Parent FAQs

Real food, made from scratch, served family style. Breakfast might be scrambled eggs and pancakes, lunch is usually sandwiches or make-your-own burritos, dinner runs from spaghetti to pulled pork. Fresh fruit is out between meals instead of a soda machine or candy. We can work with vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free diets. With limited fridge space, limited equipment, and different people with contradictory diet requirements, we don't have an allergen-free kitchen, though. Campers help wash dishes as part of our camp community.

We build the activity board fresh every day, starting with what campers ask for. There are four activity periods a day, and everyone takes a turn going first at the board. If a class fills up on the day you wanted it, you get first dibs on it the next day. New campers spend one period per day learning canoeing for the first week or so. (Canoe class is less about canoeing than about teaching grit and teamwork, but don't tell them that.) New campers also spend one period for the first 2-3 days learning core first aid. That leaves two activity periods a day for free choice until first aid is done, and three periods after that. We teach 90+ different activities most summers. Campers choose which activities they want to do in addition to the canoe. Occasionally, a camper wants to spend the whole day on the beach. We let beach lounging happen within reason, but we'll ask them to pick at least one active class a day too.

We don't have a strict policy on this. Group leaders check in daily for hygiene issues and coach campers or help with laundry if a camper needs it, but most kids are in the lake for hours every day and stay pretty clean from that alone. We do remind campers to brush their teeth morning and night, and to put on sunscreen before every class. If a camper needs more hands-on support than that for hygiene, we can talk through options.

Here's how you'll know: if the first letter you get is a rough one and you haven't also gotten a call from us, your kid is fine now. If a camper is genuinely struggling, you'll hear from us promptly. We have a lot of ways to support a camper through it, and with your help, most kids come through this test of independence with a real win behind them.

In more than 40 years of running this camp, four campers have needed treatment we couldn't handle onsite. Three needed stitches after a slip, trip, or fall. One needed a splint after cracking an ankle doing a handstand to impress his bunkmates. That's the whole list. Every instructor is trained in Wilderness First Aid and Professional Rescuer CPR before any campers arrive. Several arrive already certified as Wilderness First Responders or EMTs. Most are certified Red Cross Lifeguards with advanced waterfront training. A hospital with ambulance service is an hour away by road if we ever need it, and we keep satellite phones running for exactly that reason. Out of an abundance of caution, we host our local emergency helicopter services for onsite training.

The short answer: the fire risk at camp itself is low. The more likely thing we plan for is smoke from distant fires. Camp sits on a granite outcrop miles wide. The forest grows in patches between big slabs of bare rock, and the tress are too spread out to carry a fire across the landscape. On most days the wind comes from the west-southwest, and that whole side of camp is protected by Loon Lake. On the rare days it swings around from the east or northeast, there are miles of open granite between us and any large stands of forest. Smoke is the more likely hazard. A large fire tens of miles away can send haze over the mountains, so we watch air quality every day of the season. Most days, our air is significantly cleaner than the valleys below us. When the numbers turn unhealthy, camp switches to the rainy day schedule. Everyone heads into the lodge, the big air filters come on, and the afternoon fills up with improv, board games, crafts and party games. We follow Cal/OSHA's air quality thresholds. As AQI approaches 150, activities start moving indoors, with air filters running and N95 masks for everyone as needed. If the air is forecast to be unhealthy overnight, campers sleep indoors too. We measure the air inside as well as out, and masks stay on until the filters bring it down to a healthy level. Out-trips carry N95s and check in with camp whenever something unusual comes up. If the forecast shows bad air, we don't send trips out, or we change the route. Trips on the lake can paddle back or get a boat pickup, and groups farther out hike back to camp or to one of our pre-arranged meeting spots. If smoke changes your camper's day, you'll hear from us. Want the full smoke policy? Ask and we'll send it.

We plan for evacuation every year, for smoke or any other reason, and we practice it on the first night of every session. We have written evacuation plans for camp and for out-trips. We maintain bus agreements with our charter company in Sacramento and the two nearest school districts. Most likely, campers would go to whichever school campus is safer, Pollock Pines or Georgetown, and stay there until parents pick them up. You'd hear from us right away by email, then texts and calls. For smoke specifically, the trigger is unhealthy air forecast to keep campers inside for two more days. That said, if smoke is widespread, it might be safer to shelter in place with filtered air than to evacuate. We work closely with the Forest Service and local emergency managers to assist in such circumstances.

We know how much campers look forward to camp all year, so we work hard not to cancel a whole session. If we have to evacuate or close for a day or more, we reopen as soon as it's safe and finish out the session. For days camp can't run, our closure policy gives you three choices: tuition (less deposit) credited to a future session, a donation to our campership fund, or a prorated refund. We have been unable to insure camp against these closures, so we also recommend tuition insurance.