Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park launched their first season of kid’s camps this summer, including a Mountain Bike Skills Camp and Mountain Adventure Day Camp.

“We’ve seen big demand and camps are filling-up quickly,” says assistant general manager Jodi Kayler. According to Kayler, the July Mountain Bike Camp is already sold out with 40 riders, but there are still spots available in the three-day adventure day camps on August 4-6 and August 11-13 as well as for the August 18-20 mountain bike camp. 

All camps are led by experienced ski school instructors as well as curated counselors and mountain bike experts from the region. Safety is top priority, says Kayler, and the Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol is generously providing mountain bike patrollers and assisting with safety and first aid.

“Our team is building a variety of trails for junior riders too, including a pump track,” adds Kayler.

For the mountain bike skills camps (ages 9-16), which cost $225, kids will work on jumps and other technical skill building as well as group riding and bike games. The camp also teaches kids how to fix a flat and about stewardship and trail maintenance techniques.

Camp coaches will put kids into groups based on ability levels, and all camp goers take home a t-shirt. Kids need to bring their own geared, front-suspension mountain bike and biking gear (see requirements online before registering).

The mountain adventure day camps for ages 6-11 ($179 per three-day camp), include games, outdoor activities, hiking, playing, and fun in a unique state park mountain environment. The camps have a special focus on environmental stewardship and all campers take home a t-shirt.

All camps take place at Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park with pick up and drop off at Lodge 2. More info and registration link at Mtspokane.com/summercamps.

The post New Summer Camps at Mt. Spokane appeared first on Out There Venture.

Bogus Basin Mountain Discovery Camps

Day camp for ages 9-12 and teen overnight camp, ages 12-16, at Bogus Basin Mountain, in collaboration with Boise Parks & Rec. Bogusbasin.org

Camp Ashwell Day Camp – Girl Scouts

The regional program center for Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and North Idaho, located near downtown Spokane, hosts themed day camp sessions for all girls entering grades K-8 (troop membership not required). Activities include STEM experiences, arts and crafts, swimming, and other hands-on, experiential, skill-building fun. Snacks and lunch provided. Gsewni.org

Camp Easton – Boy Scouts

This Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Inland Northwest Council property on the east side of Lake Coeur d’Alene, near Harrison, Idaho, offers an advanced aquatics program, shooting sports, scout crafts, and nature and recreation activities, including sailing, canoeing, snorkeling, scuba-diving, and zipline. The local council also allows BSA, non-BSA, and wedding party groups to rent its facilities, year-round, including campsites, RV pads, and cabins when camps aren’t in session (more details at Campreservation.com.) Nwscouts.org

Camp Four Echoes – Girl Scouts

Located along 2 miles of Lake Coeur d’Alene shoreline near Worley, Idaho, girls sleep in whimsically named camping units, like Teepees in Sky Meadows and Treehouses in Smugglers Cove. Girls Scouts also offers a variety of themed, overnight camps for girls in grades 1-12 (troop membership not required to attend). Activities include waterfront recreation (kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and windsurfing); nature exploration, hiking, biking, and outdoor skill-building; STEM activities; and adventure-based sessions for those in 7^th-10^th grades. Facility rentals are also available Sept.-May. Gsewni.org

Camp Grizzly – Boy Scouts

Regional camp property along the Palouse River, near Potlatch, Idaho, offers mountain biking, all-terrain vehicles, survival, blacksmithing, animal science, and other recreation and skill-building. The local council allows BSA, non-BSA, and wedding party groups to rent its facilities year-round, including campsites, RV pads, and cabins when camps aren’t in session (info at Campreservation.com.) Nwscouts.org

Camp MiVoden

Located on the northern shore of Hayden Lake, Idaho, Camp MiVoden offers overnight camps for age 8-16. The camp is affiliated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Mivoden.com

Camp Spalding

Located near Newport, Wash., along Davis Lake, there are overnight camps for grades 1-12 plus a family camp. Activities include canoeing, horseback riding, rappelling, and more. Founded by Presbyterian churches. Campspalding.org

Camp Sweyolakan – Camp Fire Inland Northwest

Run by Camp Fire Inland Northwest, Camp Sweyolakan (Swe-o-la-kan) on Lake Coeur d’Alene has overnight camps for boys and girls ages 6-18. Campfireinc.org

Camp Zanika – Camp Fire North Central Washington

Located along the shore of Lake Wenatchee, camp includes overnight sessions for grades 1-12. Activities include fishing, hiking, kayaking, and backpacking, with optional add-ons, such as river rafting and horseback riding. Campfirencw.org

Dart-Lo Day Camp – Camp Fire Inland Northwest

Located along the Little Spokane River, children age 3-18 enjoy outdoor activities like games, swimming, and a low ropes course. Campfireinc.org

Lutherhaven 

A variety of programs are offered among its three properties in North Idaho: a main camp at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Shoshone Creek Ranch Camp, and Shoshone Mountain Retreat. Lutherhaven.com

Missoula Outdoor Learning Adventures – Outdoor Adventure Summer Camp

Children grades K-12 learn leadership, teamwork, and outdoor skills along with self-confidence and appreciation for the natural world through activities like hiking, biking, rafting, climbing, canoeing, overnight camping, and more. Parents are welcome to join excursions. Missoulaoutdoors.com

