New Yorkers are no strangers to camping, with myriad options in the Catskills and Adirondacks, and music-forward retreats upstate making the culture even more expansive and accessible for hardcore urbanites. Since 2018, Collective Retreats has offered an even closer option: a seasonal six-acre glamping site on Governors Island, just eight minutes by ferry from Lower Manhattan. But this year, there’s a new sheriff in town: The Urban Cowboy Tent.
Photography courtesy of Collective Retreats
Waking up in the 325-square-foot tent, clad in red Pendleton textiles and El Paso Saddle Blanket rugs, guests step outside to framed views of the Statue of Liberty rising over the water.
Photography courtesy of Collective Retreats
The cowboy quarters—designed by Lyon Porter, Urban Cowboy co-founder and creative director of Cowboy Creative—house a lovingly curated collection of custom and vintage furnishings, including antique artwork, repurposed boat oars, and a vintage radio. Sourced from places like Beacon Flea Market and Elephant Trunk, these found objects give the new tent the impression of a long and storied life. Kevin Jacob Design created additional custom elements, including hand-painted stencil work, signage, and mounted deer antlers.
Photography courtesy of Collective Retreats
Despite the cowboy aesthetic, the experience is thoroughly modern: The tent is equipped with an HVAC unit for warm days and cool nights, as well as an ensuite bathroom with a generous standing shower, large mirror, and toilet. The standout feature, though, is the patinated cast-iron tub, plumbed with on-site hot water and angled toward sunset views over the harbor.
“One of my favorite found objects is the French cast-iron tub,” Porter says. “An antique tub like this can typically cost around $11,000, but we found one for $400 that was just sitting in a Connecticut mansion’s yard. It weighs about 500 pounds and has this naturally rusted patina on the exterior with white porcelain inside. Those kinds of unexpected finds are what give the spaces their character.”
Photography courtesy of Collective Retreats
The tent also continues Porter’s relationship with Dovetail + Co., the hospitality group behind Collective Retreats. In 2020, the two companies opened Urban Cowboy Lodge in the Catskills, which has been an upstate go-to ever since.
With the newest location, Porter positions Urban Cowboy’s maximalist aesthetic as an enveloping, tactile alternative to screen time. “An authentic Urban Cowboy experience is … meant to be transportive,” he says. Despite being a stone’s throw from the city, the space’s whimsy helps guests feel worlds away.
Photography courtesy of Collective Retreats
Available through the end of November 2026, reservations for the Urban Cowboy Tent on Governors Island are available at collectiverestreats.com.
