Last Updated on September 23, 2026 by Ellen Christian
By your forties, a weekend away can look very different from the trips you booked ten or twenty years ago. Sometimes what you want is less sightseeing and more time to try something new, meet people or simply step out of the usual routine. Adult camps and retreats offer exactly that, with everything from traditional sleepaway weekends to craft schools and quieter retreat stays.
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The good news is that these getaways aren’t just for people in their twenties. Plenty of camps and retreats welcome adults across a broad age range, so being over 40 does not need to narrow the options. Here are five worth knowing about, each with a different feel, so you can pick the one that suits the weekend you actually want.
Camp Social: a women-only camp with room for every age
If the phrase summer camp makes you think of bunks, bonfires and a lake, Camp Social brings that traditional sleepaway format into an adults-only setting. It’s a women-only adult summer camp in the Poconos, based in Equinunk, Pennsylvania, and it runs as three-day sleepaway weekends in cabins with chef-prepared meals and a full timetable of activities. Think archery, horseback riding, high ropes and canoe races by day, then yoga, workshops and bonfires as things wind down.
The age mix is also relevant for an over-40 reader. Camp Social welcomes women of all ages, and women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond are well represented rather than being the exception. Around 99 per cent of campers arrive on their own, so nobody’s left standing at the edge of a group that already knows each other.
Camp No Counselors: classic camp, all grown up
Camp No Counselors runs mixed adult summer camps across several US locations, including New York, California, Texas and Florida. The format will be familiar to anyone who went to camp as a child, with cabins, lake sports, arts and crafts, campfires and evening socials, only this time there’s a bar and no early wake-up bell unless you want one.
Because it’s mixed rather than women-only, it’s a good option if you’d rather come along with a partner, a sibling or a group of friends of all genders. Weekends are short enough to fit around work, and the emphasis is squarely on play. If your idea of a good break is a busy schedule of games and activities followed by evening socials, this one leans in that direction.
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Camp Wildfire: a British summer camp for the weekend
For readers on this side of the Atlantic, Camp Wildfire is an adults’ summer camp and festival held in a forest in Kent, within easy reach of London. Over a long weekend you camp under canvas and build your own timetable from a huge list of activities, everything from axe throwing, archery and bushcraft to crafts, wild swimming, fitness sessions and evening music.
It has a livelier, festival-style energy, so it suits anyone who wants the camp feeling without a long-haul flight. Because you choose your own activities each day you can go as full-throttle or as gentle as you like, and the long-weekend length keeps it easy to fit in.
John C. Campbell Folk School: a camp for making things
Not every camp is about sport and swimming. At the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, the point is to learn a craft and come home with something you made. This long-running residential school offers weekend and week-long classes for adults in blacksmithing, woodworking, weaving, pottery, cooking, music and writing, with lodging and shared meals on a quiet mountain campus.
Classes are open to adults of all ages and abilities, and complete beginners are welcome. Shared meals and residential accommodation give the programme a communal format alongside the classes themselves. If you’d rather use your hands than run a ropes course, this is the one to look at.
Kripalu: when you want rest more than activity
If the honest answer is that you want to slow down, Kripalu is worth a look. Set in the Berkshires in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, it’s a well-established yoga and wellness centre that runs weekend retreats alongside its longer programmes. You can book a simple Retreat and Renewal stay and shape your own days from gentle yoga, meditation, walks by the lake and optional workshops, or follow a themed retreat if you want more structure.
It offers a quieter alternative to the activity-led camps in this list, with visitors able to choose between a more flexible stay and a structured programme. It’s just as welcoming whether you’ve practised yoga for years or never once touched a mat. Come on your own or bring a friend.
Choosing the one that fits
The trick is to be honest about the weekend you want. If you’re craving the old camp feeling in women-only company, Camp Social is the natural fit. If you want to bring a partner along, a mixed camp makes more sense. And if you’d rather learn a skill or simply rest, the folk school and the retreat centre pull in those directions instead.
Being over 40 does not mean the choice has to narrow to one kind of retreat. Whether you want a traditional sleepaway camp, a creative residential course, an activity-led weekend or somewhere quieter, there are adult programmes built around very different ways of spending a few days away.
Ellen is a busy mom of a 29-year-old son and 33-year-old daughter. She owns nine blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.
