History & Founding
Founded by Karin Johnson and Raman Frey, Camp Earnest is a retreat center located at 3,500 feet elevation in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, near the town of Twain Harte. We are about 2.5 hours (140 miles) due east of San Francisco and a little over an hour from the main gate of Yosemite National Park.
A former children’s summer camp, we now cater to adult groups (some of whom bring their kids). We offer lodging in our cabins, yurts, three-season bell tents and at our camp sites. We have a Cedar Bathhouse with a sauna and hot tub, a year-round creek and an outdoor amphitheater, where we enjoy hosting small acoustic concerts. Our meditation and movement space, Hilltop Hall, is attached to a two bedroom three bath home, Hilltop House that can sleep up to six guests. Camp Earnest supports local organic farms and vineyards, has an on site chef's garden and often hosts family-style dinners by local and Bay Area farm-to-table chefs. We are currently exploring the possibilities for on site agroforestry.
Our artist residence program began in May, 2023 when our first mural by Ema Harris-Sintamarian was installed on the side of the Two Hearts Cabin. A sculpture by Dario Antonioni called Unity, is now suspended across a 40 foot span between two cedar trees in front of the lodge. Two other murals are slated for 2024, the first by Andrea Dezso and the second by Asad Faulwell.
Our artist residence program began in May, 2023 when our first mural by Ema Harris-Sintamarian was installed on the side of the Two Hearts Cabin. A sculpture by Dario Antonioni called Unity, is now suspended across a 40 foot span between two cedar trees in front of the lodge. Two other murals are slated for 2024, the first by Andrea Dezso and the second by Asad Faulwell.
Both sides of our Cedar Bathhouse are masterpieces of wood working, built by a talented and dedicated crew of friends.
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Programming
Beyond our farm-to-table meals we create retreats that focus on music, dancing, introspection, inquiry, civil discourse, meditation and adventures in nature.
Our gatherings seek to cross pollinate and build connections between next-paradigm thinkers and diverse leaders who realize we’ve reached global tipping points, requiring reinvention, not just revisions. We hope to build what Otto Scharmer calls "Islands of Sanity," in a world shaped by unsustainable systems. We hope our visitors depart feeling inspired, having developed a better understanding of their place in this world, their privileges and responsibilities, and the ways in which nature can teach us to be joyful stewards of all life on earth. At camp we make the effort to express our founding principles in everything we do. We proactively reach out to collaborate with organizations that operate according to similar principles. These founding principles are:
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Our Founders
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Karin Johnson, Co-founder
Karin has a storied and adventurous career that has included projects for Google, Doctors Without Borders and Healthright International. Trained and educated as a social worker at Columbia University, she taught at The Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh and facilitated a project in post-Apartheid South Africa.
In June of 2018, Karin bought the last ticket for a Good People Dinner in Marin County and in short order became co-producer of our GP Dinners and retreats, with her partner and GP Dinners founder Raman Frey. Without Karin’s pandemic Zillow scrolling, we never would have found Camp Earnest, or our beautiful “fur child,” camp mascot and Head of Beast Maintenance Tashi. Karin now consults to a variety of organizations on civic activism, Diversity Equity & Inclusion training, immigration policy and community building of all stripes. If you’re lucky, Karin will be your Camp Director during your visit. |
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Raman Frey, Co-Founder
Raman is a writer, speaker, advisor and community builder based out of northern California. For the last 22 years, Raman has built companies, non-profits and communities, bringing people together for meaningful conversations about art, technology, religion, politics and philosophy.
Raman has started a range of small businesses and served on the boards of a variety of organizations. In recent years, his writing has focused on the idea of “incentive system design,” tailoring economies, government and culture to nudge human activities in the direction of a just, equitable and regenerative future. When Raman met Karin, he had a hard time believing such a person could exist and an enduring partnership was formed. Times got tough with the global pandemic and Karin and Raman got moving. The inability to hold in person events made the choice to buy a summer camp and ready it for a flood of human connection seemed like the obvious move. With the support of dozens of friends and family, Camp Earnest was born. If you’re a little less lucky, Raman will be Camp Director during your visit. |
Our CampusGood People Lodge is the heart of our campus and where Karin and Raman live. It has a commercial kitchen, dining hall and 75 foot long back deck with views of the main field and Turnback Creek.
Cedar Bathhouse has three toilets, two showers and California's first Iki Finnish sauna big enough for 8 people at a time. An outdoor cedar hot tub that can accommodate up to 8 guests sits just outside the bathhouse.
Hilltop Hall is an 1,100 square foot open space for yoga, meditation, dancing, group discussions and presentations.
Acoustic Amphitheater is a great spot for acoustic music and talent shows, with live edge cedar bench seating for up to 50 people, an 8 x 8 foot stage and custom fire pit by local artist Nigel Fluharty.
The Ponderosa Hills and Cedar Springs Loop hike along Turnback Creek. This runs right through our property and can be a short out and back or a longer 5.5 mile loop.
If you would like to visit us outside of events and campus buyouts, you can reserve a spot on Airbnb here. |
Our first mural on campus, part of an ongoing program to bring murals and sculptures to our shared grounds.
Ema Harris-Sintamarian, "Crack Me Up Through a Rabbit Hole," 2023
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The kitchen in our new Hilltop Bunkhouse.
Our Deepest GratitudeCamp Earnest simply wouldn't exist without the generosity and hard work of so many friends. Here's a partial list:
Roger and Betsey Johnson
Sachi Wagner Jordan Burton, Amanda Canning and Skyla Eric Wilhelms and Christy Canida Eva Markiewicz and Spencer Ahrens Stephen Dorow Dave Holmes-Kinsella Julia Markish Tom Silvers Ben Sizemore Jesse Kraft Spud & Kathy Murphy Nigel Fluharty Adam and Jess Dragland Thilo Bendix Lydia Vass Donna Bach Carole Golden Samuel Bullard Mica Howard Perry Trumbull Mike Holcomb Kyle Dahlin Michael Carney Michael "Dotty" Soldati Luke Divine Joaquin Garman Stacy & Adam Jed Darcie & Stuart Newton Brian Spears Linda Woolston Lori Schwanbeck and Mark Coleman |
There are six beds in our Hilltop Bunkhouse.
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