Kids shouldn’t have all the fun. Here are 8 summer camps for adults. Ready to stomp some grapes?
Maybe you went to sleep-away camp as a child. Perhaps you’re anticipating a similar experience for your own kids. At the very least, we assume you’re familiar with the concept thanks to movies such as “The Parent Trap,” “Wet Hot American Summer,” “Moonrise Kingdom” or the mother of all camp fantasies: “Meatballs.”
Summer camp for kids is permanently enshrined in the culture.
Now a growing number of adults want in on that experience. Pinterest, which has been looking into travel trends for 2017, reports a 43% increase in interest in adult summer camps, based on searches and pins — and the offerings continue to multiply.
If you yearn for a grown-up getaway but hope to stay relatively close to home, here are a few options:
Arts, writing and dance
The Idyllwild Arts Academy, in the San Jacinto Mountains about 2½ hours east of Los Angeles, is a place to indulge your inner artist — or, perhaps, encounter it for the first time.
Students can sign up for workshops in a variety of activities, among them, sculpture, Native American arts, writing and dance. (We’ve got our eye on “Narrative Figure Painting” with Rebecca Campbell, offered June 26-30.) Tuition, which typically covers lab fees and materials, ranges from about $185 to $1,200.
Students can stay in on-campus dormitories (two-person rooms are $545 per week per person and $335 per person for three days.) Off-campus housing is also available.
Information: (951) 468-7265, www.idyllwildarts.org/summer
Forget the counselors
If you’re Googling “adult sleep-away camp where the focus is fun,” you’ll undoubtedly encounter the headline-grabbing Camp No Counselors, whose founder appeared on “Shark Tank” last year. The company continues to expand its offerings in urban areas, including Los Angeles.
Activities include sports (water and land), arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, hiking, “epic nightly theme parties” — and hanging out at the open bar.
Campers who appreciate Southern California’s endless summer can sign up for one of two sessions this year at Lake Hughes: Sept. 28-Oct. 1 and Oct 12-15. Rates range from $525 to $599.
Information: www.campnocounselors.com
Yoga retreat
For some of us, summer is a time to disconnect from the madness of day-to-day life. A yoga retreat might be just the solution.
Lainie Devina — yoga teacher, teacher trainer and mentor in the YogaWorks Professional Program — will lead six classes (flow, meditation, pranayama and restoratives) during a four-day yoga retreat in July at the Lodge at Oak Creek Ranch in Santa Margarita.
The retreat is scheduled for July 13-16. Fees, which range from $950 to $1,100, include lodging, meals, yoga classes and some other activities.
Information: (805) 870-5530, lainiedevina.com/retreats
A fitness wonderland
Rancho La Puerta, just across the border in Tecate, Mexico, opened almost 80 years ago and continues to maintain its long-held status as a premier fitness resort.
Guests at the 4,000-acre facility can participate in a number of fitness activities, including yoga and Pilates classes, hiking, strength training and cross training. If you’re looking for a themed experience, the resort has scheduled “Water Week” (emphasizing water fitness, July 15-21) and “Spartan Week” (offering opportunities to train with an expert in obstacle course racing, Aug. 5-12).
Rates, which range from $3,750 to $5,750 per person for a week (for a double), include lodging, “semi-vegetarian” meals, activities and special presentations.
Information: (800) 443-7565, www.rancholapuerta.com
Surf’s up
It’s possible to live in Southern California without learning how to surf — but that seems a little counterintuitive. We’ve got the great weather and the beach — why not give in to the clarion call of the water?
The Endless Summer Surf Camp has scheduled sleep-over summer sessions (Aug. 28-Sept. 1 and Sept. 4-8) for adults who will stay at the San Onofre State Park Campground — at sites with all sorts of upgrades, including a TV and video lounge.
The $995 fee includes lodging, meals, instruction, surfboards and wet suits. Endless Summer also offers Monday-Friday day camps; the fee is $495 a week.
Information: (949) 498-7862, endlesssummersurfcamp.com
The secret world of wine
Some of us sip wine on occasion. Or we visit tasting rooms and join wine clubs. But the truly obsessed might want to consider an activity — grape camp — that takes wine love to another dimension.
The camp, Sept 17-19, is sponsored by the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission. Campers will stay at the Vintners Inn in Santa Rosa, assist with a harvest, listen to wine talks, dine on chef-prepared fare — and sample some wine.
Fees are $5,000 for a couple and $3,200 for a single.
Information: www.sonomagrapecamp.com/
Swimming, hiking, an open bar
Fox Mountain Adventures runs a series of summer programs for kids at a site near the base of the Palomar Mountains, but for one weekend (July 1-3) this summer, adults get the run of the place.
There is a rigorous schedule of activities at Camp Grown Up — archery, swimming, painting, hiking, midnight karaoke — but campers are encouraged to move at their own pace. Rates start at $400.
And, yes, there’s an open bar.
Information: (855) 369-2267, www.foxmountainadventures.com/AdultCamp.html
Photo school
You go to summer camp. You take photos. You post them on Instagram. But what if your photo skills could use a little refining?
Mark Edward Harris, whose award-winning work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Wallpaper, Condé Nast Traveler, Afar, and the Los Angeles Times, is scheduled to teach a daylong workshop ($115) on fine art travel photography (film and digital) on July 8 at Samy’s Camera in Pasadena. Harris has visited and photographed in 95 countries — so your vacations may never look the same.
Information: (323) 456-4564, www.samysphotoschool.com
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