Kids Summer Nature Day Camps: Outdoor Education at Lake Sammamish

Join us for up to five wonderful camp weeks at Lake Sammamish in Issaquah. Our camps are lead by our professionally-trained instructors within a hallmark 6-1 student-teacher ratio that’s critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences.

2023 Lake Sammamish Camp Schedule

July 24-28, 2023 at Lake Sammamish State Park – Sunset Beach with additional space just added in Wild Cooking & Herbology for ages 8-13 (and seven year olds with older sibling at camp) while Wildlife Search & Rescue is now waitlisted again except for • campers on wait lists last year, • campers needing prerequisite to attend next week, and • campers applying for financial aid scholarships or if you don’t meet any of those qualifications, click here to join the list for priority placement for any spaces available this summer. Please note that this week we will be in the main part of the park – meeting at the “Creek Picnic Shelter” by Sunset Beach via the main park entrance at 2182 NW Sammamish Road 98027. All remaining weeks will be located at the Hans Jensen Group Camp, 4460 East Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE 98027. Click a link or scroll down for registration information.

July 31 – Aug 4, 2023 at the Lake Sammamish State Park Hans Jensen Group Camp with additional space just added in Wilderness Survival Craft for ages 8-13 (and seven year olds with older sibling at camp) while a couple spaces are also still available in Advanced Animal Tracking for ages 10-15 (and nine year olds with older friend/sibling in group) with prerequisite of Wildlife Search & Rescue in prior week or year (overnight option also available).

August 7-11, 2023 at the Lake Sammamish State Park Hans Jensen Group Camp: Wilderness Survival Craft for ages 8-13 with no prerequisite (and seven year olds with older sibling at camp) is currently open to • campers who have a credit from prior years, • campers needing prerequisite to attend advanced survival next week, and • campers applying for financial aid scholarships, or if you don’t meet any of those qualifications, click here to join the list for priority placement for any spaces available this summer. Advanced Herbal Medicine day camp has 2 new spaces now available for ages 10-15 (and nine year olds with older friend/sibling in group) with prerequisite of Wild Cooking & Herbology in a prior week, and the overnight option also has 2 new spaces available.

August 14-18, 2023 at the Lake Sammamish State Park Hans Jensen Group Camp: Wildlife Search & Rescue for ages 8-13 with no prerequisite (and seven year olds with older sibling at camp) is currently open to • campers who have a credit from a prior year, and • campers applying for financial aid scholarships, or click here to join the list for priority placement for any spaces that open this summer. Also running this week, the Advanced Wilderness Survival day camp has 4 new spaces available for ages 10-15 (and nine year olds with older friend/sibling in group) with prerequisite of at least two prior camps with us, while the overnight option is waitlisted.

Aug 21-25, 2023 at the Lake Sammamish State Park Hans Jensen Group Camp: Wild Cooking & Herbology for ages 8-13 with no prerequisite (and seven year olds with older sibling at camp) is currently open to • campers with a credit from prior years, and • campers applying for financial aid scholarships, while Advanced Skills of the Artisan day camp for ages 10-15 who have graduated from at least three previous Wolf Camp weeks (and parents attest that a camper can succeed in our method of knife safety and tool training) is also waitlisted as of May 1st, but the overnight option also has 2 spaces still available. Click a link above for registration details or click here to join the list for priority placement for any spaces that open this summer, as we may open an additional group pending instructor confirmation.

Returning in 2024: School’s Out FLOW Camp & Advanced FLOW Camp, the Wilderness Skills Sampler & Advanced Conservation Scouts, and Wilderness Family Camps. We were voted Best Wild Day Camp and Best Family Camp in the most recent ParentMap Golden Teddy Awards!

Daily Camp Schedule

8:30-9:00 Check-Ins & Morning Care (gate opens at 8:30)
9:00-9:30 Songs, Stories, Stretches & Late Check-Ins
9:30-12:00 Morning Lessons with snack break at 10:45
12:00-1:00 Lunch, Games, Archery or Swimming Option
1:00-3:00 Afternoon Lessons with water break at 2:00
3:00-4:00 Camp Crafts, Creek Time, Berry Picking & Early Check-Outs
4:00-4:30 Aftercare & Final Pick-Ups (all-staff meeting starts at 4:30)

Camp Leaders

Camp Directors Ansley Roberts & Matt Hale are on site all week with Wolf Camp founders Kim & Chris Chisholm teaching groups and directing professionally-trained staff instructors at our hallmark 6-1 average student-teacher ratio that’s critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences. Read our FAQ’s for more details and check out camp testimonials dating all the way back to 1997.

