Embrace Your Inner Child at These Summer Camps for Adults This Fall

With school back in session, it’s time to consider a little personal time, and this autumn, instead of embracing all the “maxxing,” consider cutting loose with an escape that embraces your inner child. Sure, skillcations are fun, but when was the last time you really embraced play? These grown-up getaways around the West do just that.

Sanctioned adult summer camps like Camp No Counselors and Sierra Nevada Journeys offer adult-focused retreats, but there are also self-styled summer camps you can indulge in at these Sunset-approved properties. Here are our favorites.

Brush Creek Ranch

BRUSH CREEK RANCH 

This ultra-luxury working ranch outside Rawlins, Wyoming feels like summer camp for people who take their horses and fly fishing seriously. Days are full of riding, cattle work, and meals that justify the investment, all without the kids’ schedule to manage.

Courtesy of Alisal Ranch

ALISAL GUEST RANCH 

Located in Solvang, California, Alisal has the staying power (it’s been around since 1946) and the infrastructure to make a multi-day escape feel effortless. Their 73 cottages are spread across 10,000 acres where you can saddle up with one of their hundreds of horses, or splash around in the lake for swimming and paddleboarding. Corral lessons, barrel racing, and seasonal rodeos give you enough activity to fill your days, or you can skip it all and stay poolside with a book.

Paws Up Montana

PAWS UP 

Spread across 37,000 acres in western Montana’s Blackfoot Valley, this property makes “glamping” feel like actual luxury with safari-style tents that have real beds and outdoor soaking tubs. The combination of wilderness access (100 miles of trails, 10 miles of river) give that sense of being away at summer camp, and the endless programming truly has something for everyone. (We attended one of their pie-baking bootcamps and our holidays have been forever changed.) If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at fly fishing, this is the spot to do it.

Four Seasons Resort and Residences Los Cabos at Costa Palmas

FOUR SEASONS LOS CABOS AT COSTA PALMAS

If you want adult camp energy with a side of serious play, Costa Palmas delivers with a sea trampoline, beach bocce, and pretty much every beach toy you could imagine, plus a world-class gym designed by fitness guru Harley Pasternak (there’s a whole room full of squat racks and proper boxing bags to boot), and a Robert Trent Jones II championship golf course, all wrapped around one of the few genuinely swimmable beaches in Cabo. The East Cape setting keeps things quieter than the main Cabo Corridor, and the wellness-focused Oasis Spa is there when you’re ready to slow down.

Josh Franer

AUTOCAMP JOSHUA TREE 

This 25-acre outpost lets you sleep in a sleek Airstream steps from Joshua Tree National Park while still getting resort-style programming: yoga classes, ecology walks, night-sky photography seminars, and fireside conversations. The plunge pool and hot tub are perfect for unwinding after desert hikes, and the on-site bar keeps the camp-social energy alive. Fall is the ideal time to head out to J-Tree too, with temps being cooler and crowds being much more mellow after the summertime crush.

ULUM Moab. Photo by Thomas J. Story.

ULUM

Near Moab, Utah, this newer glamping property features West Elm-furnished safari tents that overlook Canyonlands National Park, with on-site saunas, dipping pools, full-service dining, and free yoga included in your stay. The 200 acres feel genuinely remote, like your own private national park stay. You could easily stay on property, but canyoneering, rock climbing, river rafting and off-roading through Utah’s magnificent red rock country will really tap into your adrenaline and sense of childlike wonder.