Summer camp sessions begin weekly in June & continue through August. New summer programs & locations in 2019!
Click on the links below for the specific locations, or scroll down to browse them all.
Summer
TNC summer camps incorporate our gear into each session and week. From stand up paddle boards to bikes, from hiking to fishing, youth will focus on building their outdoor skills. Our goal is to explore nature together with new and returning friends, or bring a friend and create your adventures together.
Classic Camp in Hotchkiss
- Session 1: June 10 – July 5 Cost $400
- Session 2: July 15 – August 8 Cost $400
If you can’t make all 4 weeks, cost is $125 for an individual week. Scholarships Available! Camps are four days/week from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm at 397 Bulldog Street Hotchkiss 81419, unless otherwise stated in the weekly description.
Session 1 – June 10th-July 5th
Week 1 – Wet Planet: June 10th -13th
FULL- currently accepting wait list registrations
Registration Deadline: June 3 | Ages: 6-14 | Cost: $125 | Enrollment: 30 kid max – 10 waitlist
Join us for a week of water! Explore the world through hands-on activities, nature games, white water rafting and stand up paddle boarding!
Highlights:
- Whitewater rafting with Western Slope SUP
- SUPing
Week 2 – Life Abounds: June 17th – 20th
Filling up fast!
Registration Deadline: June 10 | Ages: 6-14 | Cost: $125 | Enrollment: 30 kid max – 10 waitlist
Spend a week discovering our natural wildlife! Explore the creatures that live among us through hands-on activities, nature games, animal tracking, bird watching and fishing!
Highlights:
- Animal tracking
- Discovering bugs, plants and animals
- Listening for bird songs and bird ID
- Hiking
Week 3 – Skills Adventure: June 24th – 27th
FULL- currently accepting wait list registrations
Registration Deadline: June 17 | Ages: 6-14 | Cost: $125 | Enrollment: 30 kid max – 10 waitlist
What primitive skills can we learn in the modern day? Spend a week with The Nature Connection to find out! Explore nature through creating tools and primitive skill building.
Highlights:
- Archery
- Primitive skills excursions
- Music
Week 4 – Stars & Stripes July 1st- 4th
FULL- currently accepting wait list registrations
Registration Deadline: June 24 | Ages: 6-14 | Cost: $125 | Enrollment: 30 kid max – 10 waitlist
Ever wanted to be in the 4th of July parade? Join us in celebrating our beautiful country’s independence as we spend a week building a float for the parade with your peers and playing games! End the week by participating in the 73rd Cherry Days 4th of July Parade in Paonia!
Highlights:
- Bike rodeo!
- Use your creativity to engineer a float for the parade
Session 2 – July 15th – August 8th
Week 5 – Wild Food & Culture: July 15th- 18th
Registration Deadline: July 8 | Ages: 6-14 | Cost: $125 | Enrollment: 30 kid max – 10 waitlist
Discover the incredible The North Fork Valley in all its bounty! Spend a week visiting farms and playing as we explore the world through hands-on activities, nature games, biking and swimming!
Highlights:
- Farm Tour
- Biking & Swimming
Week 6 – Look to the Skies: July 22th-25th
Registration Deadline: July 15 | Ages: 6-14 | Cost $125 | Enrollment: 30 kid max – 10 waitlist
Join us for a four day camp connecting to the sky. Spend your time discovering the role of the sun and a night of camping at The Nature Connection developing our camping skills and learning the ropes of camping equipment while gazing at the stars.
Highlights:
- Solar
- Camp Out at TNC!
- Astronomy
Week 7 – Art in Nature: July 29th- August 1st
Registration Deadline: July 22 | Ages: 6-14 | Cost: $125 | Enrollment: 30 kid max – 10 waitlist
Find the artist in you while connecting to your creative side in nature! Spend a week discovering our natural world through recreating it with paint, clay, and other expressions of natural art!
Highlights:
- Painting
- Ceramics
- Leaf pressing and other crafts
Week 8 – Geology Rocks: August 5th – 8th
FULL- currently accepting wait list registrations
Registration Deadline: July 29 | Ages: 6-14 | Cost: $125 | Enrollment: 30 kid max – 10 waitlist
Let’s discover the the secrets of the past together, through a backpacking trip in Dominguez- Escalante Canyon and the tricks to a different way of seeing our world. In this four day camp we will see petroglyphs and ancient signs of life past.
Highlights:
- One night backpacking trip into Dominguez- Escalante Canyon
- Discovery in Geology
Specialty Camps
Throughout the summer The Nature Connection will offer one week specialty camps in conjunction with Blue Sage Center for the Arts and Boneshaker Adventures. Scholarships Available!
Arts 4 All Mural Week: July 8th – 11th
Cost: TBD | Enrollment: limited to 12
Foster your creative side by making a permanent contribution to our headquarters in the form of a mural with The Nature Connection and The Arts for All project. Spend a week painting and exploring. For more information and registration, visit the Blue Sage Center for the Arts website.
