Outdoor Adventures for Kids at Summer Camp

Outdoor adventures at sleepaway camp offer kids the amazing chance to meet the challenges of the wilderness, from setting up camp to hiking mountainous trails and surging down wild rapids. Not only will they remember these thrilling experiences for a lifetime, but they also learn a lot about themselves, about the natural world and about working as a team with others. And, of course, since it’s overnight summer camp, they’ll have loads of fun.

Wilderness camping excursions can last from two day, one night jaunts to week-long expeditions across lakes and over mountains. All along the way, campers learn the basics of surviving in the wilds, navigating forest trails, setting up camp, watching the sky for indications of weather and so many other outdoor skills. Backpacking trips, sea kayaking expeditions and biking explorations are just a few of the incredible experiences available to summer campers, and many camps also include outdoor rock climbing and canyoneering in their adventure program..

Travelling by water is especially exciting, whether challenging various levels of rapids in white water rafting or canoeing across long, peaceful lakes brimming with intriguing coves and inlets.  From magnificent national parks to rugged seashores and majestic rivers, sleepaway camp offers a vast variety of outdoor explorations by raft, canoe and kayak.

Outdoor adventures kindle a spirit of adventure and camaraderie, enabling kids to develop leadership ability, confidence and the sense that the group functions better as a whole than individually. It’s so much easier to set up camp, cook meals, blaze a trail or portage canoes with a bunch of helpful hands.  Kids grow in so many ways: achieving increased self esteem, learning to function efficiently as a team and accruing a ton of new outdoor skills.

Having to live closely together in campsites teaches kids a lot about the give-and-take of a small community where each person is an integral part of the whole. Everyone needs to contribute efficiently to be sure the group is fed and sheltered, that equipment is in good working order and that everyone is up and ready to roll when it’s time to hit the trail.

Kids gain a deep respect for the wilderness, whether pristine mountains, primeval forests or glittering glacial lakes. The beauty and grandeur of nature is so much more awe-inspiring when experienced  on remote trails, secluded rivers and little-travelled woods, giving today’s kids a taste of what life was like before the dawn of our highly technical civilization.

Not only are these thrilling trips fun, but they are also conducted with safety as a priority. Counselors leading outdoor expeditions are highly qualified and well-trained. You can rest assured that your camper will be in good hands and will come back healthy, happy and brimming with amazing stories and incredible memories that will last a lifetime.

Of course fun is what summer camp is all about, and overnight expeditions are full of awe-inspiring moments. From eating s’mores around the campfire to singing camp songs while hiking up that endless hill and leaping into deep blue lakes at the end of a long day of paddling, summer camp expeditions are full of laughter and the kind of bonding that comes with confronting challenges together.