ACTIVITIES WE OFFER
- Hiking: Single day walks to waterfalls, overlooks, and many other natural features. Will include lessons on Leave No Trace policies, proper hiking techniques, outdoor equipment, injury management, and just about anything you could think of that would help someone become a high-level hiker.
- Backpacking: Multi-day hikes that cover an array of natural features all in one go. During these activities, campers will be carrying everything they need to survive on their backs, as they will not be returning to the base for a few days.
- Outdoor Living Skills: Sessions that teach essential knowledge about safe, healthy, and sustainable survival in the outdoors through fun and engaging games. This includes outdoor food preparation, water filtration, fire building & management, knot-tying, hammock hanging, waste management, basic wilderness first aid, emergency roadside skills, and much more.
- Paddle Sports: Includes canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding
- Swimming: Lakes, rivers, and oceans throughout our national parks under the supervision of certified lifeguards
- Fishing: Campers can learn everything about catching and eating a fish from start to finish, from lining the rod to frying up the catch.
- Creeking: A science-based activity in which campers get to explore the unique and accessible ecosystems of creeks/streams with nets, tanks, and magnifying glasses. Small critters like crawfish, worms, frogs, spiders, and much more can be captured, studied, and then released back into their habitat.
- Film Photography: Campers will get the chance to learn about the incredible art of film photography, a particular type of photography that truly helps you capture and appreciate the fine details of the nature around you. Unlike with digital cameras, where you have basically unlimited amounts of photos you can take, each roll of film contains only 36 shots. This encourages users to learn the craft at a high level so they can take advantage of each and every frame.
- Scrapbooking: A staple activity for any traveler. Great for rainy days. Campers will have access to portable photo printers so they can make scrapbooks for their trip along the way
- Bracelet Making: A perfect way for campers to connect, remember each other, and learn some knots!
- Mountain Biking: Off-road bicycling on various trails. Campers will be taught riding techniques and bike maintenance skills.
- Rock Climbing: Ascent of natural rock formations with the use of ropes, pulleys, and other safety equipment. Only done with certified climbing guides.
- Whitewater Rafting: Navigating the rapids of a river in an inflatable raft. Only done with certified river guides.
- Spelunking: The exploration of tunnels and chambers within caves and cave systems with headlamps. Only done with certified cave guides.
Launch Summer Camp (2026)
WHAT: An all-out national park roadtrip where campers will be able to participate in a variety of outdoor recreation activities such as hiking, backpacking, outdoor living skills classes, swimming, fishing, paddle sports, and film photography. They will be spending every night of their trip camping outside, gaining and building upon all necessary skills to do so such as tent pitching, tarp hanging, food preparation, water filtration, waste disposal, knot-tying, and fire-building. All of these activities will include elements that foster their ability to work within a team, assume roles as leaders, and be introspective about their own personal growth in and outside of summer camp.
WHO: Middle and high school aged children, from rising 7th graders to rising 12th graders. Kids will be divided into younger groups (rising 7th-9th graders) and older groups (rising 10th-12th graders). Group sizes will be set at a maximum of 12, with as even of distribution between boys and girls as possible. Each group will consist of a maximum of 12 campers, 2 male counselors, 2 female counselors, and one group leader.
WHERE: State and National Parks in North Carolina and neighboring states such as Tennesse, Virginia, South Carolina, and Kentucky.
HOW: Groups will be traveling by bus for the extent of their roadtrips. Activities will be conducted mostly with gear provided by the camp, and administered by enthusiastic positive role models who have completed at least one year of college and/or work after high school. All staff will be certified in Wilderness Advanced First Aid, with the group leader of each group being certified as a Wilderness First Responder to properly handle any safety issues that may arise during the adventure.
WHEN: Camps will be conducted in the summer months from June through August and will consist of 2 week sessions, starting on Sundays and ending on Saturdays.
Subsequent Summers (2027 and beyond)
WHAT: An all-out national park roadtrip where campers will be able to participate in outdoor recreation activities such as hiking, backpacking, outdoor living skills classes, swimming, fishing, paddle sports, and film photography. There will also be opportunities to engage in more adventurous activities such as whitewater rafting, spelunking, and rock climbing. They will be spending every night of their trip camping outside, building upon all necessary skills to do so such as tent pitching, tarp hanging, food preparation, water filtration, waste disposal, knot-tying, and firebuilding. All of these activities will include elements that foster their ability to work within a team, assume roles as leaders, and be introspective about their own personal growth in and outside of summer camp.
WHO: Middle and high school aged children, from rising 7th graders to rising 12th graders. Kids will be divided into groups by their grade. Group sizes will be between 12 and 16, with as even of distribution between boys and girls as possible. Each group will consist of 12-16 campers, 2 male counselors, 2 female counselors, and one group leader.
WHERE: State and National Parks on the Eastern half of the United States (summers 2-3), and eventually the entire United States including Hawai’i and Alaska (summer 4 and beyond).
HOW: Groups will mostly be traveling by bus for the extent of their roadtrip. Activities will be conducted mostly with gear provided by the camp, and administered by enthusiastic positive role models who have completed at least one year of college and/or work after high school. All staff will be certified in Wilderness Advanced First Aid, with the group leader of each group being certified as a Wilderness First Responder to properly handle any safety issues that may arise during the adventure.
WHEN: Camps will be conducted in the summer months from June through August and will consist of 2 and 4 week sessions, starting on Sundays and ending on Saturdays.