Love nature and the great outdoors – but not the whole “rustic” part of camping?
Sleeping on the ground and fumbling with tents isn’t for everyone, but a new elevated camping experience will soon be popping up at San Mateo State Park just south of San Clemente, a six-month pilot program that could expand to other local campgrounds if the concept proves successful.
The latest addition to the outdoor adventure landscape is in the form of canvas bell tents, large enough to hold several cozy beds, set up and ready for campers to get their adventure started right away.
“You have different types of people who enjoy different kinds of experiences outdoors. We’re just trying to offer a variety of options that may give people who don’t want to go with tents,” said State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall. “They’d like more ‘glamping’ opportunities.”
Versions of yurt canvas tents already exist at other State Parks including El Capitan further north, Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta. If the eight new tents in San Mateo’s pilot program do well, they could show up at more campgrounds locally, Pearsall said.
The duo behind the canvas tents have been a part of upgrading Orange County’s camping options for the past decade, with a goal of encouraging more people to get outdoors, no matter their experience or comfort levels.
Andy and Liz Jones, who live in Encinitas, created The Holidays, a collection of four vintage-style trailers at San Clemente State Beach, back in 2015. The couple was inspired after seeing a cover story in Sunset Magazine featuring “ham can” vintage trailers.
Though they were built a decade ago, the RVs harken back to a bygone area from the early-1960s, with three Shasta trailers and one custom “canned ham style” trailer.
All are spacious enough for four adults and one kid in a bunk, include cooking supplies and bedding and boardgames. There’s also outdoor games, boogie boards and beach toys located in a shared bin on site.
“People loved it. It was a new way for people to camp,” said Andy Jones, a surfer who frequents the Trestles surf breaks just down the road from San Mateo. “It’s not easy to own an RV. It’s a lot of work and maintenance, and it’s expensive to store. People loved the ability to show up and have everything they need.”
When the couple first started the company, their oldest son Ryland was 4, and son Nolan was a newborn.
“It was super important that anywhere we went, it was easy because life wasn’t easy at that point traveling with kids,” he said. “When we set it up, that was what we had in mind – for younger families.”
The easy intro to camping was what first attracted Irvine resident Felicia Wong to The Holidays vintage trailers back in 2016, when she had two small boys and needed vacations where they could run around and let out their energy.
“We found the easiest way was to go glamping. The Holidays offered that, we were close to home, where we could get a taste of what it was like to camp with the amenities they provide,” Wong said. “You just have to pack a bag, but you’re still out there on the campground and getting your feet wet.”
It was a great way to build confidence for when they were ready to transition to tent camping.
Now seasoned campers, they continue to book The Holidays each year, often renting out several so friends and family can show up for an outdoor adventure.
It’s a place where she can bring her “frose” cocktail and charcuterie board, but the kids can also play at the beach and roast s’mores.
“I love The Holidays, I feel like they really created this opportunity to get more families outside,” Wong said.
With the success of The Holidays, the Jones’ set their sights on another way to provide an elevated camping experience – delivering trailers to campers at their sites.
It was in 2021 when they expanded their business to include The Holidays Delivered, with four trailers they’ll bring to State Parks campground sites from Huntington Beach to San Diego (anything north of El Moro comes with an added delivery fee.)
The delivered campers, which vary in size and design, were a perfect solution for a group of 18 family members who came from around the country to be together for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Christine Battcock, her husband and four kids flew in from Virginia, rented the 1953 Spartan Mini Mansion trailer that sleeps six, complete with several beds, a bathroom with shower, a kitchenette with a sink, fridge, cooktop and oven.
“For us, coming from so far away, we couldn’t bring the tents or the camping gear that is necessary to come out here to enjoy the area with the family,” Battcock said. “It’s been super cool, they are cute, quaint and charming.”
The mom of four called the experience “nostalgic,” reminding her of her own childhood when her parents would take her and her siblings camping in the family’s pop-up trailer.
“We could be in a hotel, but it’s kind of stuffy – here you can sit by the campfire and play whiffleball, volleyball, go down to the beach and play with the rocks,” she said.
Her parents, Diane and Clark Lambert, got rid of the family trailer years ago, but the delivered camper system gave them a chance to still share their love for the outdoors with their grandkids.
“It’s just what we know, it’s what we have always done,” Diane Lambert said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my hotels. But when we are all together as a group, it makes it that much easier. It’s nice to come in and have it all set up. It’s very easy.”
That’s the hope for the new San Mateo Bell Tents, eight already-set-up canvas tents that can give an elevated camping experience for people who want to simply show up and get the fun started, said Liz Jones.
Reservations for summer have already launched, with stays for the pilot program available from June through November.
“We like that it’s accessible to everyone – people who maybe can’t camp or don’t have the gear to camp can experience it,” she said. “It’s not necessarily fancy, but a simple camping experience where they don’t have to pack up as much. They can get here and just enjoy, start having fun.”
Liz Jones doesn’t love the word “glamping,” because people’s expectations can be vastly different.
But they do everything they can to make it a comfortable, convenient experience, she said, with plush white comforters, extra blankets and fluffy pillows on the beds, solar-powered lights with USB chargers, area rugs, bug screens and fans for warmer days.
The 20-foot-tall tents are spacious enough to add chairs and small tables for board games, and a few of the 16-foot-tall tents have clear panels on the top for stargazing at night.
Add-ons such as camp stoves and pots and pans, or a beach kit with a wagon, bodyboards, towels and toys are also offered for the plug-and-play stays.
“It’s another way to camp that is different, but also an experience,” Liz Jones said. “The tent makes it easy – it’s cute and fun and comfortable – but the experience is the walks, the trails, the food, the campfire and marshmallows. All the fun that still makes it camping.”
Friend Brianna Marks, of Carlsbad, got to experience the tents during a test run on a recent night, waking up with her two kids feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
“We had so much room in there,” she said. “It’s the glamping, but you still get the true camping experience.”
Following the pandemic, there was a newfound appreciation for nature, but not everyone has the equipment or know-how to enjoy the great outdoors.
“It makes it accessible and makes it something you can do,” Liz Jones said. “I think we should all camp, it gets us outside and with people who we care about. It’s a really accessible way for us to all spend time together, without being distracted.”
The breakdown
The San Mateo Bell Tents prices range from $180 to $200, depending on size, with the cost of the campsite included. There’s an added $25 for just a one-night stay.
The Holidays at San Clemente State Beach prices range from $206 to $228, depending on the season, with the cost of the campsite included.
The Holidays Delivered requires a two-night minimum. Campsites must be first secured through the State Parks system, reservecalifornia.com, then camper reservations for delivery can be made. Cost ranges from $205 to $275 a night, depending on rental type and season.
For more info: theholidayscamping.com
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