Sure, play is fun. But it's also one of the
most underused tools for stress relief. These destinations have built their
entire experience around bringing more play into our lives.
Adults have gotten really good at optimizing
vacations. They book treatments, schedule fitness classes, and plan itineraries
with the same energy we apply to work and home life.
While this is great, it doesn’t leave room for
one key thing we are all missing in our lives: play.
Research shows time and time again that play
is one of the most powerful — and underutilized — tools we have for stress
relief and nervous system regulation. But even more than that, play is just . .
. fun! It's the spontaneous, joyful, sometimes ridiculous fun we did as kids
without even thinking about it, and as we grew up, we stopped making room for
it. And I think we could all use more of it.
These 10 destinations are making the case that
fun is something to start prioritizing today.
1. Lopota Lake Resort & Spa |
Kakheti, Georgia
This kind of play takes you to Georgia, at the
foot of the Caucasus Mountains in the world's oldest wine-growing landscape, to
Lopota Lake Resort & Spa.
The Activity Center offers horseback riding
through forest trails and vineyard paths, quad bike tours through the
surrounding countryside, cycling along chestnut-lined avenues, and fishing for
carp, sturgeon, and catfish from the lake's banks.
The traditional Russian banya (bathhouse)
ritual has been practiced here for generations, long before "contrast
therapy" became a trend. It uses oak or eucalyptus brooms to stimulate
circulation.
For something you couldn’t do as a kid, the
on-site Château Buera winery, founded by the resort's own family, looks like
wine tasting against one of the most beautiful mountain backdrops imaginable.
2. Cody Yellowstone | Cody,
Wyoming
In Cody, they’ve found the antidote to an
over-optimized adult life: saddling up.
Across 16 dude, guest, and working ranches,
the days here are shaped by pony rides, fishing holes, and campfire singalongs.
No to-do lists.
Though the Wi-Fi here is strong and ending your
day with your favorite Netflix show may be tempting, most guests opt to unplug
for some of the clearest, darkest skies in the country.
And you don’t want to miss the nightly Cody
Nite Rodeo — it’s the only nightly summer rodeo in the U.S.! Few things beat
the pure, loud joy of watching something this thrilling.
Montage Los Cabos. (Photo Credit: Montage Los Cabos Media)
3. Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge | Vancouver
Island, British Columbia
Deep in Vancouver Island's UNESCO-designated
Clayoquot Sound, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge transforms a remote corner of the
Pacific Northwest into an unfiltered adult playground.
Luxury canvas tents and an outpost with a
restaurant, bar, rooftop deck, and cedar hot tubs get the ball rolling, and
then the real fun starts.
The activities cover most of what you'd love
most about an adventure camp: e-biking through ancient rainforest, canyoning,
stand-up paddleboarding on glacial rivers, boulder scrambling, waterfall swims,
archery, rock climbing with ocean views, and heli-hiking to remote alpine
lakes.
Back at the lodge, nostalgic fireside stories
serve as the perfect nightcap.
4. Retreats at Spring Creek | Hot
Springs, North Carolina
The best part about Retreats at Spring Creek
is the TreeWeaves net — a handwoven hammock suspended among the trees above a
rushing mountain creek. You can climb in, lie above the water, read, nap, or
simply enjoy the view.
This 80-acre private retreat was designed to
give adults back the permission to explore and get curious. Here in the
mountains of western North Carolina, it’s not about organized programming, a
wellness schedule, or an agenda.
Instead, it’s all about five miles of private
trails to wander, a waterfall to find, Rumpl blankets and picnic supplies for
an impromptu lunch outside, a fire pit for s'mores, and board games back at the
Heritage Cabin.
5. Estes Park | Colorado
Estes Park is the perfect place for adults who
need a little nudge to bring out their inner child.
The Mustang Mountain Coaster sends guests
racing through changing aspen groves; the Estes Park Aerial Tramway offers a
bird's-eye view of the fall colors; and at Open Air Adventure Park, rope
bridges, tightropes, and swinging log steps make for a playful physical
challenge that’s sure to get you out of your head.
