Summer camp isn’t just for kids. At least not in Carmel, where the 500-acre Carmel Valley Ranch offers a lot more than just rest and relaxation. How about a workshop on pickling and canning, or a class taught by a regional artist? Also beginning this month, book a Honey & Lavender Harvest Weekend. Learn to make lavender soap using one of the property’s 7,500 lavender plants or harvest sweet stuff at the Ranch’s Italian honeybee farm. The resort chef uses both in his homemade lavender and honey ice creams. Come next year, they’ll be harvesting their own Pinot Noir grapes, to be released in 2016. And parents, take note: The Ranch offers kids’ camps with programming created by elementary school teachers. carmelvalleyranch.com
Carmel Valley Ranch entry gate
Carmel Valley Ranch entry gate
