Camping in Place: How to Make a Sleepaway Camp in Your Own Backyard
Create a guest-ready, teen-approved backyard glampsite with sleepaway camp style that’s almost as fun as the real thing.
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The California summer camp experience is just as deep and storied as its East Coast counterpart, but with a Western twist. Kids sleep on rustic open-air platforms at Jameson Ranch camp and feel the ocean breezes in the Santa Cruz mountains at Kennolyn Camps. They spend hours in the cold, clear water at Skylake in Yosemite, unplug at Farm Camp in off-grid coastal Sonoma style, or retreat to the remote woods at Bar 717 Ranch at the southern edge of the Cascade Range. When my kids returned from their first session at Farm Camp, after weeks spent feeding and caring for pigs and goats, gardening, hiking to the Pacific, and sleeping under the stars, they had acquired two distinctly Western traits: Their favorite camp meal was pozole, and they knew the lyrics to at least one John Denver song. While many summer camp plans are uncertain this year, you can conjure some of that dark-sky, play-all-day, clean-air magic in your own backyard.
1 /14 Thomas J. Story Setting the Tabl’O
A steel tabletop grill, the Tabl’O from Dutch brand OFYR doubles as a small, sturdy firepit for s’mores.
2 /14 Thomas J. Story Coleman Cool
Did summer even happen if you didn’t grab a drink from an old-school Coleman cooler?
3 /14 Thomas J. Story Good Vibes
Trek Light, a Colorado-based ethical and sustainable textile company, makes this Positive Vibes Blanket from clothing waste.
4 /14 Thomas J. Story Box It Up
A vintage fruit-and-vegetable crate does double duty as a rustic-charming nightstand and storage.
5 /14 Thomas J. Story Coleman = Summer
For a hit of practical nostalgia, throw in a well-loved, vintage Coleman Drink Dispenser to keep water close at hand.
6 /14 Thomas J. Story Make Sure the Party’s Lit
A rechargeable LED lantern from Utah brand Barebones can stand on its own or hang from a carabiner and has a long-life battery that can last up to 200 hours.
7 /14 Thomas J. Story It’s Not Camping Without a Tent
Beckel Canvas’s Eena Miner Tent is sewn in Oregon of sturdy cotton canvas.
8 /14 Thomas J. Story Light up the Night
No power? No problem. These solar string lights (on cable at far left) come with a detachable panel, so you can pitch a tent in a shady spot, remove the charging panel to sit in the sun for a few hours, and then attach it to the end of the cable.
The Mini Hozuki lantern (clipped to tent support) from Snow Peak is a pocket-size powerhouse with a magnetic fastener. Pop it on your tent pole for warm, ambient light in your tent.
9 /14 Thomas J. Story No Sticks; We’re Glamping
Silly (in a good way) fishing pole roasters up your s’mores and hotdog roasting game.
10 /14 Thomas J. Story Have a Seat
Choose from dozens of fabric patterns to customize a wooden folding stool from Society 6 for lightweight, portable, use-anywhere seating.
Before you stake the tent, throw down a waterproof tarp first, then layer on a West Elm Ombré Pop indoor/outdoor runner for something soft (and nearly indestructible) underfoot.
11 /14 Thomas J. Story Better Than Your Sleeve
Cotton napkins in sunny stripes cut down on waste and cheer up any table.
Skip the plastic and eat outdoors on NorCal enamelware company Crow Canyon dinnerware, made from durable coated steel in the same zero-waste factory for over 40 years.
12 /14 Thomas J. Story For the Happiest Campers
A Stanley Classic Outdoor Beer Growler and cup set keeps a summery hefeweizen from your favorite tap room cold and fresh for up to 48 hours.
13 /14 Thomas J. Story Pro Tip
Pack a lightweight aluminum tortilla press and a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Masa Harina (just add water and salt) for fresh tortillas on the grill.
14 /14 Thomas J. Story The Next Best Thing to Bunk Beds
Byer of Maine Tri-Lite Camp Cot packs into a small, light travel case, and means no one wakes up on a deflated plastic mattress.
Heather Taylor Home bedding in hunter gingham check has summer-in-the-woods vibes, minus the bears.
Wool pillows by Pendleton are the gold standard of classic American camp style.