AutoCamp, a glamping company known for its charming Airstream lodgings, is the latest luxury outdoors experience to set up camp on the East Coast. On April 1, 2021, AutoCamp Cape Cod opened just outside of Falmouth, Massachusetts, which is about a 90-minute drive from Boston, or a 3.5-hour drive from New York City.
The Cape Cod camp joins an eastward expansion of Instagrammable safari-style tents and Airstream stays that have sprung up around beloved national parks in the American West over the last decade. Collective Retreats opened a new glamping spot on Governors Island in New York City in 2018, and Under Canvas Acadia announced its debut in Maine soon after (it officially opens in May 2021).
This new spot not only is Autocamp’s first East Coast location but also is the company’s first site outside California. Currently the company has outposts in Sonoma County and Yosemite. In February 2021, it announced upcoming sites in Joshua Tree, Zion, and the Catskills that will open later in 2021 and 2022.
Book Now: from $129 per night, autocamp.com/cape-cod; expedia.com
Each Airstream comes with its own private firepit.
Photo by Matt Kisiday
The accommodations
Like its California counterparts, AutoCamp Cape Cod will be open year-round and offer three different suite types: Airstreams, canvas safari-style tents, and X Suites, which are pod- or tiny house–like structures that are ADA accessible. Each custom-designed Airstream and X Suite, both of which start from $129 per night, have a queen-size Tempur-Pedic bed with plush linens, a sofa that converts to a second bed, a bathroom with designer toiletries, and heat and air-conditioning.
The budget-friendly tents start from $159 and are only available from April through October when rates for the other room types are higher. Each is equipped with a king-size Tempur-Pedic bed, a sofa that converts to a second bed, electricity, and a combination fan and heater. (Bathrooms for the tents are located in the common building.) All suites have private firepits immediately adjacent to the rooms.
Airstream glamping is ideal for those who like the outdoors but don’t want to sleep in a tent.
Photo by Matt Kisiday
What to do once you’re there
The property also features an 8,100-square-foot common building dubbed the “Clubhouse.” Guests can relax in the midcentury-modern lounge and, in the chillier months, warm up by the indoor fireplace while sipping cold brew and kombucha from the onsite bar. The Clubhouse also features a retail shop, where outdoor chefs can buy s’mores kits and meal kits with locally sourced products.
There is plenty to do onsite, including yoga and meditation programs, a campfire speaker series, live music, and local beverage tastings. But guests can also catch the ferry from nearby Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard for a day trip or borrow bikes and cycle the Shining Sea Bikeway, a 10.7-mile paved path that passes by cranberry bogs, sand dunes, and the Salt Pond Bird Sanctuary. And of course, this area has some excellent beaches.
The sustainability-minded AutoCamp has also pledged to restore over 22,000 square feet of wetlands with native plants on the property, which will not only expand the important local wetland habitat and reduce water runoff but also eventually enhance the natural experience for guests.
Better still? AutoCamp Cape Cod is dog friendly and offers pet kits with a blanket, food and water bowls, and treats. Because Fido deserves a vacation too.
Forget something at home? The Clubhouse also has a general store with all sorts of outdoor supplies.
Photo by Matt Kisiday
What to know before you book
With its open-air concept, AutoCamp Cape Cod naturally promotes socially distant travel and aims to get travelers out into nature. However, AutoCamp has also added new protocols like contactless check-in and a text message–based concierge service in order to protect guests and staff against COVID-19.
If you plan to travel to Massachusetts, keep in mind that as of March 22, the coronavirus travel advisory for the state requires all visitors to quarantine for 10 days or produce negative COVID-19 test results from up to 72 hours prior to arrival. Travelers who have received two doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 14 days or more ago, are also exempt from the quarantine policy.
Book Now: from $129 per night, autocamp.com/cape-cod; expedia.com
This article was originally published on March 3, 2020; it was updated on April 1, 2021, to include current information.
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