies.

The non-counselors at this camp believe in no rules, so let loose and celebrate all day long with your fellow “work hard, play harder” devotees. The average attendee is 30 years old and while the event is not officially aimed at singles, with games like tubing, slip ‘n slide, or flip-cup, and theme parties with “Superheroes and Villains, ” “Jock Jams, ” or “Wet Hot American Summer, ” your odds of meeting someone are pretty good.

Native Knowledge: Camp No Counselors prides itself on selecting 200 like-minded, fun and friendly adults for each session. Founder and avid camper Adam Tichauer recently dazzled the investors on Shark Tank with his business.

Details:
4 days/3 nights from $500

Local Upcoming Dates:
September 22-25, 2016 – Los Angeles, CA 
October 7-10, 2016 – San Francisco, CA

 

Culinary Institute of America (CIA): A Foodie’s Paradise

Are you a foodie who is still a little confused by the difference between soufflé and quiche? Then you need to sign up for the CIA’s Bootcamp. The professional chefs of the Culinary Institute of America would love to take you under their aprons.  

Their top secret, intensive, hands-on culinary immersion programs are geared toward cooking enthusiasts of various levels and offers an assortment of cooking, baking, or wine tasting classes. Their learn-by-doing approach will place you in a commercial kitchen, and have you slicing and dicing from the minute you arrive. Dozens of themes are offered, including Bistro Boot Camp, Artisan Breads, Mushroom Madness, Gourmet Meals in Minutes, and Entertaining at Home.

You will be among a small group of fellow culinary enthusiasts whose fantasy vacation also includes learning to slice and dice farm-fresh ingredients with top-of-the-line chef’s knives in a professional commercial kitchen. Give yourself a present that will stay with you for life: a sense of confidence in the kitchen.

Native Knowledge: All meals you cook will be critiqued by your instructors, and then enjoyed with your classmates, usually paired with some fine wine. As a bonus, you won’t ever have to do the dishes.

Details:

2-5 days from $895 (accommodations not included)

Local Upcoming Dates:
Choose from over 20 upcoming sessions in St. Helena, CA

 

Wanderlust Festivals: Explore Mindful Living

What is summer without festivals? The mission of Wanderlust Festival founders Jeff Krasno, Sean Hoess, and Schuyler Grant was to create a tight-knit community around mindful living, to encourage you to practice purpose, create awareness, be green, eat well, showcase art, and to practice yoga. Whether you are a complete beginner or a yogini, into vinyasa, or aerial yoga, prefer a paddleboard or a DJ with your flow, you can keep your body and mind moving through a series of classes in Wanderlust’s beautiful resorts.

During your time at the festival you will be invited to practice various yoga and meditation programs, listen to DJs, acoustic bands, and internationally known performers (hello, Steven Marley!), explore the breathtaking mountains and lakes around you, learn through casual lecture series and speakeasies, and taste locally grown, organic meals with your newfound tribe.

Native Knowledge: Wanderlusters stay in touch between festivals by attending “108s” or mindful triathlons. These field days for the mind, body, and soul involve running, yoga, and meditation, and have stops from Germany to New Zealand. Rally up your tribe and join the race.

Details:

3-day experience from $425 or attend single sessions from $15

Local Upcoming Dates:
July 14-17, 2016 – North Lake Tahoe, CA – Squaw Valley (“The Original”)
Who Said Kids Can Only Have Fun At Summer Camp?

Website | + posts

Nanda Dyssou is a journalist and writer of Hungarian and Congolese origin. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of California in Riverside with a BA in Creative Writing, and is currently a 2018 MFA candidate in Fiction at UCR. Nanda enjoys working in a variety of writing fields, and is currently at work on a novel, a short story cycle, and several essays.
website: www.NandaDyssou.com
Twitter: @nandadyssou

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