Adults Find Fun and Friendship at Sleepaway Camp
Some people have affectionate memories of summers at sleepaway camp – sitting around the campfire, toasting marshmallows, and giggling with new friends. Others longed to go to camp as children but obstacles, like the family budget, made it impossible.
Sleepaway camps for adults provide a happy solution for everyone. The Wall Street Journal reports a growing number of adults are opting to spend a week or a weekend hiking, canoeing, and, most of all, bonding with new people in an outdoor setting free of cellphones and laptops.
A Blueprint for Friendship
Liv Schreiber saw working women struggling to build friendships with no support network and responded by founding Camp Social in New York in 2023.
“I built Camp Social for the adult friendship gap,” Schreiber told The Wall Street Journal. “I created what I wished existed. We’re expected to figure out friendships without a blueprint.”
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Camp Social is not alone. Club Getaway, ‘Camp’ Camp and Camp No Counselors have seen a surge in new campers in recent years. Camp Social, which hosts 400 female campers per session, is already booked solid for 2026 and has a waiting list for 2027. Camp No Counselors, which has locations in Pennsylvania and California, recently expanded to Texas.
Unlike spas or wellness retreats that concentrate on solo activities like yoga or meditation, sleep-away camps offer traditional activities like hiking, swimming, and crafts. More adult touches include classes on cocktail mixology and pre-dinner Happy Hours. Campers are encouraged to be social and engage with others. Some of those new friends become lifers.
Friends for Life
Elle interviewed Cassie Rudd from New York, Maddie Martino, 29 from Chicago, and Jocelyn Benson, 31, from Utah, who met at Camp Social in 2023. After camp was over, they formed a group chat along with a few other women campers. Every month or two, they meet up for girls’ trips; two campers ended up living together for a year.
“Camp was life-changing,” Benson told Elle. “Genuinely. If I hadn’t gone in 2023, my life would not be the same.”
Not every US trend travels well, but sleepaway camps have become a hit in Europe, too, reports euronews travel. In fact, Ef Ultimate Break, a global travel group targeting young adults, launched a luxurious co-ed camp experience in the Swiss Alps this summer. Camp Château, a women-only camp in Southern France, has an 11,000 waiting list for its 2026 season.
“Summer camp is such a quintessential part of growing up, and the idea of revisiting that feeling as an adult, having activities planned for you, being outdoors, forming friendships without having to force it, is really resonating,” Alyssa Sands, Director of Tour Development at EF Ultimate Break, said to euronews.
A Change of Tune
Adults with a musical bent also have a choice of summer camps around the country catering to amateur musicians according to AP News.
Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA has hosted the Band Camp for Adult Musicians for 37 years. Players are coached by retired military members and college professors.
“They were lawyers or doctors, or working full-time, mothers,” founder Leigh Hurtz told the AP. “There are also people who sold their tuba for a couch in college so they could have a couch, and 20 years later, it’s like, ‘I need a tuba again!’”
Summer camp is great for kids who need structure during a long summer break. But sleepaway camp is even greater for adults who deserve a break from everyday life and a stress-free way to make new friends.
