Have you found the perfect gift for Dad yet this year? If you’re still searching, here’s a cheat sheet — our top 10 picks for Dad. However, if your dad is more of a camp guy rather than a gift guy, we’ve gathered some ideas for getting away with your dad on an upcoming weekend or week this year. Here’s to making more family memories!
- Attend a wine camp that sparkles. Head to the Napa Valley for Camp Schramsberg, where you’ll enjoy a hands-on experience of the sparkling wine process. Camps occur in the spring and fall, and include ample sparkling wine sampling paired with California cuisine.
- Enjoy the art of wooden boats. Whether you’re sailing a catboat or learning how to paint the Maine coastline, Wooden Boat School, located out of Brooklin, Maine, will provide Dad with the opportunity to explore the building process, maintenance, history and art of the wooden boat.
- Unplug and unwind in nature. Tucked away in California’s Anderson Valley, Camp Grounded — officially sold out, but new sessions are being added — requires participants to park their cell phones, iPads, Kindles, laptops and every other possible wireless or electronic device at the door. Located on a 1970s-era boy scout camp, this week will allow both you and your dad to be kids again.
- Bike and tip back a glass of wine. Love bicycle touring? Why not add a few glasses of wine with your pedaling? Backroads offers a number of outdoor experiences across the world, but we’re favoring the Santa Barbara Wine Country Weekend Bicycling Trip.
- Dust off your oboe. Was your dad a band geek? Send him on a trip to the upper midwest in August for Adult Band Camp at Michigan’s famed Interlochen Center For the Arts.
- Test your survival skills. At Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS), your dad can prep himself for the next season of Man Versus Wild. With courses ranging from 14-Day Primitive Living to Hunter Gatherer, your outdoorsy dad will take his love of the wilderness one huge step further.
- Brew some cold ones. At Chicago-based Brew Camp, your dad will learn the basics of homebrewing, thanks to a series of hands-on classes led by skilled, beer-wise instructors.
- Relive summer camp, complete with cocktails and kids. At Camp Wandawega, guests can stay in accommodations ranging from an army tent to a treehouse. This family-friendly camp is perfect for the family looking to capture summer memories, whether it’s a cocktail happy hour by the lake or a bonfire on the beach.