Summer outdoors program: 1-3 wks for 17yo
My 17yo daughter is interested in 1-3 week outdoors summer program with older teens/young adults that’s moderately strenuous. She’d love to be with older kids but isn’t that experienced or tough yet. Any recommendations will be super helpful. Open to in/out of state/country, volunteer work etc. Thanks so much!
Feb 21, 2024
Parent Replies
Have you looked at Camp Chrysalis? (http://www.campchrysalis.com/index.html). My kid attended programs there from the age of 7 until they left for college. At every session and absolutely loved it - and so did we. Lee Tempkin's philosophy is to promote independence and support the kids in challenging themselves to do more than they believed they can do. Staff members are fantastic, and really do pay attention to who each camper is as a human being. During the years our kid was a Chrysalis camper they were also well-priced relative to other camps. Not cheap, but without a physical camp they don't have the expense of maintenance and upkeep. My only caution is that you should cover the interior of your car with sheets and/or tarps before picking your kid up. I honestly did not know it was possible to get that filthy! However, scrape away the dirt and you will find a happy, exhausted, confident young person who had a tremendous time.
Here are two things to check out:
The Lawrence offers two teen field research opportunities in Santa Cruz and the kids stay in the dorms, so there's an added bonus for a soon to be college bound kid: https://lawrencehallofscience.org/visitors/teen-research-programs/
Camp Unalayee offers two-week backpacking trips in the Trinity Alps. There is also a CIT program if that is more appealing than being a camper: https://unalayee-summer-camp.com/
I'm sure there are many more options, those were the first two to come to mind. Good luck!
- Echo Lake has a four day backpacking camp this summer that looks pretty cool.
- Back To Earth only just landed on my radar but I'm curious to check them out. https://www.backtoearth.org/programs
- I believe that the Sierra Club leads teen trips.
I highly recommend NOLS courses if she's interested in the outdoors -- she'll learn a ton, bond with her peers, and increase her confidence. The instructors are top notch. Plus, it's a ton of fun. I did a NOLS course when I was her age and it was hugely impactful. Can't recommend it enough.
https://www.nols.edu/en/coursefinder/session_search/expedition/?minimum…
My son went on a 3 week rafting trip in Utah with NOLS. https://www.nols.edu/en/ He loved it and I think it really taught him some great skills. He planned to go on another backpacking trip in 2022, but due to having lost staffing due to covid, they had to cancel the trip. We were all so disappointed!
Check out the Student Conservation Corps. They have many outdoor programs for teens all over the country.
My son did a few SFYMCA Bold backpacking trips when he was 15 and 16. He loved it.
West Archives - YMCA Bold & Gold (yboldgold.org)
https://yboldgold.org/program-region/west/