• Wilderness Survival Craft for Ages 7-15 (still available)
• Advanced Herbal Medicine for ages 10-15 with prerequisite (nearing capacity)
Join us for up to seven wonderful camp weeks at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, utilizing the unique natural features of the Hans Jensen Group Camp, a privately-rented, eighty-acre wilderness park across from the East Lake Sammamish boat launch. Voted Best Wild Nature Day Camp in the last Golden Teddy Awards run by parentmap.com surveying the Puget Sound Region.
Camp Theme Descriptions for August 5-9, 2024 at the Hans Jensen Group Camp:
Wilderness Survival Craft: Click for a detailed description of this theme in its 26th year which is excellent for hands-on learners ages 7-15 who are passionate about the outdoor skills, projects and lessons we cover this week.
Advanced Herbal Medicine: Click for a detailed description of this theme in its 8th year which is designed for ages 10-15 who have graduated from our Wild Cooking & Herbology day camp in a prior week or year. Go a step beyond and begin developing your own personal apothecary. Or check out our Wild Chefs & Herbal Medics overnight camp for ages 11-16.
We were voted Best Wild Day Camp in the last ParentMap Golden Teddy Awards!
Daily Camp Schedule, Pick-Up & Drop-Off Directions for Aug 5-9, 2024 at the Hans Jensen Group Camp
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)
Suggested arrival time is 8:45-9:00 am, and best departure time is right around 4:00 pm, at the Lake Sammamish Hans Jensen Group Camp, 4460 East Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE, Issaquah WA 98029. The land is managed by the state park but not generally open to the public. Look for the hard-to-spot gravel driveway ACROSS THE STREET from the East Lake Sammamish BOAT LAUNCH – by the park ranger’s house – NOT THE MAIN PARK ENTRANCE.
Camp Leaders
Camp Directors Kim & Chris Chisholm are on site all week teaching groups and directing 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/Cold/Flu 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. If there are reports of group participants who came in contact with an infection, we may provide n95 masks for participants of that group to wear when 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 train campers with proper hand washing after campers exit toilet facilities with doors left open between uses when possible 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. Click here for full details on our health and safety protocols during the pandemic era, and see the latest CDC summer camp guidelines.
Camp Tuition at Lake Sammamish
• Tuition is $695 for a camper’s first-ever week with us, plus $595 per additional day camp week in 2024. Discounts of $10 available per additional child. Tuition includes all expenses except you’ll need to pack lunch and appropriate outdoor wear, and also includes organic t-shirt at your first camp with us, then at subsequent camps a choice of recommended field guides, orienteering compass, firesteel and other outdoor essentials depending on number of camps attended, age and availability.
• Tuition is $595 per week in 2024 for campers returning from previous years. Discounts of $10 available per additional child and camp weeks.
• Sliding scale financial aid scholarships available via the Conservation College – Max Davis Scholarship. Just submit answers to their 8 simple questions and cc our email address to ensure receipt.
Registration Process
STEP 1 – If this is a camper’s first year with us, reserve the first week with a $200 deposit, plus $100 per additional week; and returning campers reserve spots with $100 deposits per week; via one of the following methods:
• Zelle using our email address as recipient with a note including camper name/age, camp start date/theme, and INCLUDE CONTACT METHOD (phone number is fine) if we don’t already have your info since Zelle doesn’t automatically share that with us;
• Or call us between 9am-9pm at 425-248-0253 ex 1 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. We’ll also email you Word/PDF versions of the registration form in case you’re having trouble downloading or making a copy of our Google Doc form which you can send or share back to our email address for review within one week to maintain your reservation. If your camper has attended Wolf Camp in the past, a new registration form is not needed, but we will may email a questionnaire for your camper to submit as application for this year.
STEP 3 – Pay balance before or during your summer camp weeks. 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 balances during camp via Zelle using our email address as recipient 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.
Day Camp Preparation: Agreements, Packing List and FAQ’s
Day Camp Agreements for Participation
Other FAQ’s – Frequently Asked Questions
Have you ever attended one of our programs before? Please review us on our Better Business Bureau, Facebook, Yelp & Google pages.