vision dream catcher icon  VISION

Alter Experiences LLC is a glamping & nature travel company based out of San Diego, CA. We're dedicated to creating meaningful experiences in nature & getting people outdoors.

We are USFS Outfitters in the Cleveland National Forest and offer high altitude glamping retreats in Mt. Laguna.

Our glamping sites are nestled in the high mountain forests of San Diego's backcountry - sky islands where pristine nature & wild-life thrives. These are some of the most remote & biologically diverse habitats in all of Southern California.

Our sites are handpicked to offer you a truly nature immersive experience. We strive to create the most comfortable outdoor experiences, even at our most remote locations. We take all that's fun about traditional camping & combine it with modern comfort & state of the art equipment.

We offer various accommodation styles depending on location. Our Tentsile tree tents are definitely the most popular - a lightweight tree house that uses 3 anchor points to create a "living space" suspended between trees. Our elevated tree tents bring a whole new dimension to camping.

Our plush & cozy bell tent was designed with the ultimate comfort in mind! It feature all the amenities you can expect at a hotel & redefines the outdoor hospitality experience.

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN NATURE

We founded Alter Experiences out of our love & passion for nature travel & the great outdoors. We believe in the healing & regenerative powers of nature immersive experiences.

It’s a mission that we’re very passionate about & the principles we founded our business on. Our glamping retreat in Mount Laguna immerses you in giant oak & pine trees in the Cleveland National Forest. We have a fleet of bikes that you can rent to explore the nearby trails and meadows.

RELAX. EXPLORE. ENJOY. WE TAKE CARE OF THE REST.

LET'S PLAN YOUR OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

bell tent icon  GLAMPING SUITES

Fox Den & Blue Jay Nest in Laguna Campground are ideal for big groups & gatherings.

Lions Den, Deer Peak & Eagles Nest are at Burnt Rancheria Campground, by the PCT.

BOOK direct NOW and use discount code ILOVEGLAMPING for 10% off.


From

$320

per night / 6 guests

Blue Jay Nest

location icon Laguna Campground

Blue Jay Nest is our group site in the Cleveland National Forest, Laguna campground. This fun and cozy space features up to 4 bell tents, as well as our double bubble 2 story tree tent, giant trillium hammocks and more.

Blue Jay nest is nestled among giant pine and conifer trees for a private setting. It's located right next to flush toilets/showers and is the ideal setting for your large group or special event.

 

Max. Capacity

14

Extra Persons

$35 per night

Min. Nights

2

Cleaning Fee

$150


From

$320

per night / 6 guests

Fox Den

location icon Laguna Campground

Fox Den is our group site in the Cleveland National Forest, Laguna campground. It is located near flush bathrooms / showers and also offers easy access to the various trails, including the Laguna Meadow Trail.

This site comes with 3 luxury bell tents. The first bell tent comes with queen mattress, the second comes with 2 full beds, and the third comes with 2 single beds. It also features a combination of tree tents & hammocks; including our multi-level tree house. It is a private and secluded site, perfect for your group event or family gathering.

Max. Capacity

14

Extra Persons

$35 per night

Min. Nights

2

Cleaning Fee

$150


From

$170

per night / 2 guests

Lions Den

location icon Burnt Rancheria Campground

Lion's Den is our most popular & secluded site in the Cleveland National Forest at Burnt Rancheria campground. This site features 2 bell tents, as well as a multi-level combination of tree tents and hammocks. The first bell tent features a queen mattress & sofa bed. The second bell tent is a lounge by day and with 2 sofa beds for sleeping.

Lion's Den also features a double tree tent & 2 story triple tree tent. 2 Trillium hammocks also included, as well as slack-line and yoga trapeze. It can accommodate up to 8 more than comfortably.

Max. Capacity

8

Extra Persons

$35 per night

Min. Nights

2

Cleaning Fee

$125


From

$150

per night / 2 guests

Deer Peak

location icon Burnt Rancheria Campground

Deer Peak is our family glamping site in the Cleveland National Forest, Burnt Rancheria campground. This site comes with 2 luxury bell tents. One bell tent comes with a queen mattress & the other features 2 full beds.

This site also features a triple tree tent that can sleep an additional 3 people, as well as a hammock for lounging.

 

Max. Capacity

8

Extra Persons

$35 per night

Min. Nights

2

Cleaning Fee

$125


From

$140

per night / 2 guests

Eagles Nest

location icon Burnt Rancheria Campground

Eagles Nest is our tree tent playground in the Cleveland National Forest, Burnt Rancheria campground. This private & secluded site features 1 bell tent with 2 full beds. The site also features 2 double tree tents, a 2 story triple tree tent, and various hammocks. Eagle Nest is our flagship tree tent complex, ideal for families and small intimate gatherings. This is our most private site, besides Lions Den.

Max. Capacity

8

Extra Persons

$35 per night

Min. Nights

2

Cleaning Fee

$125

  • Tree tents include Teton sleeping bags, sleeping bag liner, sleeping pads and pillows.
  • Solar powered lights are also provided

A considerable measure of my own life was lamentably spent working with various multi-national enterprises, organizations & corporations both in the United States & abroad. And although I gained significant growth & experience professionally, I was becoming more & more disillusioned with the corporate realm in general.

The hierarchical & compartmentalized nature of the business environment seemed outdated to me. I could never understand the ideals & motives that perpetuated corporate culture.

My surroundings were quickly monopolized by spectator sport/pop culture, pub-crawling, & all other sorts of fruitless pastimes. Although I enjoy & empathize with the sporadic necessity of these pastimes, I most identify with the silence & solitude that I can only find in nature.

