In Pennsylvania, Camp No Counselors takes adult programs to new heights. (Photo: Camp No Counselors)
By Steve Dinnen
As you ponder which camp to pack the kids off to this summer, you may want to spend some time and a few bucks treating yourself to a grown-up version. Zip lines, archery, swimming, canoeing, horseback rides — they’re all there at adult summer camp.
“It’s everything you did as a kid, plus beer,” say the organizers of Camp Forever Fun near Bloomingdale, Michigan. Camp director Joel Paul Reisig, who by trade is a movie director and producer, said he loved camping during his teens and got the notion for a camp aimed at adults in 2015 when he was directing the movie “Horse Camp.” The cast and crew rented an entire camp for several weeks during filming, and at the nightly bonfire, Reisig often wondered, “How come nobody does this any more?”
So he rented the campgrounds again, to use as an attraction for adults. He didn’t have to create anything new; the cabins, dining hall and swimming pool were already in place.
Grown-ups generally have less free time than 12-year-olds, so their camp programs tend to span long weekends rather than full weeks. But they make the most of those limited hours, with all the previously mentioned activities, plus arts and crafts, yoga, and a climbing wall. A dance party caps each night.
“We pack more into that [weekend] than most camps do in a year,” Reisig said. “I’ve exhausted people.”
Camp No Counselors, which hosts three weekends over the summer in Pennsylvania and California, offers tennis, pickleball and a ropes course in what adviser Sean Yelverton calls a free-flowing format. Campers are free to move from one event to another however they wish, although most participants fill their days with all the optional activities, which are monitored not by counselors, exactly, but instructors, lifeguards and others who are good to have around.
As you might expect, the food at adult camps is better than what you may remember from the camps of your youth. There are more salads and fewer hot dogs. Camp No Counselors features Italian, Greek and barbecue themes. And there are mimosas for breakfast, plus beer and wine with dinner.
Adult camps closer to Des Moines include Camp Wandawega in Elkhart, Wisconsin. It’s sort of a self-serve operation, with no set schedules or directed activities, but there are basketball, tennis and volleyball courts and an archery range. You can rent camping space by the day, weekend or week.
“We’re all DIY. You choose your own adventure,” general manager Riley Feltner said. It’s popular with groups of friends and co-workers, and this summer’s lineup includes a weeklong writers’ retreat.
Prices seem reasonable. Camp No Counselors charges $950 to $1,000, while Forever Fun is a more modest $400, or even lower if you fill an entire cabin with a group.
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