Email
PrintCamping downtown
Just Camp makes indoor camping available in the heart of the city.
It first began as “some weird idea” that popped into Mike Lassman’s head.
But the idea soon became reality as he watched the installation of Astroturf and the faux fire pits light up for the first time.
Lassman had created Tulsa’s first indoor campground.
The owner of Just Camp, an Internet-based wholesale camping, hunting and outdoor equipment business, Lassman took his 7-year-old company and opened a new location in downtown Tulsa in November.
He chose a four-story art deco warehouse built in 1922 in Gunboat Park, an area in the southeastern corner of the Central Business District, so named because of the way it is shaped by surrounding streets.
“We could have gone anywhere,” he says. “We could have had a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. We just fell in love with the building.”
But with the first two floors dedicated to retail, Lassman had to devise a concept that would fill the 10,000-square-foot space on the third floor.
Now, more than 20 parties have set up camp in Lassman’s newly renovated building and enjoyed a camping experience with complete climate control.
The Urban Campout is equipped with tents, sleeping bags, a picnic area, artificial trees and fire pits; a wide array of toys; and an indoor movie projector.
Visitors to the campsite have varied from 8-year-old boys telling ghost stories around the “fire” to high school-aged girls renting out the Urban Campout for a slumber party. Lassman also offers an adult package, which allows guests to relax in camping chairs and enjoy the Tulsa skyline.
The Urban Campout may have started as Lassman’s weird idea, but now, with the third story booked through at least May, this business owner says he has no regrets.
“It just works,” he says.
