Somewhere between the college years and the calendar full of obligations, most of us stopped doing the things that made summer feel like summer. Lake swims, campfires, friendship bracelets, the thrill of a ropes course.
The good news is that you don’t have to be twelve to get any of it back. Adult summer camps have grown into one of the most fun travel trends in the US, offering all-inclusive weekends where grown-ups trade their inboxes for archery ranges and leave with new friends instead of souvenirs.
Whether you want a women-only weekend, a co-ed party camp, or a few days of astronaut training, these six adult summer camps deserve a spot on your travel bucket list.
1. Camp Social (Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania)
If the idea of showing up to camp alone makes you nervous, this is the camp that turns that fear on its head. Camp Social is a women-only adult summer camp in the Poconos, and 99% of its campers arrive solo. That’s not a footnote. It’s the whole design. The weekend is built for women who walk in as strangers and leave with hundreds of new friends, which makes it one of the most solo-friendly sleepaway camps for adults in the country.
Camp Social runs two 3-day all-inclusive weekends a year, with cabin lodging, chef-prepared meals, and a packed menu of classic camp activities: horseback riding, a heated pool, high ropes, a climbing wall, lake inflatables, canoe races, archery, beach volleyball, yoga, and evening bonfires.
Adults of all ages are genuinely welcome here, and the camp’s oldest camper to date was 83. For women anywhere near the East Coast corridor, the Poconos location makes it an easy weekend escape from New York, Philadelphia, or DC.
2. Camp No Counselors (New York, California, Texas, and Florida)
The biggest name in the adult camp world, Camp No Counselors pitched on Shark Tank and has since grown into a multi-state operation with camps in New York, California, Texas, and Florida. Each event is a 3-night, all-inclusive weekend where days are filled with camp olympics, kayaking, dodgeball, and lake time, and nights bring themed parties, live music, and campfire conversations.
The co-ed crowd skews social and high-energy, with an open bar flowing through happy hours and evening events. Cabins are comfortable, meals are handled by camp chefs, and nothing on the schedule is mandatory. If your bucket list includes one classic “feel like a kid again” weekend, this is the household-name option.
3. Club Getaway (Kent, Connecticut)
Club Getaway has been running lakeside getaways for more than 45 years on a 300-acre property in the Berkshire Mountains of Kent, Connecticut, about 90 minutes from New York City. Its Camp for Adults weekends are exclusively for guests 21 and over, with zip lines, a flying trapeze, water sports, hiking, themed dance parties, and campfires with s’mores.
The lodging leans rustic chic, with cabins featuring real mattresses, private bathrooms, heat and air conditioning, and lake views. Club Getaway also hosts family camp weekends and private events across its season, so double-check that you’re booking an adults-only weekend if that’s the experience you’re after. Solo travelers are common and the staff actively helps guests connect.
4. Camp Runabout (Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania)
Camp Runabout proves that adult summer camp can have a personality of its own. This all-inclusive Poconos weekend is designed for runners and active-lifestyle types, though its motto tells you where the priorities sit: a little running, a lot of fun.
Mornings start with a group trail run or yoga session, and the rest of the day opens into classic camp territory with canoeing, a flying trapeze, ziplining, sports, and arts and crafts.
Evenings bring happy hours, guest speakers, bonfires with s’mores, and live music or DJs. All meals, lodging, and activities are included. If you love staying active but want your fitness getaway to feel like a celebration instead of a training block, this one belongs on your list.
5. Camp Bettie (Deckers, Colorado)
Hosted at the YMCA’s Camp Shady Brook near the Pike-San Isabel National Forest, Camp Bettie is a weekend camp for women and nonbinary adults run by the Bad Bettie Project. Alongside traditional activities like archery, high ropes, canoeing, tie-dye, and campfires, campers can join volunteer-led workshops on everything from campfire cooking and meditation hikes to an intro to power tools.
Lodging ranges from bunk lodges to platform tents, meals are included, and the vibe is community-first, with speed-friending sessions and women’s circles built into the weekend. For travelers west of the Mississippi, it’s a beautiful mountain alternative to the East Coast camp scene.
6. Adult Space Academy (Huntsville, Alabama)
The wildcard on this list trades the lake for a launch pad. Adult Space Academy at the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville is a weekend program where campers train like astronauts: spinning in the Multi-Axis Trainer, building and launching model rockets, designing heat shields, and flying a simulated space mission with their team. Meals and on-site lodging in the Space Camp Habitat are included.
It’s camp in the truest sense, complete with bunks and team bonding, just with mission patches instead of friendship bracelets. For anyone who grew up dreaming about space, this is a bucket-list weekend that delivers on the fantasy.
How to Choose Your Camp
Think about three things: who you want to be surrounded by, how far you’ll travel, and what pace suits you. Camp Social and Camp Bettie offer women-centered spaces where solo arrivals are the norm. Camp No Counselors and Club Getaway deliver the big co-ed social energy.
Camp Runabout suits the active crowd, and Adult Space Academy is for the dreamers. East Coasters have the Poconos and Connecticut within easy driving distance, while Colorado and Alabama reward those willing to make the trip.
Whichever you choose, the formula is the same: pack light, show up open, and let a weekend of play do what vacations rarely manage anymore. You’ll come home with stories, sunburned shoulders, and a group chat full of people you didn’t know a week ago. That’s the kind of travel worth putting on the list.