By Sinaiyouth 
Almost as soon as I saw photos of the glamping sites with slides at Airydale Retreat, I booked our first glamping getaway. I had been wanting to try glamping before my five-year-old son was born, and I knew this place, about three hours from our home in suburban Philadelphia, was the perfect destination for our first glamping experience.
Airydale offers nine glamping sites in central Pennsylvania: six in Mill Creek and three new sites in Stone Mountain, near Allendale. Between them is part of the picturesque Kischacoquillas Valley, an Amish community full of produce stands, bakeries, an old-fashioned cheese shop and other simple pleasures.
From the moment we arrived at our glamping site (Cardinal 2) to the last flicker of our campfire (where we enjoyed many, many S’mores), we loved every moment of our glamping getaway and learned a few things throughout the weekend. If you’re planning your own glamping trip, here’s what to keep in mind.
Glamping is ideal for non-campers.
If you want to immerse yourself in nature without sacrificing (too much) comfort, glamping is the perfect solution and much simpler than camping. You can enjoy the great outdoors by hiking by day and having campfires by night, all while having a place to charge your phone.
Glamping isn’t always glamorous.
Despite its name, glamping is not necessarily luxurious. You may have to work for your coffee (e.g. use a percolator), you won’t have a perfectly hot shower, and yes, there will be bugs, lots of them. The real “glamour” is in the amenities you wouldn’t have if you hiked through the wilderness and pitched your own tent: a real bed and electricity.
However, there are different levels of glamping.
Glamping accommodations run the gamut, from canvas tents set up on wooden platforms to fully furnished Airstream trailers at AutoCamp to all-inclusive luxury retreats with butler service (see: Paws Up in Montana). Not only do offerings vary from resort to resort, they often vary within the same property. At Airydale Retreat, our site had an outdoor shower under the tent, a private bathroom just steps away, and a split unit for keeping things cool or, in our case, relaxing during the month of November. There were also several outlets for charging devices. Meanwhile, the resort’s domes feature full indoor bathrooms with showers, pellet heaters, and kitchenettes with mini-fridges. Stone Mountain’s new glamping sites offer similar high-end amenities.
Glamping accommodation can be well air-conditioned.
Airydale Retreat’s beds come with linens and duvets (and depending on the season, all queen beds have electric blankets). Still, I packed exactly nine extra blankets for fear that we (or just me?) might freeze otherwise. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the split unit kept the tent warm and with the extra blankets we were as comfortable as we would have been at home. (That said, only the domes at Airydale Retreat remain open during the winter months).
You should pack like you would for a camping trip.
Although Airydale Retreat provided several useful amenities – linens, towels, a camp stove, a percolator coffee maker, cookware, cooking utensils and soap were among the provisions provided at our campsite – we still needed to bring items like (compostable) paper plates, cutlery and flashlights. Here is a list of essential items that I recommend adding to your glamping packing list (no matter the season):
- Handkerchiefs
- Toiletries
- Insect spray
- Sunscreen
- Paper napkins
- Additional Covers
- Layers (hoodies and jackets)
- Waterproof hiking shoes and/or old sneakers
- Riddles
- Board games
- Fire starter
You can often bring your dog.
Like regular camping, glamping is generally a pet-friendly vacation option. Airydale Retreat welcomes dogs in all accommodation for an additional fee. Dogs must be on a leash and cannot be left alone, which is a standard rule at many pet-friendly hotels and resorts.
It is the ultimate way to communicate with family.
There was no TV in our tent, and aside from the one time my son asked to watch some KPop Demon Hunters on my phone (we had just found out what all the hype was about the week before – give us some breathing room), we unplugged our devices and connected as a family. We played cornhole and ladder ball (both provided at the resort), went for a hike, and stopped at Shy Bear Brewing in Lewistown (a great dog-friendly place, by the way). We gathered around a campfire and made up silly songs. And then we went to bed and talked and laughed before we all fell asleep.