Nature Camps on the Peninsula

Nature camps used to be just "camp." For many people, that's what camp is—getting out in the outdoors in sylvan settings to hike, explore, play games and learn about flora and fauna. Here, you really can. 

Patch's full list of summer camps, from language immersion to sports camps is on our 2013 Patch Guide to Summer Camps.

Patch hopes to add to this list, so please put your suggestions in the comments section. 

Audubon Society Summer Nature Days Camp - Join the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Shoreline at Mountain View, and Audobon’s naturalist experts for one week of exploring the amazing world of nature and the beautiful open space preserves. July 22 to 26, for Grades 2 to 6, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. At Pichetti Ranch, McClellan Ranch preserves and Shoreline Park. $295, scholarships available.

Hidden Villa Summer Camps  (Los Altos Hills) For 60 years, Hidden Villa's summer camps have educated children about living in and around nature, for kids 1st -4th grade at a 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. day camp, with a sleepover night on Thursday Focus programs allow concentrated learning on topics from “Cows and Cookies” to “Friends of a Feather.”  There are sleepaway camps “tipi camps” for Grades 4 to 5 and 12-day resident camps at the hostel for Grades 5 to 6. Camps run from June 17 to Aug. 16. Rates start at $405 and they get booked up fast. Scholarships are available to low and middle-income families.

Green Bean Kidz  (Los Altos Hills) This is a a nature exploration education program for children and their accompanying adult; preschool, ages 2 - 5. The focus is on ecology, preservation, and environmental awareness. Children explore, climb trees, walk in creeks, look for animals, bugs, and birds and learn about plants, animals and ecosystems.

Ohlone Camp (Los Altos Hills) This 9 a.m. to noon, weekly camp is intended for children 6 to 12 years old to learn about Ohlone culture as they learn about the wildlife and local environment in Los Altos Hills, Activities include playing with found objects, collecting pigment rocks and grasses for projects to learn the Ohlone perspective. Aug. 5 to 9 and Aug. 12 to 16.

Full Circle Farm 1055 Dunford Way, Sunnyvale; Full Circle Farm is a full-scale educational farm, right in Sunnyvale. The farm is open all year for visits, volunteering to work the land and crops, buying fresh produce at the Farmstand and taking after-school classes like Chicken Care and Bee Keeping. The farm also offers its Kids' Summer Farm Camp, with garden-based learning classes for age groups 5-7, 8-10 and 11-14. There are five one-week camps with start dates between June 24 and July 29. The 5-7 age group meets from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and costs $195 for the week; the older kids meet until 3 p.m. and cost $295 for the week. These classes are designed as “drop-off.”

Walden West Summer Programs (Saratoga) is part of Walden West Science Center, operated through the Santa Clara County Office of Education, features various outdoor summer programs for children. Choose from a variety of dates and themes. Wild Things is an exciting program for children entering kindergarten and first grade and features fun activities such as arts and crafts, gardening, hiking, fishing and swimming. Camp meets from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for one week, with start dates between June 17 and July 29. The cost is $400 per week. Day Camp is offered for grades two through seven and features many of the same, fun, outdoor activities. Both drop-off and bus services are offered, ranging from 8 a.m. check-in to between 4:30 and 6 p.m. end time. The cost is $400 per week, with start dates between June 17 and Aug. 12. New for 2013 is Trail Blazers, in which the campers participate in activities including hiking, swimming, archery, arts and crafts, gardening, games, sports, singing, nature study, and the Low Challenge Course. Trail Blazers has a stronger emphasis on nature study than the Summer Day Camp Program, and is $375 a week. Finally, for more experienced campers, Walden West offers Leadership Training camps for eighth and ninth graders, and Backpacking Adventures for ages 11-19 that feature long-term, overnight, traveling trips to various locations. Visit the link above for more detailed information. Location: 15555 Sanborn Road in Saratoga.

Caterpillar Kids Club (Various peninsula meet-up locations) Caterpillar Club is intended to be a dynamic, learning and adventure program designed to connect children to nature through hands-on experiences. Summer camps meet once per week, with start dates between June 9 and July 28, and each week meets at a different outdoorsy location along the peninsula, from Mountain View, to Burlingame, to Half Moon Bay, and everywhere in between. You register for three weeks at a time, and each three-week session is approximately $85. One parent must accompany each child on these nature adventures, which are tailored to preschool-age children.