Epic Nerd Camp
Epic Nerd Camp: “Geek Summer Camp for Grownups”
Lindsay and her husband doing combat archery
As an adult, do you wish you could go to summer camp? Now you can! There are now a variety of summer camps for adults with different themes. Epic Nerd Camp is a chance for adults to spend a long weekend doing nerdy activities at camp.
I heard about Epic Nerd Camp years ago and was intrigued. Unfortunately, for several years my schedule didn’t align, and then there was a pandemic. My husband and I finally got to go in August 2022.
Epic Nerd Camp is 5 days and 4 nights jam-packed with nerdy activities.
Activities
Before camp, you get to register for all the activities you want to try. I filled up my whole schedule with a variety of activities. My husband signed up for some of the physical activities and also left lots of open times to nap, relax, swim, and play games.
Epic Nerd Camp has a huge host of activities. 2022 Activities included:
Physical Activities: combat archery (foam tip archery tag), boffer (foam sword) games, swimming (including mermaids and water Quidditch), longswords, lightsabers, axe throwing, LARP (Live Action Role Play with costumes called Encaros). Don’t worry about your level of physical fitness. Even if you haven’t been hitting the gym, you’ll be fine.
Lindsay’s feet overlooking the pool during Cosplay Karaoke
Crafts: Fimo clay, leather, shrinky dinks, chain mail
Team Mental Activities: escape room, spaceship bridge simulator, board game room, water balloon battleship
Evening Group activities: cosplay karaoke by the pool, house cup competition, dance, and trivia.
My favorite activities were combat archery, the board game room, all the crafts (how did I not know how amazing shrinky dinks are? I have found my new hobby), and Cosplay Karaoke. My group completely failed at the spaceship bridge simulator, but that was still fun and would be more fun if I’d played a few more times.
My husband and I signed up for some of the same activities and did some on our own.
Dining and Drinking
We were impressed with the quality of the cafeteria-style food. Camp includes three meals a day. They also can accommodate a variety of dietary needs.
The self-serve fountain drinks, coffee, tea, water, and ice are all accessible throughout the day.
Epic Nerd Camp (ENC) is only for those age 21 or older, so you are welcome to bring your own alcohol to share and to drink (and the fountain drinks are convenient mixers).
Map of Epic Nerd Camp (from the Epic Nerd Camp Website)
Housing
Housing is authentic summer camp-style. You can stay in the group cabins or bring your own tent. Bathrooms and showers are indoors per cabin and there’s no a/c. Electric outlets are available in the rooms and camp-style cubbies for your stuff. Bring your own sheets and towels. It’s several steps up from camping which is another available option (bring your own tent). The community feel of camp means cabin doors don’t lock and people can leave their possessions in their cubbies. Typically you share cabins with other campers. You can request to stay together with friends/spouse.
Don’t Panic and Bring a Towel: What to Bring to Camp
Bring a reusable drink container with a lid (open containers are not allowed in the game room). I brought a water bottle and a hot tea thermos which also doubled for making mixed drinks.
Hand soap to leave in the bathroom. Sunglasses. Sunscreen, bug spray, and sanitizer.
Bring your own twin sheets, pillow, blanket, and towel (2 if you can fit them). Bring shower shoes and something to hold your shower items into the shower.
You may want to bring a wallet/small bag or another way to carry your essential items if there’s anything you don’t want to leave in your communal room.
Bring some plastic bags of various sizes (ziptop, grocery, and trash). This is especially useful for wet swimwear/towels or muddy clothes/shoes if it rains.
Crafts: make your own chainmail d20 keychain
It is always appropriate to wear nerdy t-shirts or random “garb” or costumes around camp, so pack a few flexible costume items. Check out the all-camp evening activities if you want to be able to dress to match. If you do the LARP “Encaros,” people typically dress for their characters across multiple days.
“Swaps:” if you’d like to trade some little items (typically handmade pins, keychains, etc) that represent your favorite nerdom, bring them with you to camp.
See the link at the bottom of this post for more suggestions on what to bring from ENC website.
Tips
Registration: Register as soon as you know you can attend because registration is cheaper the earlier you register with the first price increase at the end of December.
Activity Registration: Keep an eye out for the activity registration date. There are a few activities that have a max number of participants for a specific time slot.
When planning your alcohol, you want to bring a cooler (ice is available) or drinks you can drink warm, serve on ice, or mix with the fountain drinks. There isn’t refrigerator access. Glass isn’t allowed around campus, especially the pool, so something like box wine or pouring mixed drinks into other serving containers is a must.
Join the Team: If you want to get more involved or are looking for a more affordable option, you can teach an activity or help in other ways.
Internet: Mobile data coverage varies across the campus. Wifi is available, but you have to pay for it (it didn’t cover my cabin but was available in the main areas).
Location
Camp Ramblewood
2564 Silver Rd, Darlington, MD 21034
A former summer camp turned event venue.
Travel
You will need to plan the legs of your travel (unless you are close enough to drive). Epic Nerd Camp is 1 hour from Baltimore or Philadelphia. Looking at the train schedules with the BWI Airport, we decided to rent a car because the return trains didn’t match our flight schedule. It’s always a little frustrating to rent a car that just sits for several days, but it was worth it for us. If you do take the train from the airport, you still need to take an Uber or Lyft or another ride the last of the way.
Links to learn more
Epic Nerd Camp: "Geek Summer Camp For Grownups"
YMCA of the Rockies and Estes Park
YMCA of the Rockies: “Colorado's Affordable Family Resort with more activities than anywhere else!”
Lindsay on the Aerial Tramway
The rugged beauty of Estes Park, Colorado makes an excellent setting for a wedding.
