- Adult-only summer camps have been exploding in popularity.
- Camp Social’s women-only event sold out in less than 10 minutes and had a 60,000-person waitlist.
- Higher-end camps have activities like destination snorkeling and can cost more than $1,200 a day.
Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go.
Forget Euro summer — travelers want to return to summer camp.
The nostalgic art of sharing bunks and canoeing with new friends is no longer reserved for kids at summer sleepaway camps.
Lately, an increasing number of grown-ups have begun flocking to adult-only summer camps, some for as steep as $1,200 a day.
You can relive your glory days with activities like kayaking, archery, and marshmallows over the campfire. But if you can no longer rough and tough it out as you could in your youth, these adult-oriented getaways also offer comforts like facials, memory foam mattresses, and boozy parties.
Traditional summer camps have been flooded with grown-ups.
In Kent, Connecticut, a two-hour drive from New York City, Club Getaway’s 300-acre property hosts youth, family, and adult-only camps. The latter — of which there were 13 dates this year — fittingly advertises itself as an “escape for your inner child.”
David Schreiber, Club Getaway’s owner, told BI that revenue for its adult segment increased 9% in 2024 compared to 2023.
Groups of friends can buy out a cabin, while solo travelers can join a shared one. The average per-person price of a four-person cabin is about $570.
Guests of all ages at Club Getaway can participate in watersports, high-energy group activities, and ziplining.
But the affair becomes a bit boozier when adult camp is in session from Friday to Sunday.
Think mixology classes, pub hikes, paint and sip, and themed parties like “red, white, and brew.” (Don’t worry, you can burn off the alcohol at one of the workout classes.)
‘Some’ turned out to be about 480 attendees in 2024 — four times as many guests as in 2023.
Beyond traditional camp activities, the women spent their weekend taking cold plunges in the lake and getting facials at a SkinCeuticals-branded cabin.
According to Camp Social’s founder, most showed up alone. Many left as friends.
“Your needs as an adult are the same as when you’re a kid,” Schreiber said. “You want to meet new people and relieve yourself of the stress you may have at home. You don’t want to feel lonely or left out.”
Surratt’s historic lakeside property in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, has cabins, homes, and glamping accommodations to sleep up to 75 people.
Instead of a planned itinerary, Wandawega offers camp-like amenities and activities — like a treehouse, hatchet throwing, watersports, and vintage craft kits — that keep most guests hanging around on-site.
“You never know who’s going to be in the cabin next to you,” Surratt said. “Unlikely friendships are forged.”
There’s no age restriction, but Surratt estimates at least 80% of Wandawega’s guests are grown-ups, noting a recent influx in adult group bookings.
It’s a sentiment that has gone international — and high-end.
Perched atop a hill in the countryside of southern France, Camp Château hosts annual six-day women-only summer camps from July to September.
The mansion-turned-camp welcomes 50 women per session. About 70% show up solo, Philippa Girling, CEO and cofounder of Camp Château, told BI.
While the property has shared glamping tents, most “campers” sleep in large five to eight-person bedrooms inside the château. Guests can participate in electives like guided foraging, ceramics, jam-making, and “stitch and bitch.”
“We want them to give themselves permission to slow down and just be,” Girling said. “It’s incredibly restorative to be quiet and somewhere beautiful.”
Camp Château is currently winding down its second season.
Despite its nascency, the company now has a more than 13,000-person waitlist for next year’s dates, which start at 2,250 euros, about $2,500, per person.
Its 2025 schedule had been fully booked in five days — 15 months in advance.
Girling said her company is now exploring expansion options like more dates or properties.
Even luxury hotel companies are (kind of) turning their rooms into camping accommodations.
The Standard in Miami Beach, Florida, and Four Seasons Resort in Los Cabos, Mexico, both have annual adult summer camps.
A spokesperson for The Standard, Miami Beach, told BI that “Camp Standard” — a three-night affair in mid-August — saw a 50% growth in attendees from 2023 to 2024. It now plans to expand the program for 2025, which could include more dates or a longer event.
At Camp Standard 2024, guests received astrological life tips, broke a sweat at workout classes, participated in afternoon watersports, and attended a sunset excursion.
But instead of shared bunks, “campers” stayed in the hotel, paying about $2,120 per person for a solo room or about $1,570 for a double-occupancy one.
The majority of this year’s 120 guests went alone.
Chump change, compared to Four Seasons’ more than $1,200 a day Camp Verano.
The luxe five-day event, available from Memorial Day to Labor Day, is as much a wellness retreat as a summer camp.
The full schedule includes a massage, a day trip to go destination snorkeling and diving, a swim at a waterfall, and a hike to a workout class with a view — all starting at $6,000 per person.
A spokesperson for the hotel told BI that the camp has averaged 16 bookings a year — mostly couples and girl groups — since its conception in 2022.
After all, there’s nothing more summer camp-like than a Four Seasons hotel.