10 Adult Summer Camps to Get Away and Learn New Things

People over 50 can unleash their inner child at one of these adult camps. Enjoy summer activities such as outdoor adventure, cooking classes and singing

The camaraderie of camp shouldn’t stop just because you’re an adult. Here’s where to sign up for summer camp across the United States.

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Susan B. Barnes,

AARP

En español

Published May 28, 2019

/ Updated May 01, 2024

Why should kids have all the summer-camp adventures? These 10 camps are just right for adults who want to learn new skills or enjoy the outdoors (or do both) with other fun-loving grownups. Sign up early to secure your spot, or if your favorite is sold out, start planning for next year now.

Singing camps

campers practice singing at the North American Jewish Choral Festival in Tarrytown, New York

Campers can learn how to sing or brush up their skills at the North American Jewish Choral Festival in Tarrytown, New York.

Courtesy North American Jewish Choral Festival

Each summer in late July, a group of about 60 singers and songwriters age 18 and up come together for SummerSongs, a weeklong retreat at the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center in Falls Village, Connecticut, about three hours from New York City. Led by a faculty of nationally known songwriters and touring musicians, the camp allows music lovers to immerse themselves in songwriting, singing and performance. Price: $1,499, including lodging and food. There is a waiting list for this year’s retreat, but a commuter option for $1,000 is available for those with their own accommodations, including all classes, activities and meals.

The 2024 North American Jewish Choral Festival travels to Tarrytown, New York, for five days of singing, workshopping and community. Hundreds of voices will come together in July, led by a staff of conductors and other music experts. Workshops and seminars focus on a range of skills such as vocal technique and reading music. This year’s festival features a boot camp for beginning choral singers and those wanting to brush up on their skills. Price: $1,295 including three glatt kosher meals a day. Accommodations are separate; rates for the Sleepy Hollow Hotel start at $169.

Outdoorsy camp

six senior women pose in front of an antique wagon on a miniature golf course in the mountains

Adults over 50 years old are welcome at Camp Chief Ouray near Granby, Colorado.

Camp Chief Ouray

Adults over 50 who are looking to relive their childhoods, or perhaps experience an old-style summer camp for the first time, can attend the five-day Active Adults Camp in late August at Camp Chief Ouray. The 5,150-acre YMCA camp with mountains, valleys, streams and meadows is near Granby, Colorado, near Rocky Mountain National Park and about 90 minutes northwest of Denver. The fun includes activities such as hiking, rafting, zip-lining, horseback riding, archery, canoeing, fishing, dancing, woodcarving, arts and crafts, and much more. Price: Fees are $345 for campers ages 50 to 64, and $325 for 65 and older. You stay in double rooms with full bathrooms in one of the Snow Mountain Ranch lodges. (If you don’t have a roommate, you’ll be assigned one, or you can choose a private room for an additional $175.) There is a waiting list for this year’s camp; registration for the 2025 Active Adults Camp will open in spring 2025.

campers can practice tennis and more at ESCAPE camp in Massachusetts

Are you a sports and fitness buff? Consider signing up for ESCAPE camp in Massachusetts to participate in a wide range of activities.

Sandy Morgan

If you’re into sports and fitness, look no further than ESCAPE Camp on the Amherst College campus in Massachusetts. The one-week camp in June is designed for active campers in their mid-50s through early 80s, but all ages are welcome. Guests can spend days swimming, hiking, playing tennis and pickleball, and practicing yoga, with plenty of time to relax in between. You can also take a fitness assessment and learn tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle at home. Price: The all-inclusive camp is $1,450 per camper, including accommodations, meals and activities. A day rate of $165 per day, including lunch and activities, is also available.

Cooking camp

Participants work side by side with Culinary Institute of America instructors at various camps across the country.

