Adult Sleepway Camps Work to fight the Lonely Trend
Trendy, all-inclusive sleepway camp interior where adults appear as strangers and leave as friends
Equinanc, Pa. – It’s 7:30am and I’m standing on top of a barefoot 30-foot water slide in a swimsuit.
Under me: A lake painted with wind. Behind me: A line of women cheering from a woman I just met. On other Saturdays, I’m still asleep. But I’m on camp social – Poconos’ gorgeous all-female adult sleepway camp – the catchphrase is “99% have arrived solo and left as 100% friends.” And in the spirit of field reporting, I promised myself to say yes to everything. So I inhale, stuff my nose and activate the slide.
Founded in 2023 by influencer Liv Schreiber, this weekend retreat bills itself as a place where women can snatch out of lifelong friendships. For $884, 450 women joined me on September 26th-28th, committing to include farm-to-table meals, nightly themed parties and stolen items filled with exclusive merchandise.
Looking at the camp packaging list, including suggestions for style bus outfits, we couldn’t be worried that Hannah Holvas would appear at her high-end Montauks swim camp on HBO’s “girls.” However, when I got on the bus on a Friday morning I met a woman who seemed really interested in making friends before I left Manhattan.
Pilates, Popping Louds by the Pond, Color War
Upon arrival, my luggage was whisked up the hill and carried to the cabin. So, on weekends, they will be in all age groups, along with seven other girls.
I am greeted by a covered pavilion called the “Lacroix Lounge,” filled with bracelet-making supplies, soda drinks and branded camp social postcards. To my right, a crowd of horses punched punches to the beat of Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Suck Without You” on bright green grass lawns.
Beyond them, the 3D block letter sculpture overlooking Lake Renape spells camp social in shades of pastel pink, orange, red and yellow, sandwiched between barrels spilling in magenta and red flowers.
Sleepway camping for adults is nothing new. Club Getaway’s all-inclusive adult camping and camping are available. Counselors advertise live bands, heated pools and “Yoga by the lake has a drink in your hands.” For those who like games, fantasy and sci-fi, there are options such as epic nerd camps and “camp” camps for LGBTQ adults. They are all branded as escapes for your inner child, but no musty beds and mosquitoes.
But the magic of camp social is that it’s only women.
They line up at Charcute Happy Hour on Friday. There, piles of feta and watermelon skewers, a selection of hummus and a pile of cheese cubes. (Of course, the theoretical Ken is a camp staff member, many of whom are 20-year-old men with attractive Australian accents.)
That was purposefully, as I was sitting on the grass on a Saturday morning, Schreiber told me. In 5’4″ she is a blur of energy, pulling women into the dance circle at a Friday night concert, screaming encouragement during Saturday’s Olympics, and telling campers as if they’ve known for years.
“You can just breathe and don’t have to worry about makeup or hair. You can relax and become you,” Schreiber says. “Women’s friendship is very important and very important to our souls.”
Second chance at sleepway camp
Women have come to Egypt and Colombia. Some summer campers are trying to make that nostalgia an adult, but many are first-time campers who want to live their childhood dreams as adults.
“It’s like a second chance in life,” says Lily Wong, 53, who grew up in public housing in Chinatown, Manhattan and never had the opportunity to attend camps as a child. “I feel like I’m feeding my inner child.”
I’m not a stranger to summer camp. I spent two summers at a sleepway camp in the small town of Ocononobok, Wisconsin. This is where I first learned to sail, ride, and go to the tube on the rack label. But when I entered camp as an 8th grader who was essentially elderly by camp standards, I always felt like I was clung to the edge of other people’s conversations and questioning my place in a group of friends formed several years ago.
Beyond the obvious difference, when I was a kid, there were no happy hours or bathrooms for cocktails in the cabin – this felt different. Women of all ages invite passersby to sit together for meals and join a dance circle at the Hoedown Strowdown party on Saturday nights. Everyone is asked to follow the 10-foot rule. If someone is within 10 feet, they’ll ask you the waves, the smiles, or how they’re doing.
Schreiber also grew up going to summer camp. She says she taught her how to express herself and connect with people.
“I don’t think our definition of fun needs to change as we age, while we enjoy ourselves the same way as children,” Schrieber says.
By Saturday afternoon, camp appears to be trying to fit the entire summer equivalent of activity into one packed weekend.
There are archery, mountain climbing, tie dyes, tennis, beach volleyball and line dancing. The Arts and Crafts Barn hosts rhinestone claw clips, bead bracelets and collage vision boards with equipment. There are Pilates, yoga and hiking for those who want to be active. As you approach the waterfront to set up your paddle board, you will find someone reading far away from the canoe.
“There’s a lot to do that day, so the most I have and I can’t do it all,” says Caitlyn Crislip, a 26-year-old Baltimore-based camper.
Meet your friend IRL in a post-pandemic world
At first glance, the weekend may be the worst nightmare of an introvert. But the self-proclaimed introvert I’m talking to says that this setting pushed them to meet others.
Val Gearhart, 42, arrives at a camp with a nervous butterfly in his stomach. As a stay-at-home mother who recently moved from California to Pennsylvania, she says she is struggling with loneliness.
“I miss being sociable, and at my age, I think it’s really difficult to make friends,” Gearhart says. “I haven’t felt happy about this for a long time. I hope it lasts a lifetime.”
Perhaps surprisingly, the most popular age range in camp is women in their 40s and older, and throughout the weekend you will notice that the old cabins appear to be the closest to them.
“Elder women get left behind from the conversation,” Schreiber says. “Our age limit is 21 plus, and I always say we are younger in our hearts.”
After moving to New York City in 2018, Schreiber’s passion for creating social connections came from the struggle to make friends. Camp Social is the outdoor sister brand of Hot and Social, the main venture that organizes face-to-face meetings for people in their 20s and 40s who build friendships in New York and meet romantic partners.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, about half of adults reported experiencing loneliness, but in the spring of 2023, former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy declared the American loneliness epidemic a public health crisis. Reports show that loneliness and social isolation can increase the risk of early death as much as smoking 15 cigarettes per day.
Create an Influencer Experience
In the age of social media, Schreiber hopes that camps will become a space where women can meet people. Despite her status as a NYC influencer with the New York Times wedding covered, the crowd is surprisingly diverse this weekend, not feeling like only content creators are being made. Still, many participants spend their time throughout the camp filming branded content.
Walking along the lake, a 61-year-old camper stops Schreiber and introduces himself. Her husband saw a post about camp socializing and suggested that she sign up. “You’re really working on something,” she tells Schreiber.
We pick up more campers when we go for walks and she leads us all towards the Silver Airstream van, which houses revolving doors of curated branded samples. That’s what she calls an influencer experience for consumers, she explains as she spoons a handful of the brand’s raspberry cough falls into the hands of a camper van.
“They’re very good, and they’re organic!” Schreiber says.
However, under the aesthetics, the bonds that women form here seem to continue. Schreiber says that 10 campers flew to become bridesmaids this year at someone’s wedding. Others attend engagement parties, baby showers and birthdays.
I’m not sure if I’ve made lifelong friends yet, but by the end of the weekend it had been added to multiple group chats and Instagram has been buzzing ever since.
The story’s reporter was accessed to the weekend from Camp Social. USA Today maintains editing control over its content.
Rachel Hale’s role in covering youth mental health at USA Today is supported by a partnership with Pivotal Ventures and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editor input.
Contact her at rhale@usatoday.com @RachelLeighhale x.
