8 queer camping festivals taking place across the US and Europe this summer
Dance in the moonlight and swim in the woods alongside other happy campers.
Mark
Fancy a vacation where you’ll meet other queer folk? Do you enjoy the great outdoors? Want to let loose at a festival but also want to be your authentic self?
If your answer to any of these was ‘yes’, then have you ever considered a queer camping festival? There’s a growing number of queer gatherings springing up that occur either on campsites or at holiday camps.
Below are a few options to consider for this summer.
Runway, England
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London’s hip, queer clubbing extravaganza, Adonis, recently announced plans to launch its own campsite festival. It will be called Runway and will take place on and around a disused airport runway near the south coast of England. The inaugural event will take place from June 26–28, 2026.
According to Nonchalant magazine, the festival will feature Runway Boulevard, “a surreal, ever-shifting ‘street’ inspired by historic queer neighbourhoods around the world. The idea is to honour queer spaces that once thrived (and in many cases, no longer exist).”
At one end of this boulevard will be the main arena and stage area.
Promoter Shay Malt says, “Doing a festival means creating a whole world – something we can’t do inside a club. It’s about building a full fantasy from start to finish, collaborating with queer talent every step of the way.”
The event capacity is 5,000, and tickets start at approximately $275. Follow @adonis.adonis.adonis and @runway.runway.runway on Instagram to keep informed.
Pink Lake at Lake Wörthersee, Austria
The long-running Pink Lake takes place in and around the scenic Lake Wörthersee in Austria. It attracts around 3,000 participants. The next event is August 24 – 30, 2026.
Highlights include boat cruise parties, water activities on the lake, daytime fun at the Pink Beach Club at the Pörtschach lido, and evening parties. These include a traditional costume party at Hotel Schloss Leonstain, where lederhosen meet drag queens.
Accommodation is available via packages at a number of local hotels. Although not strictly a camping festival, Pink Lake offers an outdoorsy festival feel with plenty of open-air activities.
The Pride Camp, Southern France
As previously reported on GayCities, The Pride Camp is a new festival coming to the Le Calypso camping ground near Perpignan, in Southern France, from Sunday, August 30 to Sunday, September 6.
Le Calypso offers a mixture of luxury bungalows and tent site spaces. Amenities include a grocery store, a 3,000 square meter water park complete with heated pools, slides, a jacuzzi, and a solarium. There are also multi-sport courts (volleyball, football, etc), ping pong tables, billiards and petanque.
The organizers want to transform the whole site into a queer village for one week. Daytime activities will include hikes, beach fun, treasure hunts, and water sports. There will be evening entertainment and parties.
Booking will open before the end of February, with approximate pricing of $399 per person for a shared room in a cabin, or $215 per person for a shared tent pitch.
Something Queer in California, US
An annual weekend-long summer camp experience for LGBTQ+ adults hosted at Deloro Valley Events and Experiences Center in the Sierra Nevada foothills, just a few hours east of San Francisco. This year’s Something Queer event is the sixth such gathering, and it runs from May 8 to 11, 2026.
“Once again, our forest home is calling us to dance, prance, frolic, and reconnect with each other and ourselves,” say the organizers on the official website. “With a little bit of that magic faerie dust, it’s time to get ready to root ourselves in community together.”
Enjoy clothesless hikes, a range of workshops from breathwork to body movement and figure drawing, and dance parties and fireside bonding.
Camp, Camp in Maine, US
Camp Camp is an annual LGBTQ+ camping event that takes place every August in southwestern Maine (approximately 45 miles west of Portland, Maine).
It’s been running for over 25 years and routinely attracts around 200 attendees.
Activities include everything from hiking, zip-lining, rock wall climbing, and canoeing to pottery and stained glass workshops. You sleep in bunk beds in cabins named after LGBTQ+ icons like Ellen DeGeneres, Harvey Milk, and Oscar Wilde.
The organizers say that around 75% of those who attend return for at least a second visit: a testimony to the unique and special atmosphere fostered by this inclusive event.
The 2026 event runs August 20-27. The all-inclusive price (meals, accommodation, activities) is $1,975.
Stargaze, Massachusetts, US
Stargaze Festival returns August 21-23, 2026, to Camp Timber Trails in Western Massachusetts, welcoming LGBTQ+ women, non-binary, and trans people for an unforgettable weekend of music, community, and nature.
Set on 417 acres of secluded forest with a private lake, the festival features live music concerts, dance parties under the stars, morning yoga, guided nature hikes, drag performances, workshops on wellness and creativity, lakeside vendor markets, and swimming.
Highlights include a sunset opening ceremony with lantern lighting, glow parties, and fire circles. Festival passes include all entertainment, shows, activities, and camping—attendees bring their own food and drinks. Tickets are available now with early-bird savings.
Honcho Campout in Pennsylvania, US
Honcho Campout, which celebrated its tenth edition last year, is a six-day music festival at the Four Quarters Farm in Artemas, Pennsylvania. In its own words, it “creates possibilities where queer communities can dream. Where we trust the wisdom of our elders and ancestral divas – shaping a queerscape to love ourselves. We write ourselves into this world within a world. We come together to create a space full of beauty, comfort, tenderness, and safety.”
What that translates into is day times spent exploring the woodlands, immersing yourself in the swimming hole, and taking part in a variety of wellness sessions. Then the beats kick in, leading to late-night dance sessions beneath the stars.
Regulars wax lyrical about how easy it is to make new friends, and how refreshing it is to be somewhere that you can express your queer self 24/7.
This year’s event runs August 12-17, 2026.
Camp Pride in Oregon, US
Camp Pride returns July 2-6, 2026, near Eugene, Oregon, for an immersive five-day LGBTQ+ camping experience exclusively for adults aged over 21 (or, as organizers state, ‘A queer camp for your inner child!’). Set in the beautiful Oregon wilderness, this inclusive gathering welcomes the queer community for connection, celebration, and confidence-building in a fully accepting environment.
Camp Pride offers workshops, community activities, live entertainment, and opportunities to build lasting friendships with fellow campers. Accommodations include both bunk bed options in shared cabins and tent camping spaces.
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