Eldorado Canyon

With beautiful Eldorado Canyon as their backdrop, campers have fun connecting with each other, their counselors and nature.

Throughout each two-week session, Cabin Groups work together to choose much of their daily schedule from an intentionally planned list of age-appropriate activities.

Activity highlights include hiking, climbing, kite flying, crafts, music, swimming, and teambuilding games for campers of all abilities.

Program Highlights

Authentic Nature-Based Activities: In all areas of our program, we promote opportunities for learning about and interacting directly with the natural environment.

Choice: Each day at Mountain Day Camp has a consistent structure and routine, but no day is typical. Two-week sessions allow Cabin Groups to experience activities that build on each other and help guide campers through a developmental process.

Teambuilding: Throughout the session, counselors present cabin groups with age- and ability- appropriate teambuilding challenges. Campers embrace and conquer these challenges using critical thinking and problem solving skills with their camp friends.

Hiking: While hiking on the beautiful and rugged trails of Eldorado Canyon, campers are lead by at least 2 staff per group and are taught Leave No Trace environmental ethics, hiking techniques, trail etiquette, and trail games.

Rock Climbing: Rock climbing in Eldorado Canyon’s famous climbing areas is supervised by an American Mountain Guides Association Single Pitch Instructor.

Swimming: Campers participate in a swimming skills evaluation on the first pool day and are allowed intoareas of the pool according to ability.

Creekside Activities: South Boulder Creek Activities include fishing, panning for gold and ‘creek stomping’. Activities in and around South Boulder Creek are allowed when the water is calm and personal floatation devices are worn.

 

Sample Session Schedule

Each Cabin Group chooses one or two activities from a Menu of choices for the next day's activities. The Menu is intentionally designed to offer activities that promote group development and individual camper growth consistent with our philosophy and developmental goals.

Week 1:
Monday: Design Water Bottles, develop Group Code, explore camp site
Tuesday: Cabin group planned activities
Wednesday: Pool Day at the Eldorado Springs Pool
Thursday: Cabin group planned activities, build kites
Friday: at Crescent Meadow, fly kites!

Week 2:
Monday: Cabin group planned activities
Tuesday: Cabin group planned activities and Rock Climbing
Wednesday: Pool Day at the Eldorado Springs Pool
Thursday: Cabin group planned activities, Cabin Groups plan and practice skits
Friday: Campers create a Book page, Final Skit Performances and closing ceremonies at 2pm (parents may attend)

Transportation

How Campers Get To And From Camp:

Campers are picked up and dropped off at one of three central locations in Boulder on the way in to and out of Eldorado Canyon

Vehicles and Training:

We have our own big yellow bus! Drivers have the appropriate Commercial Drivers License and driving experience and are carefully selected for their ability to manage a bus full of campers. There will almost always be additional counselors on the bus to supervise, lead songs, and check in with each camper.

Daily Transitions

Opening the day:

On the bus rides into camp we love to sing camp songs, get to know each other and make friends.
Before breaking into our Cabin Groups, we energize the day with morning camp songs and build connections with large group teambuilding games.

Closing the day:

Each day wraps up with stories and quieter camp songs that help campers unwind and get ready to share their days with their families. On the bus ride out of camp, campers sing quieter camp songs and debrief their day with each other and their counselors.

Intro to Eldo

Intro to Eldo sessions have been created to give new campers a taste of our 2-week Eldorado Canyon Program. In this 1-week program, campers of age 7 & 8 learn about themselves and their group while interacting with their natural environments.