Camping became my outlet after a long workweek, although it was becoming more & more difficult to organize & make worthwhile. I was too exhausted most weekends to do anything other than sit home & unwind in front of the TV.

A successful camping trip does requires a lot of preparation. Packing, driving to your destination, & setting-up site will usually consume an afternoon - assuming that nothing goes wrong in the preparation & execution of your trip. A punctured air mattress or a forgotten piece of equipment could unravel a camping trip before it even starts.

Still, I wanted to get everyone I knew excited about nature & the outdoors. I wanted them to have the same appreciation I had for this environment & the need for conservation. I also found that these trips were an opportunity for me to raise awareness about issues that were important to me such environmental protection & conservation. I found that people always seemed more receptive to this message if they were experiencing the beauty of nature for themselves, without having to sacrifice too much luxury.

I eventually considered purchasing an RV. Still, the idea of investing in such a huge vehicle that would only be used recreationally on occasion didn’t seem practical or cost-effective. It also felt to me that it all altogether detracted from the idea of escaping into nature.

I quickly found that I wasn’t alone in my frustrations as I started to exchange these sentiments with fellow-campers. I started thinking about how we could resolve these experiences, which (along with the crowd of mysophobes and insectaphobes) seemed to be the primary reason people were reluctant to camp more often.

I could honestly never understand the extreme fear & paranoia over tiny insects & any other wild-life in general.

The more I thought about it, the more I wondered…how is it that an environment that’s so soothing & therapeutic to the soul, be so terrifying to an individual?

When was it that we become so afraid of nature & wildlife to this degree? When did we decide that the perfectly linear concrete jungles that constitute our cities could, in any way, surpass the quality of life delivered by a natural environment?

After spending many years living in the deserts of the Egyptian Red Sea & diving in some of the most exotic reefs on the planet, I can still remember how it felt to see my first Tiger Shark up close; a 10-foot behemoth, hauntingly & eerily beautiful. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. What appeared from the surface as a monster emerging from the dark, took on a whole new perspective when one is submerged, eye-to-eye in their natural habitat. An animal that I had feared my whole life, transformed from a monster into a living, breathing intellectual life-form deserving of admiration & respect. All the frivolous misconceptions & irrational fears I associated with these species were in an instant gone. He was just another life-form crossing my path & moving to the rhythm of the ocean.

These same misconceptions that are, in many cases, perpetuated by media, have taken such hold over our collective psyche that we’ve been led to extreme measures like the decimation of shark populations to the brink of extinction.

After all, this is what we must do to monsters.

Isn’t that what we’ve done time and time again throughout history - not only towards our own species, but to the planet earth at large? Isn’t this what always leads to genocide? Isn’t this what we’re doing to nature, the environment & wildlife right now?

This realization led me to the understanding that monsters were mere reflections of everything that terrified us – the things we simply don't/won’t understand.

The more research I did the more I realized that something is seriously flawed with the ideologies perceived by a large population of our world today. It’s a very tragic state of affairs for our species in a time when we’ve achieved the pinnacle of human evolution. The more I reflected on things, the more I came to the realization that this culture & suburban model was never going to be for me.

If there’s one thing you can internalize from all these words – let it be the comprehension that there is nothing to fear at all. Where monsters are said to be lurking, be among the fortunate who find therein, light.

To be continued...

 

adventure icon TOP THINGS TO DO

The San Diego Backcountry offers a host of attractions and activities. Our sites are located just 30 minutes from Lake Cuyamaca and Julian. Enjoy miles and miles of trails through our beautiful Cleveland National Forest & Rancho Cuyamaca State Park. There are numerous restaurants and pubs, including our local venue The Outpost by Valley Farm. 

Bell Tent Interior Mt Laguna

HIKING

Our glamping sites are nestled in the high mountain forests of San Diego's backcountry - sky islands where pristine nature & wild-life thrives. These are some of the most remote & biologically diverse habitats in all of Southern California that include many open space preserves, National Forest Lands and State Parks.

Our trail network has something for everyone - from beginners to expert hikers. Our sites are located walking distance to major trailheads such as Big Laguna Lake and the Pacific Crest Trail. READ MORE...

The Outpost by Valley Farm

THE OUTPOST

The Outpost by Valley Farm (formerly the Blue Jay Lodge) is under new ownership and features a pub, restaurant and LIVE music every Friday. Come taste some of the most delicious BBQ, carne asada fries, chili bowl, pizzas, wings and so much more. The bar has a wide assortment of libations to choose from. The Outpost is also an event venue that can be booked for private events and has 5 beautiful cabins on the property. It is a very unique experience and the venue is dog-friendly. 

Mountain Biking

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Among the funnest activities available in our San Diego Backcountry is mountain biking. There are numerous mountain bike trails to choose from that are very close to our glamping sites.

Big Laguna Trail and Noble Canyon are 2 of the most popular and can be done as one long track. If you are new to mountain biking, or want to try the latest MTB equipment, Alter Experiences is your one-stop-shop for bike and equipment rentals in Mt. Laguna. Book your mountain bike rental HERE

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Trip Advisor

Weather Forecast

Our Lifestyle Business Guide is Here!

 Lifestyle Business Guide from Alter Experiences

It’s been 7 years since we took the decision to move up to the mountain and give this thing a try. That was the best decision we ever made and paid off in so many unique and unexpected ways.

Read more ...

 

Alter Experiences Logo

Glamping & Nature Retreats

(619) 642-7015
 
10600 Sunrise HWY
Mt. Laguna CA, 91948
 
 
Alter Experiences LLC operates under permit of USFS. This institution is an equal opportunity employer
 
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