Pagan-Friendly Children's Camps
These camp programs are confirmed to be currently active as of September 1, 2009. While there is a lack of summer camps for pagan children, there are many opportunities in the secular world to attend "old-fashioned" camp where children get the chance to get to know Nature.
California Point Reyes - The Point Reyes Summer Camp Located 80 minutes north of San Francisco, Point Reyes Summer Camp provides two camp experiences: Nature Science Camp (separate sessions for ages 7-9, 9-11, and 10-12) and Adventure Camp (ages 13-16). Making friends, being immersed in the natural world, and stewardship are key components of our program. Campers learn how to take responsibility for their individual actions and to have fun working together as a team. They are given choices for their activities including tidepooling, hiking, bird watching, exploring mudflats, improvisational theater, earth art, crafts, and lots more.
San Rafael - Terwilliger Nature Camps WildCare Terwilliger Nature Camps are a fun way to stimulate learning about nature and instill a life-long respect for the environment. Weekly camp programs are designed to captivate, engage and challenge young people; building environmental knowledge and values. Weekly topics and hikes immerse children in specific nature themes.
Sausalito - Coastal Camp at Headlands Institute Windswept beaches, rolling hills, a view of the Golden Gate Bridge — this isn't your ordinary day camp. Every day at Coastal Camp is an opportunity for adventure and discovery in the outdoors. Campers engage their curious minds and boundless energy by exploring and investigating the natural world.
Tiburon - Audubon Summer Adventures Day Camp Each year, campers at Audubon Summer Adventures become naturalists, birders, marine biologists, entomologists, and botanists. Children make the sanctuary their own by exploring our unique site which includes eleven acres of grasslands, oak woodlands, and kid-friendly muddy shores. Our creative programs incorporate conservation and science into inquiry based investigations, art, songs and games while connecting children to nature. Whether campers are observing birds, tidepools, or composting with worms, they will learn to respect nature and live happily, sustainably and responsibly.
Yosemite - Yosemite Institute Students entering grade 11 can join park scientists and researchers investigating real questions about the biodiversity and health of the Yosemite National Park ecosystem. College credit and scholarships are available. Young women, age 15 to 18, can apply to participate in a 12-day summer backpacking adventure and educational experience in the High Sierra. Program inspired by former educator Joie Armstrong.
Kansas
Hutchinson - Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center Camps
Investigate Space, Mars Academy, Intergenerational Elderhostel, Overnight Space Adventure and Future Astronaut Training Program. These are just a few astronaut camp programs designed for aspiring astronauts, engineers and scientists of all ages. At the Cosmosphere, you’re never too young or old to explore space.
Johnson County - Outdoor Education Laboratory
Open to campers from kindergarten thru 6th grade. Kids get down and dirty, spending the day outside in the forest, learning about nature and science in a very hands-on and very fun environment. This camp is EXTREMELY popular – sign up quick!
Olathe - Ernie Miller Nature Center
A variety of camp programs for children. Weekly themes include: Croakers and Crawlers, Something's Fishy Here, Trail Blazers, Living Green, American Animals, and Water, Water Everywhere.
Maine
Orono - Acadia National Park
Ever wanted to rock climb? Our climbing camps take place outdoors and cover basic technical skills of rock climbing and the fundamentals of climbing movement. Campers in our programs will experience real rock in Acadia National Park and from our surrounding area, learn to climb on it, find out how it got there and learn about the surrounding forests. We visit several different areas, each rich with history and culture of the Maine Woods.
Wiscasset - Camp Chewonki
Imagine yourself at a wilderness camp, where you make great new friends, learn advanced outdoor skills, and travel through some of the most awesome beauty in the northeast. Camp Chewonki, situated on Fourth Debsconeag Lake, offers a suite of wilderness programs for girls, boys, and teens.
Missouri
Kansas City - Kansas City Zoo
Programs for kids as young as three. Winter camps, Autumn Camps, Spring Break Camps, Preschool Camps, Science Camps for high schoolers, and much more!
Kansas City - Lakeside Nature Center
Summer of Science Camp is perfect for the young naturalist 6-12 years old. Scholars are grouped by age. Sessions are organized around specific environmental themes and include hands on animal activities, organized hikes and integrated crafts and projects. Each afternoon ends with time in the Camp Lake of the Woods pool.
Kingsville - Powell Gardens
Incredible Summer Explorations program. Camps are offered for kids ages 9 to 14. Nature Explorers (for the younger set) will cover plant and water science. Ecology Explorers (for the older kids) explores sustainable living and “green” issues. Camps run from 9am to 3pm but extended care is available!
Liberty - Martha Lafite Thomspon Nature Center
Here is what you'll get when you sign your child up for our EGADS camps: Nature-focused camps that include age-appropriate outdoor explorations, games, crafts, and songs, all designed with fun and learning in mind. Member's only discounts for each camp as well as multiple camp discount. Camps led by professional staff and trained counselors that are First Aid and CPR trained. Children as young as three can attend!
Parkville - Parkville Nature Sanctuary
Three-day nature camps, exploring the trails, learning trail safety, discovering wild animal habitats, identifying trees and other nature-related activities. For ages 8 to 10. Spend three days in the woods!
Rolla - Cub Creek Science Camp
Combining science, animals and traditional camp activities to create the most fun you have ever had! Cub Creek Science Camp takes place at Bear River Ranch, in Rolla, Missouri. Our camp combines the best aspects of a traditional summer camp, a science camp, a zoo camp and an animal camp to create a truly one of a kind experience. Cub Creek Science Camp began operation in 1993. Each summer we have campers attend from nearly every state and many different countries. (And check out the photos on the website, they're proof that this camp is pretty amazing!)
