Sleep-Away Camps Become Popular With Adults

Sleep-away camps for adults are becoming a popular way to meet new people and connect through IRL activities.

Why It Hits: Modern adults (especially millennials and Gen Zers) have a reported friend deficit, largely due to spending so much of life glued to screens. As America grapples with a “loneliness epidemic,” it’s possible that organized camps that disconnect people from their devices and engage them in playtime can break the ice among strangers long-term.

Between The Activities: Maybe your next vacation will be spent at summer camp just like when you were a kid.

• Destinations like Club Getaway, ‘Camp’ Camp, Camp Social, and Camp No Counselors have become hotspots all around the country.
• They are expanding, with the female-focused Camp Social (which has 400 campers per summer) hosting a second session in September, while Camp No Counselors, which has permanent locations in Pennsylvania and California, is expanding to Texas.
• That expansion is fueled by repeat campers. The LGBTQ-focused ‘Camp’ Camp has a 75% return rate. 40% have even come back more than five times.
• And when it comes to new campers, people aren’t afraid to arrive solo, hoping to find community once they get here. 92% of the attendees to Camp Social show up alone.

Final Itinerary: So, what goes down at these camps? Well, exactly what you did when you attended in middle school — bunking, ropes courses, tie-dying, boating, and archery. But they also have some activities now that you’re over the age of 21, like paint-and-sip classes and dance parties with an open bar.

Next Time: With many of these camps taking on brand partners to offset costs — Camp Social has been sponsored by Amazon Prime and Dunkin’, while Camp No Counselors has been sponsored by Fat Tire Ale and Bombas — adult camps may be the freshest kind of activation.