YMCA of the Rockies
YMCA of the Rockies is a sprawling camp surrounded by the Rocky Mountain National Park.
Similar to Silver Bay YMCA already featured, this is not your local YMCA limited to a swimming pool and some fitness classes. The YMCA of the Rockies has all the fun activities you expect from a traditional camp setting. Activities included in your stay include: roller skating, indoor pool, mini golf, dog parks, basketball, hiking and biking trails, disc golf and more. Activities that have additional fees and require registration include: archery, axe throwing, arts and crafts, escape room, horseback riding, and dog sledding. Day camp is available for youth ages 5-17.
The campus is large enough that it was a lot easier for people who had a rental car to move between the various cabins. For those who are not used to the higher elevation, a hike to a cabin with all your luggage can be a little taxing. Staying hydrated is essential.
It was the perfect setting for an August wedding. I came in on a Thursday and went home on a Sunday. I wish I’d been there longer to enjoy more of the activities, but I didn’t have enough PTO left from work.
Estes Park Activities
There is a free shuttle that will take you to activities in nearby Estes Park. We had an amazing time riding the Aerial Tramway up to the top of the mountain for stunning views and chipmunk feeding. (Check that it is operating during your visit using the link below). We did a little shopping and ate lunch next to a lovely little river in the town. Uber is not available in Estes Park. I was fortunate to get the phone number of the local rideshare: (970)682-9985 to get a ride to dinner for the bachelorette party at The View Restaurant at Historic Crags Lodge. Otherwise, I would have been hard-pressed to get there without a car. Cell service and mobile data can be spotty.
Lindsay on the Front Porch overlooking the YMCA Campus
Lodging
YMCA of the Rockies has a variety of housing options including private cabins, lodge rooms, camping, and even yurts. I stayed one night in a hotel-style lodge with the traditional basics including a private bathroom and bunk beds. Then I moved into the wedding cabin. It was one of several large reunion cabin spaces equipped with many rooms and a common living area, kitchen, and shared bathrooms.
There is a sister campus at Snow Mountain Ranch in Winter Park, Colorado.
Food
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are available to buy in the dining hall. Food is buffet style. There is also a counter service cafe-style option with extended hours. If you have a cabin, the kitchen allows you to prepare your own meals.
YMCA of the Rockies Location
2515 Tunnel Rd, Estes Park, CO 80511. It’s about a two-hour shuttle ride from the Denver Airport through the dramatic Rocky Moutain Landscape. I took the Estes Park Schedule booked in advance (info below) to the YMCA and rode back to the airport with a local.
Links to learn more
https://www.facebook.com/ymcarockies
Weddings at YMCA of the Rockies
https://www.estesparkshuttle.com/
https://www.visitestespark.com/
The View Restaurant at Historic Crags Lodge
YMCA of the Rockies: “Colorado's Affordable Family Resort with more activities than anywhere else!”
Silver Bay YMCA, a Conference and Family Retreat Center
Silver Bay “A Place to Make Memories!”
Lindsay at Slim Point Beach at Silver Bay
I’ve spent a week every summer of the last 30+ years at Silver Bay with my parents (excluding 2020 for obvious reasons). It is our happy place. My dad first attended as a young boy, and our family started going when I was about 5. It’s a chance to recharge, reset, and reconnect. At Silver Bay, you can be still and soak up the awe-inspring scenery of Lake George overlooking the Adirondack mountains or you can pack in activities from sunrise until past sunset. The beauty of nature and the slower pace allows you to breathe.
Activities
Silver Bay has several weeks of Family camp towards the end of summer catering to large and small families. Silver Bay is also a wonderful location for life’s big moments including weddings and celebrations of life. They also host conferences for corporate and religious groups. Silver Bay would also be a wonderful place for a solo retreat. They also offer cancer, military, and pastoral respite services.
Lindsay at Archery
This is not your local YMCA limited to a swimming pool and some fitness classes. Silver Bay has all the fun activities you expect from a traditional camp setting: archery, tennis, hiking, boating, a sand beach, crafts, nature center, and fitness plus available spiritual life activities that come from being a YMCA. When we sing at church “Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place,” you can feel in the very air that it is true. Yet Silver Bay is a welcoming place that non-Christians would feel comfortable enjoying.
Silver Bay is the perfect setting for multigenerational gatherings with supervised children’s programming, lectures, and musical entertainment. You can plan your activities together or go your own separate ways. Our family likes to end each night together in the Ice Cream Store. We enjoy catching up with another family that has also been coming for years.
The Historic Inn, a nice place to stay & great rocking chairs for reading on the porch
Lodging
Silver Bay has the newly built Boyd center complete with air conditioning, a historic Inn with wrap around porch full of rocking chairs, accommodations with private or shared bathrooms, and individual cottages. The focus is on connecting to the present, so don’t expect TVs or room phones, although in the last decade the cell service and WIFI have caught up to allow you to connect if you choose. Silver Bay is popular and the top lodging books well in advance. A year out is not too soon to start looking especially if you need special accommodations like a walk-in shower or want to overlook the lake.
Food
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are available with your stay (those in cottages often opt to cook their own meals). Food is buffet style with salad and fruit readily available as well as plenty of meat and potatoes. As a picky eater, I can always find something to eat.
Location
87 Silver Bay Rd, Silver Bay, NY 12874. It’s about a 90-minute drive from Albany Airport by rental car through the beautiful Adirondack mountains along Lake George. Beyond the more touristy area, Silver Bay is in the heart of nature overlooking the bay where the mountain land across the lake is all forest preserve.
Links to learn more
https://www.facebook.com/SilverBayYMCA
Silver Bay: “Where you come to make Memories”