New Hampshire
Bethlehem - White Mountain Summer
The White Mountain School is proud to partner with Adventure Treks to create the safest, most substantive, and most exciting adventures for young people through our personal attention to every student, our caring, and our competence. White Mountain Summer is proud to offer students ages 13-16 amazing adventures! If you are 13 or 14, New England Exploration, goes whitewater rafting, mountain biking, rock climbing and backpacking, all in a 16-day trip. For ages 15-16, the Ultimate Northeast adventure! The name says it all. Both trips travel to spectacular outdoor locations and embark on wonderful journeys. Between these two trips, available to both age groups, we have White Mountain Climbing Camp.
Marlow - Kroka Expeditions
Kroka Expeditions is committed to awakening in young people a connection to nature and the spirit within, and a capacity for conscious living and compassionate service. We strive to achieve this through wilderness adventure, community living, farming, and the practice of traditional and indigenous skills.
Rindge and Jaffrey - Mass Audobon: Wildwood
Wildwood is a multidimensional summer program for young people ages 9 to 17 focusing on active exploration of the natural world. Owned and operated by Mass Audubon, Wildwood is a place where friendships are formed and respect for the environment is forged. Campers arrive curious about nature and leave committed to the preservation of our natural resources.
Windsor - Windsor Mountain International
On foot or bike, in canoes or kayaks, campers have explored the mountains, lakes, bogs and streams of southern New Hampshire, all while developing camping techniques and outdoor survival skills. These outings are part of our Wilderness Adventure Program which takes small groups of students into the wild for three days at a time. Campers on these treks learn to orient by map and compass, rock climb, mountain bike, sail, backpack, canoe, kayak, and more in the White or Green Mountains, or on the coast of Maine.
New York
Rochester - Camp Woods Play Day Camp
Camp activities are planned via group or individual choice and include going on shorter or sometimes longer adventures, watercoloring and drawing, co-creating puppet shows and nature skits, learning camping and survival skills, or visiting a nearby bird Wild Wings or the Monroe County Mounted Police horsebarns. Of course water play is included on hot days. Most importantly, each day will include a chance to freely play in nature, à la Scandinavian Forest Kindergartens. The forest has been described as an ideal environment for fostering the growth of a healthy imagination and for balancing physical development: Its architecture lifts the spirit and provides a fortress of cooling shade, gentle breezes, and filtered light; Plus, countless natural play objects are scattered all about! Nature provides the perfect playground, and studies show, a comparatively safe one.
Texas
Austin - McKinney Roughs Nature Park
McKinney Roughs Nature Park, with 1,100 acres of pine forests, meadows and hills is just 13 miles east of the Austin airport. The weeklong day camps offer a mix of indoor and outdoor activities and programs: nature study and exploration, wilderness skills, a challenge course, river raft trips, hikes, activities and crafts, and swimming. The camps are for ages 6 to 12. There are seven weekly sessions. (Camp is not offered the week of July 4). Hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with shuttle service from Austin and extended care available. Each session is different, so children can come for the entire summer and experience something new every week.
McKinney - The HEARD Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary
Summer camps at the Heard offer a unique experience for your child. From our wetlands, to our prairies, to our old growth forest, you never know what amazing things they will see on our beautiful 289-acre wildlife sanctuary. Summer is a great time to give your child some of these
wonderful experiences first-hand. Summer camps at the Heard are sure to be the highlight of your child’s summer, creating memories that will last a lifetime!
Utah
Sundance - The Sundance Kids Camp
The Sundance Kids Camp is a nature-themed day camp offered by the Sundance Preserve and Sundance Nature Center in partnership with Sundance Resort. Our mission is to provide a safe, fun, dynamic environment where children can learn, play and grow while providing an outstanding Sundance experience compatible with youth. A typical day at camp (though our days are anything but typical!) may include a hunt for fossils, wading in a stream, a game of kickball, a hike through a forest and a ride on the chairlift.
Vermont
Cuttingsville - Night Eagle Wilderness Adventures
We are a unique primitive summer camp for boys. At Night Eagle, we live in tipis and do things that boys did hundreds of years ago - learn to throw tomahawks and atlatls, shoot bows, skin and tan animal hides, make bison jerky, learn survival skills (fire making with flint and steel or bow drills, plant identification, tracking, camouflage), create all sorts of craft items (birchbark baskets, moccasins, rattles), go on hikes, canoe, swim, and play lots of games (Buffalo Robe, Stalk the Chief, Wild Men in the Alders, and Slack 'Em to name a few)!
Through these activities and the slower pace of life in camp, boys naturally develop a deeper respect for the land and an authentic sense of personal accomplishment as they learn to live competently in the woods.
Rutland - Roaring Brook Camp for Boys
For more than forty-five years, Roaring Brook Camp has been devoted to teaching outdoor skills and adventure sports, Vermont crafts and conducting expeditions in Northern New England by backpack and canoe. We believe that confidence and satisfaction with life come through personal achievement. Our intent is to build self-reliance, resourcefulness and a will-to-achieve, primarily through a program of outdoor education.
Washington
Monroe - Alderleaf Nature Camp
A summer day camp for youth ages 8 to 12, Alderleaf's program for youth. Now your children can also experience Alderleaf's amazing wilderness education! Kids learn the basics of wild edible plants, birding, wilderness survival, ecology, wildlife tracking, and more through exciting adventures, activities, crafts, and games. Students spend days exploring our forests, creeks, and meadows while learning about nature. Our camps teach about the plants, trees, birds, insects, mammals, and other species local to the Pacific Northwest. Through our nature curriculum, students also gain respect, responsibility, communication, and teamwork skills.
