Families grilling together at Little Village Retreat near Zion National Park Utah
How One Weekend at Little Village Retreat Changed Everything
It hit me in the middle of the night—curled awkwardly on a half-deflated air mattress, our youngest snoring softly beside me, the cold seeping through my sleeping bag—that maybe we weren’t those campers anymore.
I used to love it. The rush of the wind against the tent walls, the scent of pine smoke in my hair for days. My husband and I built so many memories under the stars—long before kids, long before backaches, long before the thought of a real bed in the woods sounded like heaven.
But now, with three kids and a car packed with snacks, gear, and backup clothes, camping had started to feel more like work than wonder.
Still, we weren’t ready to give up our love for nature. We wanted our kids to feel what we felt—watching the sunrise over Zion, jumping rock to rock through Kanarra Creek, hearing nothing but birds and each other. We just wanted to do it without waking up sore and cold and grumpy.
So when a friend told us about Little Village Retreat, we decided to give it a shot. “It’s glamping,” she said, “but not in that over-the-top, resorty kind of way. It’s peaceful. It feels like nature, but better.”
She was right.
From the moment we pulled into the parking lot, something in me relaxed. The stress, the noise, the ‘we should have just booked a hotel’ doubts—all of it melted. There was a king-size bed waiting for us. A soft one. With clean white sheets and the smell of cedar in the air. A mini fridge stocked with s’mores supplies. A coffee maker for the morning. Even a shower.
It felt like camping… evolved.
That first night, we roasted marshmallows at our private fire pit while the kids played tag in the twilight. We weren’t packed into a campground like sardines. We weren’t whispering to keep the peace. We could just be together, outside, free.
The next morning, we hit the trails early—Zion was stunning, as always. We hiked Kanarra Falls and laughed until our stomachs hurt when our youngest slipped into the stream (again). But this time, we came back to comfort. To clean clothes, a hot shower, and a warm bed.
And I realized: we weren’t giving up our adventurous spirit by upgrading to glamping. We were actually reclaiming it.
We had energy. We had patience. We had joy again.
That weekend changed something for us. It reminded us why we love the outdoors. And it gave us a glimpse of what’s possible in this new season of life—not rugged tents and restless nights, but still wild, still free, and now… rested.
We’ve already booked our next stay at Little Village Retreat.
This is how our family adventures will look now.
And it’s even better than before.
-Caroline – Age 39 Nevada
