The Country Experience

What The Country Experience does

The Country Experience is a family-owned working farm and experiential camp operator headquartered on a 34-acre property at 115 Wind Mill Rd, Elizabeth, Illinois, founded and run by the Amstutz family. The company's primary product is a week-long sleepaway summer camp for children ages 7-17 priced at $1,125 (early registration) or $1,195 (regular registration) per week, with a Counselors In Training (CIT) leadership program for teens. The business also operates multi-day school visit programs for Montessori, Waldorf, public, and homeschool groups; weekend Farm Stay experiences in five on-site cabins at $325/night; and event hosting for weddings, retreats, and celebrations. The facility includes a century-old Gathering Barn (recently insulated), a fully licensed commercial kitchen, five cabins, gardens, orchards, and a working animal herd.

The operation is run with a small core staff (approximately 5 employees), expanded seasonally with farm educators, counselors, and a newly added Farm Stay Coordinator. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the company website, Facebook, open house events, and word-of-mouth referrals managed through a $100 referral credit program, with bookings processed through the CampBrain third-party registration platform. The business is entirely self-funded (no outside investment disclosed), holds an Illinois Department of Public Health summer camp permit, and is in active expansion — adding weeks, growing gardens/herds, and extending season by ~4 months following the Gathering Barn insulation. There is no proprietary technology stack; competitive advantage rests on the physical farm environment, Montessori-aligned pedagogy, repeat-family behavior, and family-operated authenticity rather than software or AI.

Name

The Country Experience

Legal name

The Country Experience

Website

https://thecountryexperience.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Country Experience is a family-owned working farm camp in Elizabeth, Illinois offering week-long sleepaway summer camps for children ages 7-17, multi-day school visits, weekend farm stays, a teen CIT leadership program, and event hosting for families, schools, and groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Farm-Based Summer Camps and Agritourism

NAICS

Recreational and Vacation Camps (except Campgrounds) (721214)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAMAJAJ

Family & Recreation Campgrounds (Amenities/Activities Focus)

Travel & Hospitality/Vacation Rentals & Short-Term Stays/Campgrounds, Glamping & RV Parks

SECONDARYTHAMADAH

Farm Stays & Agritourism Lodges

Travel & Hospitality/Vacation Rentals & Short-Term Stays/Boutique & Unique Stays (Cabins, Tiny Homes, Treehouses, Yurts)

SECONDARYTHAAAHAL

Agritourism Eco-Lodges & Farm Nature Stays

Travel & Hospitality/Adventure, Amusement Parks & Ecotourism/Nature Lodges & Eco-Resorts

SECONDARYTHAMABAG

Farmstay Rooms (Working Farms/Ranches)

Travel & Hospitality/Vacation Rentals & Short-Term Stays/Private Rooms & Shared-Home Stays

Keywords

• Farm-based summer camp
• Children's overnight camp
• Educational farm visits
• Farm stay cabin rentals
• Counselor training program

Headquarters

HQ city

Elizabeth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Summer Camp Sessions: Week-long sleepaway camp for children ages 7-17, running May through October. Primary revenue driver. Sessions include early registration ($1,125) and regular registration ($1,195), with bridge weekend add-ons available.
2. Farm Stay Bookings: Weekend farm stay experiences for families in private cabins. Priced at $325/night per cabin (up to 4 guests), with additional guest fees of $25/person/night and $75 cleaning fee per cabin. Extended to 4 additional months per year following barn insulation.
3. School Visit Programs: Week-long immersive farm experiences for school groups (public, Montessori, Waldorf, homeschool). Supports 3-13 day trips with full week highly recommended. Pricing not publicly disclosed.
4. Counselors In Training (CIT) Program: Leadership training program for campers ages ~13-17 (summer following 8th grade). Tiered pricing: 1st year $985/week, 2nd year $850/week, 3rd year $700/week, with free Junior Counselor option for those invited after junior year of high school.
5. Event Hosting: Hosting of weddings, yoga/wellness retreats, luncheons, pizza nights, birthday celebrations, retirement parties, and parent/child weekends. Inquiry contact: [email protected] or 312-852-7400.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Country Experience runs a working 34-acre farm in Elizabeth, Illinois where it sells a week-long overnight summer camp experience for children ages 7–17, day/educational farm visits for school groups, weekend cabin-based farm stays for families, a Counselors In Training (CIT) leadership program for teens, and event/retreat venue hosting on the farm property.

Product overview

The Country Experience is a working farm camp offering a portfolio of hands-on experiential programs centered on a 34-acre family farm. The core offerings include: Summer Camp (week-long sleepaway camp for ages 7-17), School Visits (multi-day educational programs for school groups), Farm Stays (weekend family cabin experiences), a CIT Program (leadership training for teens), and Events/Retreats (venue rental for celebrations and wellness gatherings). The company also features wood-fired pizza as a signature culinary experience. All programs are designed to foster confidence, life skills, and connection to nature in children.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Summer Camp

Quantifiable outcome

• Children develop confidence, independence, and new assertiveness after just one week of camp
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Calleva: Outdoor education and farm-based programming organization in the DC/Mid-Atlantic region offering farm camps, school programs, and wilderness experiences. Comparable to TCE as a farm-anchored experiential education provider serving children and schools.
• Camp Whispering Oaks: Farm-based sleepaway summer camp for girls in the San Bernardino Mountains of California, blending animal care, gardening, and outdoor activities. Directly comparable to TCE's farm camp concept.
• Billings Farm & Museum: Working dairy farm and education center in Woodstock, Vermont offering school programs, family farm experiences, and seasonal events. Comparable as a working farm with structured youth and family programming.
• Hidden Villa: Nonprofit organic farm and education center in Los Altos Hills, California offering summer camps, school programs, and farm stays rooted in social justice and sustainability. Comparable as a working-farm summer camp with school-visit programming.
• Shelburne Farms: Nonprofit farm education center on a 1,400-acre property in Vermont offering school visit programs, summer camps, and family farm experiences. Directly comparable as a working-farm educational and lodging venue with seasonal programming.
• Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture: Working farm and education center in New York's Hudson Valley offering immersive farm experiences, school programs, and seasonal events. Comparable as a high-end farm-based experiential education and agritourism venue.

Broad incumbents

• AutoCamp: Outdoor hospitality brand offering Airstream and cabin-based accommodations in California, Oregon, and New York. Comparable as a design-forward nature-immersive lodging experience, though at a higher price point.
• Under Canvas: Upscale glamping resort operator with multiple properties near U.S. national parks. Comparable as an experiential outdoor lodging brand but operating at a much larger scale and price point than TCE's farm-stay cabins.

Emerging players

• Hipcamp: Online marketplace for booking farm stays, glamping, and unique outdoor accommodations. Comparable to TCE's farm-stay product line as a distribution and discovery channel for the agritourism category.

Others

• Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF): Global network connecting volunteers with organic farms for educational and work-exchange stays. Tangentially comparable as a farm-immersion experience platform, though not a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thecountryexperience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-country-experience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Country Experience