Health Protocols

Hygiene protocols will remain the same as last year as long as there is still no evidence of Covid transmission in the outdoors with plenty of room to spread out. To start each day, campers must pass our health screening before being allowed to participate in camp, and we still require all campers to carry masks in backpacks. If there are reports of group participants who came in contact with an infection, we require participants of that group to wear masks when lined up or seated less than 3-6 feet from others. As before the pandemic, we will continue requiring hand sanitizing whenever sharing tools and materials, before entering toilets, and we supervise proper hand washing after campers exit toilet facilities – doors left open between uses to ensure ventilation.

Full vaccinations are strongly encouraged – we follow the scientific consensus – with tetanus shot (usually given as part of the normal Tdap vaccine series) considered the most important in the field of outdoor education. Otherwise, we know that due to our 100% outdoor setting, combined with health screenings, contact tracing, supervised hand washing, bathroom ventilation, mask use when exposure has been reported in a group, and individual/family style tenting at overnight camps, the risk of disease transmission has been negligible at Wolf Camp, so other vaccination records are not required.

Please click here for full details on our health and safety protocols during the pandemic era, see the latest CDC summer camp guidelines, and the state’s pandemic era guidelines for day camps (2021-22 pdf will be updated if/when 2023 guidance is issued).

Camp Tuition

$595 tuition at Lake Sammamish includes all expenses except you’ll need to pack lunch and appropriate outdoor wear. Discounts are available including $10 off per additional week you attend this summer, and $10 off per additional family member attending this summer. Or contribute $695 to be eligible for a $100 tax write-off and matching-donation programs, helping sponsor a camper receiving financial aid via the Conservation College – Max Davis Scholarship fund.

Alumni and those who had to cancel in 2020-22 due to pandemic era issues may attend at least one week at our pre-pandemic tuition rate if camp is unaffordable this year, and anyone including new campers may apply for a scholarship. When the Conservation College or other funding source can’t cover a need, we provide in-house financial aid to ensure everyone who applies can access at least one Wolf Camp week based on demonstrated need.

You will need to pack a healthy lunch, water and substantial snacks every day. Tuition includes t-shirt at your first camp with us, then choice of orienteering compass, recommended field guide, firesteel and other outdoor essentials depending on number of camps attended, age and availability.

Registration

STEP 1 – Reserve your spots in camp by making $100 deposits for day camps, or $200 deposits for overnight camps via one of the following methods:

• Zelle to “kim@wolfcollege.com” with a note including camper names and ages, camp dates and theme, plus your EMAIL & PHONE since Zelle doesn’t automatically share that with us;
• Or call us between 9am-9pm at 425-248-0253 ex 1 or ex 2 with a credit card to register over the phone;
• Or use the PayPal system appearing below;

STEP 2 – If this is your camper’s first year with us, complete our once-in-a-lifetime Registration Form within one week of making your deposit, otherwise we will have to refund you and give your spot(s) to others. You can use our Microsoft Word or PDF registration form, or make your own copy of our Google Doc form, or choose our Bilingual Chinese-English Registration Form PDF / Word Doc – one per new participant. We’ll need you to email it back to us for review within one week to maintain your reservation. Again, skip this step if your camper has attended anything with us in the past.

STEP 3 – Pay balance before or during your summer camp week. We’ll email you an invoice this spring with camp prep info and balance payment options (Zelle, PayPal, Check, Credit Card) that can be done in advance or during your first camp week. All payments are non-refundable unless we refuse your registration. However, if you cancel (at any time for any reason is fine) we will save your payments as credit for you to use in future years, or you can choose to have us move the funds into our scholarship account if you prefer. The best practice is to make the minimum deposits to register, and then wait to pay the remaining balance during your camp week via Zelle to “kim@wolfcollege.com” saving us time and transaction fees, or you can PayPal us at that same email address, or give us a check or have us run a credit card on site.

Or email us to be put on our list for this program in the future. We always keep your information absolutely private, and will never share it.

Refund Policy: Payments are not refundable unless we don’t accept your application. If you cancel for any reason, you may receive a full credit good through the following calendar year on appropriate and available programs listed on our schedule, although an additional deposit may be needed to secure your spot in the future program. If a program you sign up for is canceled and not rescheduled at a time you can attend, you may receive a full refund except in cases of natural (weather, geologic, wildfire, etc) disasters, grid failures, epidemics, government shutdowns, conflicts or curfews, or other unforeseen emergencies making it unsafe for staff and/or attendees to reach or use program locations, in which case all payments made will be held by us without expiration date for your future use in appropriate/available programs of your choice. Reasons include the expenditure of funds (property rentals, advertising, materials, admin staff time, etc.) long before programs take place, i.e. deposits make it feasible for Wolf Camp to schedule programs in the first place, but our mutually understood agreement is that Wolf Camp will run the program at the safest available time in the future. Finally, no refund, nor credit, is given if a participant is a no-show without prior notice, or asked to leave a program for inappropriateness as determined by our kids, youth and adult agreements for participation.