Culinary Institute of America

For foodies or anyone who wants to improve their cooking skills, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) offers a series of two- to five-day boot camps at locations around the country. Consider Culinary Boot Camp — Basic Training in Napa, California, if you spend more time watching Top Chef than you do in the kitchen. During the five-day course, boot campers will learn knife skills, sauce making and other classic culinary methods and techniques. Other CIA camps offered this summer include Mexican Cuisine: Puebla & Oaxaca Boot Camp, Grilling and BBQ Boot Camp, and Baking Boot Camp. Price: $2,450 for basic training; $1,450 for Mexican Cuisine: Puebla & Oaxaca camp; $1,050 for Grilling and BBQ camp; and $1,950 for Baking camp. Accommodations are not included. Single-day classes are available for chefs short on time.

Classic camp

Guests can enjoy fishing and other water activities at Quimby’s camp in Vermont.

QUIMBY COUNTRY

Quimby’s, a 130-year-old family resort and camp on 1,000 acres in Vermont’s Great North Woods Forest, aims to help all generations unplug — and to make it truly easy to enjoy this vast and unspoiled wilderness. You stay in one of 19 private cabins, each named for fly-fishing lures, and pack your daily schedule with activities from massages to archery. Bikes and canoes are on hand, as well as counselors to take your kids or grandkids fishing or hiking, should you feel like doing something else (say, sitting in your cabin’s screened porch, spotting loons on the lake with a novel in your lap). Price: Cabins are $136 to $167 a night (including continental breakfast) for early and late summer 2024. During the summer high season, it’s all-inclusive, with rates about $233 a night per person (including a cabin and all meals). The camp also offers “get acquainted” discounts for first-time visitors.

group of adult campers at Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

Camp Halycon, an adult summer camp in Wisconsin, is now offering camps in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Courtesy Camp Halcyon

Wisconsin’s Camp Halcyon is branching out to include adult summer camps in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The festivities take place over four long weekends in May, June and August. For activities, think campfire cooking classes, adventure bocce, archery and themed dance parties. Some camps offer ropes courses or science classes if you’d like to blend a little learning into your camp experience. Price: All-inclusive rates start at $600 per camper and include accommodations in a coed cabin, food and drinks including alcohol, and all camp activities.

Guests can enjoy no-frills accommodations at Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

Courtesy Camp Wandawega

Gather your friends and create your own no-frills fun at Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Once you settle into your cabins, it’s time to play. Activities range from archery and hatchet throwing to tennis, volleyball and basketball. Go for a bike ride, paddle a canoe or hike the 20-plus acres of trails through the camp’s backwoods. Trout fishing, horseback riding and vintage wooden boat rides are a few excursions to consider booking while you’re there. Price: Overnight rates begin at $600 per cabin, with a two-night minimum.

Band camp

symphony band and conductor at rehearsal

Participants learn and play music at the Symphonic Band Camp at the Interlochen College of Creative Arts in Interlochen, Michigan.

Courtesy of Interlochen Center for the Arts

Nearly 100 music enthusiasts 18 and older join together in early August to attend Symphonic Band Camp at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, about 30 minutes southwest of Traverse City. During the week, instrumental faculty teach master classes; lead daily ensemble rehearsals and sectionals, and chamber music reading sessions; and play in the full ensemble with participants. Aside from learning, rehearsing and playing, musicians’ social activities include a welcome dinner, a faculty concert, a chamber music concert and an outdoor jazz concert hosted by a winery. Price: $695 registration fee for the Symphonic Band Camp. On-campus lodging is available in hotel-style rooms, cabins and multi-bedroom lodges, all at varying price points. Campers receive a 10 percent discount on lodging.

Wine camp

Oenophiles and those who have an interest in sparkling wine will want to check out Camp Davies Schramsberg Fall 2024 Harvest Session in California’s Napa Valley. The three-day experience in October includes immersive activities such as harvesting grapes alongside a vintner and winemaker; following the wine-making process from “the crush” and its juices to becoming wine; learning how punchdowns (breaking up the grapes), pumpovers (pumping juice from the bottom of a tank over the top) and skin contact develop red wines; and, of course, plenty of tastings. Price: $1,650 per camper, not including transportation and lodging. The fall session has a waiting list and fills up fast, but there’s always next year’s spring blending session in March, and another fall harvest session in September.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on May 28, 2019. It has been updated to reflect new information.

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Susan B. Barnes is a Florida-based freelance journalist with a passion for travel and the environment.