Then there's Elk Fest, where bugling elk fill
the valley, and visitors can enter their own bugling contest. Yes, it's just as
fun and quirky as it sounds.
Come October, The Stanley Hotel leans fully
into its famously eerie history with tours and ghost storytelling.
Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge. (Photo Credit: George Apostolidis)
6. Montage Los Cabos | Los
Cabos, Mexico
Montage Los Cabos takes the adult summer camp
concept seriously, and the result is Dos Arroyos — a luxury glampground
experience built around paintball, archery, mountain biking, axe throwing, and
s'mores around the fire.
It's nostalgic and fun organized chaos that
brings a group of adults together like you’re kids again.
Beyond the glampground, you've got the
resort's Compass activities center, which runs year-round watersports; the Twin
Dolphin Golf Course, which offers something for the more competitive crowd; and
multi-bedroom casas with private pools and fire pits to serve as a perfect home
base.
No one here pretends axe throwing is
meditative. It's just fun.
7. Four Seasons Resort Peninsula
Papagayo | Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica
The 1,400-acre Papagayo Park at Four Seasons
Peninsula Papagayo is basically an adult playground with a luxury resort
attached. It’s one of the more complete play ecosystems in the world.
You’re looking at six pickleball courts, two
padel courts, four tennis courts, a basketball court, an art studio running
daily ceramics and painting classes, a BMX pump track, and an aerial adventure
park with seven ziplines and 21 high-rope obstacles across Palmares Preserve.
The SurfX program pairs guests with
professional coaches for personalized surf sessions at some of Costa Rica's
best breaks (which is saying a lot). And electric mountain bikes give you
access to explore up-close the peninsula's mangroves, estuaries, and forest
trails.
The whole thing is designed around giving
adults the experience of being a beginner again.
8. Hamilton County | Indiana
Hamilton County, Indiana, just north of
Indianapolis, has brought together three of the most genuinely playful adult
experiences in the Midwest.
At Conner Prairie — a Smithsonian-affiliated
living history museum — you can float above the Indiana countryside in a
tethered hot air balloon for a fresh perspective.
Then there's Skylake Adventure Park, where
you'll find a lake-based aqua obstacle course for a wet and laughter-inducing
workout. You can't take yourself seriously when you're battling to stay on a
floating platform.
And the Nickel Plate Railbike lets you pedal
custom bikes along decommissioned train tracks through forests and farmland — a
great mix of low-impact exercise, nature therapy, and a little homage to the
good ol’ days of bicycling around.
San Luis Obispo County (SLO CAL). (Photo Credit: Visit SLO CAL)
9. San Luis Obispo County | California
San Luis Obispo County (SLO CAL) has branded
itself around the idea that "Life's Too Beautiful to Rush," and it
has the experiences to back it up.
At Covell Clydesdale Ranch in Cambria, you can
ride 2,000-pound gentle giants through pine forest and pasture. This is one of
only a few places in the world where you can do that.
At Vinyl Vineyards in Paso Robles, small-batch
wine tasting comes with a bonus: you pick the records that play while you sip.
At Pismo's Oceano Dunes, you can take ATVs and
dune buggies straight onto the beach, and this is the only California state
park where this is legally allowed!
Riding a Clydesdale in the morning and ripping
a dune buggy onto the beach in the afternoon makes for a great day.
10. Anchorage | Alaska
Anchorage is a city that loves to have fun,
and the Wildbirch Hotel (the official headquarters of the Iditarod Trail Sled
Dog Race) captures that energy perfectly.
This is a place where locals dip-net for
salmon on Ship Creek just blocks from downtown, and the whole community pauses
each fall to watch bears competitively binge-eat during Fat Bear Week. (You can
join in on all these things too, of course!)
Back at the hotel, indulge in a little whimsy
with murals by local artists that create a playful tone and enjoy The Undertap
brewery launching this fall in partnership with Midnight Sun Brewery for a
little recap on the day of play.
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