Pick the place and JAKL Tents will take care of the rest — no sleeping bags needed.
It’s no secret that some of Mid-Missouri’s best activities can be found outdoors, and camping is one of the best ways to fully connect with nature. But, for those who want the outdoor experience while also maintaining the comfort of the indoors, look no further than JAKL Tents, an indoor/outdoor glamping company based in Jefferson City.
“Our clients are mainly the people who want to camp, but do not want the hard part,” says owner T.C. Farrar. “Or, they want to have a staycation and say, ‘Hey, let’s just go to the backyard, or let’s go to the farm. We don’t have to go out of state to find a campground. We can do it where we’re comfortable and still get that experience.’”
“Our clients are mainly the people who want to camp, but don want the hard part.”
—T.C. Farrar
JAKL Tents is a family-run company through and through. The name itself is derived from the initials of T.C.’s wife and children — Jordy, Ashley (his wife), Kash, and Lawson. T.C. came up with the idea for JAKL Tents after stumbling across a glamping company in Minnesota. He was surprised to find that no one else in the Jefferson City area was offering services like these. After finding that the startup cost was reasonable, he and his family launched JAKL Tents as a side gig in July of 2021 and had their first booking by that September.
Since then, things have taken off. JAKL Tents doesn’t have a permanent location, which means campers can glamp anywhere within 30 miles of Jefferson City (or farther away for an additional cost). With that purchase, JAKL supplies the tents and brings them to you, whether you’re along the Missouri River or in your own backyard. The outdoor tents themselves are roomy to say the least, measuring in at 10-feet-tall and 16-feet-wide to create a bell-shaped structure. JAKLTents also provides furnishings, like rugs, memory foam mattresses, pillows, and decorations.
“You don’t have to bring anything,” T.C. says. “You just come up, show up, and everything’s ready to go.”
“You don’t have to ing anything, you just come up, show up, and everything’s ready to go”
—T.C. Farrar
They even provide heating and cooling to keep people comfortable in most weather types, as long as the tents are close enough to an electrical outlet or a generator. JAKL Tents are perfect for an intimate date night, an anniversary celebration, or even a family camping trip. One of T.C.’s favorite glamping setups so far was for a wedding at Cooper’s Landing in Columbia. After the wedding, the entire wedding party stayed the night glamping in JAKL Tents.
“That was a cool experience — you’re right on the cliff there overlooking the river,” T.C. says. “The couple was in one tent, another couple was in one, and then we had the rest of the wedding party piled into one. We had another tent that they used as a lounge setting with several pillows and a couple tables. They could just come in and hang out, kick their feet up for a little bit.”
The other vein of JAKL Tents is its indoor glamping options. These are usually popular for younger kids or birthday parties. Each person gets their own bed with a tent over it, along with some decoration options that JAKL Tents has on hand. Often, T.C. can be found setting up tents with the whole family in tow.
“That was kind of the whole goal — something we can always do together,” T.C. says. “It’s something to teach the kids that there’s some preparation in all this. You have to go set the tents up, then you go pick it up and you have to clean everything. It’s not just show up, collect payment, and leave. There’s a lot of work that goes into running a business.”
“One day, we could scale it up, but for now, we’re as busy as we want to be,” T.C. says. “It’s a lot of fun to do with family and to provide a cool experience for other families. I’m glad we did it.”
To inquire about reserving JAKL Tents, visit their website jakltents.com, or send T.C. a DM through JAKL Tents’ social media.