by Kelley Gardiner
Summer camp is a great time to get your kids thinking about the world outside their usual day-to-day life. Why not help by getting them out of town? These extraordinary excursion camps take kids out of the Portland area for a day or a week at a time, and open them up to new experiences. Within a few hours, we’re lucky enough to have deserts, waterfalls, forests, mountains, rainforest, caves, rivers and lakes. Time to go explore them.
WILDERNESS HIKE
Opal Creek Expeditions
Opal Creek’s mission is “promoting conservation through educational experiences in wilderness.” What does that
mean for your camper? They’ll backpack through the wilderness, learning about the forest and watershed around them, all while experiencing nature firsthand, getting away from their screens for a little while, and making new friends. Some of the expeditions end up with a rafting trip on the final day to rest those tired feet. Campers and their
parents arrange their own transportation to Opal Creek, about 55 miles east of Salem.
opalcreek.org
WAGON TRAIN COAST RANGE TREK
4-H via OSU Extension
For an incredible adventure that your family will never forget, hop on the wagon train and trek through the coast range just like the pioneers did, with a little less trail-clearing and a few more modern conveniences. This camp is a commitment, with several meetings and a tune-up tide required, but your young trekkers (ages ten and up) will
get out of it what they put into it. Adult riders with a longing for the open trail are also invited. The staging area for this trek will be Reechers Camp, west of Portland via Highway 26 or 6.
extension.oregonstate.edu
ART EXPEDITION AND COSMIC ADVENTURE
Catlin Gabel School
Hike, take in the fresh air, and funnel that inspiration into creative visions. Or, learn all about stars and constellations, and then spend summer evenings stargazing in the fresh air of the high desert. Both of these are options for kids through Catlin Gabel’s summer camps. The Art Expedition camp will take day hikes outside Portland, then work on their art before heading home each day. Cosmic Adventure campers learn about astronomy at their homebase in Portland, takes a trip out to McMinnville’s Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, and then heads on an overnight trip to Pine Mountain Observatory outside Bend.
catlin.edu/page.cfm?p=1013
ROD, REEL, AND MORE
The Audubon Society
The Audubon Society offers a plentitude of trips and excursions this summer for your young explorers who want to learn more about the natural world. At the Rod, Reel, and Sea camp, kids take to the sea for deep-sea fishing and crabbing. Not in the mood for seafood? The High Seas & Low Tides camp will have you spotting and logging species instead of catching them. You might be jealous if you send your kids to the San Juan Island Adventure, complete with sea kayaking and whale watching. Get wild in the Wallowas, or learn archery skills at an overnight wilderness
camp. Pick up and drop off for all camps is at Upper MacLeay Park in NW Portland.
audubonportland.org
OVERNIGHT CAMPS
Trackers Earth
Trackers’ overnight camps near Sandy offer a camp experience that’s a bit more rugged than a classic summer camp, and offers a few more challenges, but with the kind of support that helps kids grow and become more confident. Campers choose from a range of themed camps with activities that might include wilderness survival, wildlife tracking, edible plants, homesteading, fishing, water ecology, theater, archery, blacksmithing, and a whole lot more. Drop the kids off at the TrackersPDX headquarters in SE Portland.
trackerspdx.com
OUTDOOR ADVENTURE CAMP
Oregon Episcopal School
If your little explorers, like a little variety, try out OES’ Outdoor Adventure Camp. Younger kids (second-fifth grade) can get all the action of an outdoor camp without missing any family time at home. Campers will “learn how to shoot a longbow, cook outdoors, construct shelters, set up tents, catch trout on a fly, and observe wildlife” in a different location each day, from the Gorge to the Coast, and then go home to rest up for a whole new adventure.
oes.edu
ANCIENT FOSSILS, FARAWAY STARS
OMSI
Science is the name of the game at OMSI’s residential camp near Fossil, Oregon. At Camp Hancock, programming for kids from second grade through high school is based around astronomy, fossils and paleontology, or desert survival skills. In addition to Camp Hancock, OMSI offers overnight camps and quality programing up and down the coasts of Oregon and Washington, backpacking, and exploring the trail of Lewis and Clark. Can’t decide? How about the “Hit the Road” camp that offers daily field trips, ending with an overnight at Newport South Beach?
programs.omsi.edu
Kelley Gardiner is a Portland native, a freelance writer and blogger, and the mother of one sweet toddler. To see what she’s up to, visit kelleygardiner.com