Montana Natural History Center – Outdoor Discovery Day Camps

Program in Missoula, Mont., are for children ages 4 through 5^th grade. Themes include learning about rocks and fossils; fish and stream ecology and fishing techniques; camping, survival, and wayfinding skills; and more. Montananaturalist.org

Northwest Outward Bound School

Wilderness courses and other programs for middle and high school-aged youth, and LGBT+ youth. Destinations in the Pacific Northwest include the North Cascades, San Juan Island, Mt. Rainier, and the Salmon River among others. Recreation activities include backpacking, kayaking, rock climbing, rafting, mountaineering, and more. Outwardbound.org

Peak 7 Adventures

With offices in Spokane and Portland, Peak 7 offers adventures and courses for backpacking, mountaineering, rafting, and rock climbing. Peak7.org

S.O.L.E. – Selkirk Outdoor Leadership & Education

Based in Sandpoint, Idaho, S.O.L.E. aims to “ReWild your child” this summer with their Junior Naturalist Experiences program (ages 4-9) and adventure-based outdoor leadership camps for ages 10-12 and 13-17. Soleexperiences.org 

Spokane Parks & Recreation – Youth Outdoor Programs

Day camps (ages 8-18) are organized according to recreation focus, including disc golf, horseback riding, outdoor adventure, and wilderness survival. My.spokanecity.org/recreation/outdoor

Twin Eagles Wilderness School

Specializing in helping children connect with the natural world and develop self-awareness through nature-based activities, Twin Eagles summer day and overnight camps provide wilderness and adventure challenges, and survival skill-building, such as foraging, wildlife tracking, and fire and natural shelter-building. Twineagles.org

University of Montana Youth Camps

Day camp sessions in Missoula for grades K-5 with various recreational activities, including indoor climbing skills, rafting, hiking, soccer, and other team sports. Umt.edu/crec/YouthCamps

Wild Walls Indoor Climbing Clubs

Located in downtown Spokane, the Beginner Club (ages 7-10) is for learning basic skills for belay certification. For youth ready to advance their skills and technique, there’s Climbing Club (ages 7-14). Clubs meet once a week and include one-month membership with rental gear. Wildwalls.com

Wenatchee Valley Museum – Super Summer Adventure Camps

Day camps for kids grades K-6 with science and nature themes. Wenatcheevalleymuseum.org

WSU Cougar Kids Camp 

Day camps for grades K-7 at Washington State University’s Pullman campus, hosted by the University Recreation department. Urec.wsu.edu

Washington Trails Association (WTA) – Youth Volunteer Vacation

Week-long trail work crew projects for youth, ages 14-18, to develop outdoor and leadership skills while building and maintaining hiking trails as a team. Locations this summer include the Cascades, Mt. Rainier, Olympic Peninsula, and Puget Sound. Wta.org

YMCA Camp Reed

Located at Fan Lake, north of Spokane, YMCA of the Inland Northwest offers overnight camps, and family camp, that include swimming, canoeing, hiking, mountain biking, ropes course, and climbing wall. Ymcainw.org

Y Day Camps – Spokane          

Weekday program for children entering grades K-8. Ymcainw.org

Listing of Nature Schools in the Inland NW – 2021

The post Outdoorsy Summer Camps in the Inland NW – 2021 appeared first on Out There Venture.

“Summer camps help meet the deeper needs that kids have when their only social interactions have been with a screen,” says Twin Eagles Wilderness School Co-founder and Director, Tim Corcoran. There is no substitute for interactions with other kids and adult counselors and time spent outdoors with nature, he says. “And that need is only greater at this point, over a year into the pandemic. Kids can come to camp and have a very safe experience and have their needs be met.”

Most parents can relate to how having your kids go away to camp improves the family dynamics for everyone, Corcoran says. “I think it’s important that, as parents, we’re honest with ourselves about the cost of keeping kids home. Don’t underestimate that cost.”

Twin Eagles, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and other camps have modified operations and implemented health and safety protocols, according to CDC guidelines and state and local guidance, to help ensure campers and staff stay COVID-free this summer. Most camp websites have their COVID policies easily available for parents to read.

For example, Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho are following guidance from CDC and the State of Washington Department of Health, in addition to the American Camp Association. Masking will be required at Camp Four Echoes, arrival-day will be a drive-thru process, and campers will be health-screened daily.

Camp Spalding, which remained COVID-free last summer, is also requiring masks. Additionally, campers must either be vaccinated or receive a negative COVID-test no more than three days prior to arrival and remain in quarantine through the start of camp, according to Campspalding.org. (Camps are not requiring masks to be worn while sleeping, eating, swimming, or during physical exertion outdoors.)

Twin Eagles also had no COVID cases last summer. “We take safety really seriously, and we successfully adapted our programs in the era of COVID and can still give kids the experience of connections to nature, peers (socially), and self,” Corcoran explains.

Amy McCaffree is Out There Kids columnist and digital editor, and has been writing for Out There since 2006. She enjoys paddling, camping, hiking, biking, and alpine skiing with her family.

Check out our 2021 listing of Outdoorsy Summer Camps & Nature Schools.

[Photos: Camp Four Echoes on Lake Coeur d’Alene (top left and right). // Photo courtesy Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.; other photos: Twin Eagles Wilderness School summer campers learning outdoor survival skills. // Photo courtesy Twin Eagles.]

More summer camp stories in the OTO archives.

The post Summer Camps in the COVID Era appeared first on Out There Venture.