Adventures for all ages at Kids Outdoor Club. Photo Bryan Farley.
Young ones? Camps with PreK and K programs
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Kids Outdoor Club (Ages 3 and up)
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Angel Island Camp (K and up)
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Kennolyn (K and up)
After our article on How to choose an outdoors summer camp in the Bay Area, let's take a closer look at three summer camps that let kids do what do best: roam and play freely outside in a safe environment.
Angel Island Camp - Tiburon: for a traditional camp experience, try the only camp in the Bay Area that picks up campers by ferry from San Francisco on the Embarcadero. Located on beautiful Angel Island, Angel Island camp offers crafts, group games, fishing, kayaking, treasure hunts, songs and a BBQ and more camp songs at the end of the week. Each morning, the children start the day with a short ferry ride, getting away from it all to their special island. Throughout the day, the explore with their camp supervisors and organized activities. The camp does leave room for free play though and lets children decompress after lunch by having them play impromptu games, practice lanyard making or simply partake in group discussions. Registration starts in early March. Angel Island Camp offers programs from June 21st through August 6, 2010.
Kennolyn - Santa Cruz: located in the Santa Cruz mountains, this camp is the epitomy of your traditional camp: swimming, camp songs, riding, trapeze, climbing, ropes courses, crafts, pottery and the list goes on. This is a true family-owned camp (3rd generation now) that dates back to 1946 and spreads over 300 acres of land. "I went to Kennolyn for years as a kid," says Baidra Murphy from Los Altos, "And I can't wait to send my son when he is old enough. This is what should be: great classes, talented counselors and dirt!" For interested families, Kennolyn also hosts family camps. Kennolyn offers summer programs from June 17 through August 20, 2010.
Kids Outdoor Club - San Francisco: The Kids Outdoor Club is a little known gem in the Golden Gate Park. "I love that it's so flexible," says Diana Kapp from San Francisco. "You can drop your kids any day of the week in the summer and they will be occupied outside, with no shelter, rain or shine, in green places of the city." If you children like to climb trees, build forts, hike in the park, play hide and seek in the bushes or sing camp songs, this is the camp for you. Fittingly for a camp based on outdoor play, Kids Outdoor Club does not have a facility. You just meet at the tables set up at a meadow in Golden Gate Park and the camp supervisors take it from there. Note that free play does not mean that your children are let loose in the wild. "The idea of free play is the foundation through which children learn, excel and build confidence," explains Scott Wilkinson, camp owner. He also believes that the Golden Gate Park should be every child's community playground and frankly, he's got a point. How many of us really know the trails of Golden Gate Park? This camp will allow your children to discover their urban backyard. Kids Outdoors Club offers summer programs from June 7 through September 3, 2010.
See also:
- Outdoors summer camps with a nature or environmental education perspective
- Outdoors summer camps with a science or arts focus
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