Talking about her daughter’s weird interest in camping, Kim Kardashian once said on her family’s reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, “Why would North want to go camping? Camping is like, literally the last thing I would ever want to do…”
When a lot of people think camping, they imagine bugs, crickets, mosquitoes, wolves, grizzly bears, chilling cold, lots of stressful hiking, and tasteless food. Kim and other camping loathers probably don’t know that the compounding of the two words “glamor” and “camping” gives ”glamping”. The word has been added to the Meriam-Webster dictionary and is defined as “outdoor camping with amenities and comforts (such as beds, electricity, and access to indoor plumbing) not usually used when camping [1].” If you’re not interested in roughing it out in the Wood for a night and connecting “absolutely” with nature, you should try glamping instead.
Blueberries, s’mores, and king-sized beds
If you’re in Michigan, a new glamping resort is open for business in South Haven, situated on a 30-acre blueberry farm along the Black River, named The Fields of Michigan.
Irene Wood, owner of The Fields is a serial entrepreneur and businesswoman who bought her family’s farm years ago and turned into a dream. She was inspired to set up a glamping resort when she noticed how a lot of people would fall in love with her charming blueberry farm at first sight. Taking cues from her guest experiences at other glamping resorts across the country, she worked hard on her farm to bring luxury and nature together in one perfect mix, birthing The Fields. According to her, The Fields is the first glamping spot in the entire Midwest. She also plans to set up a vineyard on the property soon.
The Fields has 10 luxury tents, each one designed with a different theme and decorated with artifacts from the local store. The resort would be open from June through October every year. This year, however, they were open for business on Memorial Day, May 27, and would be closed on October 27. South Haven is a cute little town in Michigan, bustling with friendly, simple folk, and $329 a night may seem a bit on the pricey side in this town. However, Wood believes it’s a fair price when compared to the bills anyone would incur to glamp outside of Michigan.
Speaking to the Chicago Tribune, Wood says that The Fields gives every customer the ultimate traveling experience [2].
“We always say that traveling gives you the privilege of perspective,” Wood said. “And I think that that privilege has allowed me to take a lot of things that I’ve seen that are beautiful in the world and apply them to the place I find most beautiful, which is my hometown.”
Each tent is large, spacious and equipped with all the comforts you would find in a hotel room. A king-sized bed, a table and a chair, luxury lamp posts, a bath area with a toilet and sink cordoned off by a room divider, a box at the foot of the bed, a couch, a wood-powered heating stove, a furry rug, wood-paneled floors, and stools made out of tree stumps. Wow.
The breakfast experience starts with coffee at The Willow, a sort of general lounge on the property. Wood has enlisted the help of her children (the s’mores handlers), neighbors and friends in running the place. Breakfast is nothing like the canned or grainy foods eaten on regular camping trips. There’s a smorgasbord of local dishes on the menu every day, ranging from bacon, eggs and blueberry pancakes on Sundays to yogurt, granola, and quiches on a regular day. There’s nothing more glamorous about luxury camping than sipping some fresh fruit juice, munching on a blueberry pancake and enjoying the fresh, leaf-scented air on a sunny, beautiful morning.
Camping activities
South Haven is a lovely town, and there are a million and one outdoorsy activities the guests at The Fields could be signed up for. If they come in around August or at any point in the blueberry season, they could have a lot of fun picking fruits on the property. South Haven also holds the National Blueberry Festival in August, and guests at the resort could participate in the fun.
South Haven has amazing beaches at strategic spots which add to the blue-aura charm of the town. The North Beach and South Beach are the largest and most frequented in the town, and they are located quite close to The Fields. They are usually more crowded in the summer but there are five other public beaches in the town that could be less crowded at any time of the year.
If you love yourself a good bike ride, the 33-mile Kal-Haven Trail is also not far from The Fields. Bikes can be delivered to the resort for glampers who may want to ride the half-mile from the fields to the trail, and ride all the way to Kalamazoo and back to South Haven.
There are tons of other tourist attractions in the town, so how about planning a glamorous trip to connect with nature in the most comfortable, bug-free way? The Fields can make reservations for their guests to enjoy all outdoor activities the town has to offer which include fishing, sailing, horse-riding and even wine-tasting! I could taste wine all day, every day.
Sources
- Glamping. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glamping. Retrieved 13-07-19
- Colby, Terri. New glamping spot in Michigan brings luxury to a blueberry farm. Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-trav-the-fields-south-haven-glamping-0721-20190711-wmxvuoxaajd3vglnffplttbxoe-story.html. Retrieved 13-07-19