38 | MAY 11 • 2023 

W

ant to enjoy the great outdoors 
this summer without the hassles 
usually associated with living 
under the stars? “Glamping”— glamorous 
camping — might be just what you need.
At least that’s what Lauren and Jason 
Blanford of Boyne Falls are hoping. The 
couple will open Lost Woods Farm & Forest 
soon for their third summer season. 
The site has three platform tents and 
a small A-frame cabin that sleep two to 
six people and are equipped with memo-
ry-foam mattresses, bed linens, chairs and 
bonfire supplies. There are tiled shower 
stalls, and guests enjoy a homemade bagel 
breakfast in the morning. The 160-acre 
farm’s historic barn can be rented for spe-
cial events, and the Blanfords are happy to 
arrange local excursions and farm dinners 
for guests.
This year, they added a two-person heated 

geodesic dome that will be open year-round, 
so they can welcome winter guests inter-
ested in snowshoeing or skiing at nearby 
Boyne Mountain. Their expansion was 
helped with a grant from Hebrew Free Loan.
The couple moved to the site in 2020, 
shortly after the start of the COVID pan-
demic.
It was a “very unpredictable time,
” said 
Lauren. “Our initial idea of having an event 
barn was put on hold because of COVID 
restrictions.
” Glamping was a good way to 
cope, she said. “It was a perfect social dis-
tancing vacation option.
”

AN INTERNATIONAL ROAD
The Blanfords traveled an international road 
to Boyne Falls.
Lauren, 41, grew up in East Grand Rapids 
and was active in the NFTY youth group at 
Temple Emanuel, serving on the regional 

board. While at Indiana University, she 
spent three summers as a counselor at a 
Jewish camp in Mississippi. She says her 
camping experiences inspired her to estab-
lish Lost Woods Farm & Forest.
Jason, 40, was born in South Africa and 
moved to the United States at age 3. He 
grew up in the Chicago suburbs and went to 
Davidson College in North Carolina.
Lauren was looking for adventure after 
graduating from college. She taught English 
in Chile for a year, then took a live-in nanny 
job with the Walgreen family, traveling the 
world with the Chicago-based drugstore 
magnate. Back in Chicago, she met someone 
on JDate who brought his friend Jason with 
him to their first meeting. She and Jason 
both quickly realized they were with the 
wrong people, and they’ve been together 
ever since.
Jason already had plans to attend graduate 

This summer, try “glamping” in the great outdoors.
A Unique Summer Getaway

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

business SPOTlight

brought to you in partnership with 
B I R M I N G H A M

 