TNC & Boneshaker Adventures: July 22nd- 25th & August 12th- 15th
Ages: 10-18 | Cost: $450 | Enrollment: limited to 15 kids
Spend four days exploring miles of singletrack in the San Juan Mountains surrounding Telluride and return to a high-alpine base camp for three evenings. Includes food, round-trip transportation and instruction.
Girls on the Run Wilderness Backpacking Trips
July 8th – 11th
ONE SPOT REMAINING- EXTENDED DEADLINE TO JULY 1ST!
Registration Deadline: June 21
Ages: Middle School Girls | Cost: $300 – scholarships available through GOTR | Enrollment: limited to 12 girls each trip
It’s all girl power in these four-day backpacking trips for girls only in the wilderness. Link for Registration here.
August 5th – 8th
Registration Deadline: July 19
Ages: Middle School Girls | Cost: $300 – scholarships available through GOTR | Enrollment: limited to 12 girls each trip
It’s all girl power in these four-day backpacking trips for girls only in the wilderness. Link for Registration here.
Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club Camp in Olathe
- Session 1: June 3 – 28th
- Session 2: July 8th – August 9th
Session 1: June 3rd – June 28th
Shipwrecked Summer Camp 2nd Voyage
Registration deadline: May 22 by 5:00 pm at the Olathe BCBGC unit | Cost: $50 per child per session (meals included) | Ages: 6-18 | Camp location: 300 Hap Court in Olathe
Sports, STEM days, field trips with TNC and more! Camps are from 7:45 am – 5:15 pm.
Session 2: July 8th – August 9th
Shipwrecked Summer Camp 2nd Voyage
Registration deadline: May 22 by 5:00 pm at the Olathe BCBGC unit | Cost: $50 per child per session (meals included) | Ages: 6-18 | Camp location: 300 Hap Court in Olathe
Sports, STEM days, field trips with TNC and more! Camps are from 7:45 am – 5:15 pm.
Delta Hub Summer Camp
June 10th – August 1st
Camps are Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm (early arrival and late pick up options are available)
Camp Location: Garnet Mesa Elementary School, 600 A street Delta
Register: Online with the link below or in person at the DCSD Administration Office (145 W. 4th St. Delta, CO 81416)
Ages: 6-14 | Cost: $100/week
For more information:
Call TNC Office: 970-872-5910 or Email Program Director Priscilla Williams at priscilla.williams@
Registration Deadlines: We strongly encourage you to register your kids ONE week in advance – link below.
GENERATION WILD: June 10th – 13th
This week’s focus will be an introduction to the hundred’s of things to do before you’re 12! Kids grow better outside and we certainly celebrate that this week.
KNOW YOUR RIVER: June 17th – 20th
Spend a week discovering the lifeblood of our earth – WATER! Stand up paddleboard and raft with TNC and Western Slope SUP.
SOMETHING FISHY: June 24th – 27
There’s no doubt that this week will be jam packed with all things fish! TNC campers will learn the fundamentals of fishing and all about the fish themselves. After practicing their fishing casts we take a field trip to Sweitzer Lake to build upon our skills. Fish, stand up paddleboard and tour the national fish hatchery!
WET & WILD: July 1st – 3rd (no camp on July 4th)
Get ready for three days of fun in Delta. We will be outside enjoying summer at its fullest while biking, hiking, stand-up paddleboarding and swimming.
LIFE ABOUNDS: July 8th – 11th
Spend a week discovering wildlife! Explore the creatures that live among us through hands-on activities, nature games, animal tracking, bird watching, biking, hiking and SUP’ing!
SKILLS ADVENTURE: July 15th- 18th
What are primitive skills we can learn in the modern day? Spend a week with The Nature Connection to find out! Explore the world through hands-on activities, nature games, animal tracking, archery and hiking.
TAKE FLIGHT: July 22nd – 25th
What does it mean to fly? Campers will partake in four days of activities exploring the ways in which the world around us takes flight – from designing a bird’s nest to flying a kite. There will also be a special overnight on Wednesday to learn the fundamentals of camping. Come check out the night sky with us among many outdoor activities!
GENERATION WILD GRADS: July 29th- August 1st
Our Generation Wild campers will revisit the hundreds of things to do before you’re 12! Kids grow better outside and we will find out how many items we have checked off the list and will continue to complete 100 things to do as a finale to the summer.
Cedaredge Summer Camp
June 8th – August 10th | All events with Cedaredge are from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm
Registrations are $10 per event at Cedaredge Library // 180 SW 6th Ave // 399-7674
Biking Bonanza with The Nature Connection
June 8th & August 10th | Registration deadlines: June 1 & August 3 | Cost: $10 Fee | Ages: 6-14
Learn basic bike maintenance skills with TNC staff at the gear hub in Hotchkiss. Then, try riding the on-site pump track or mountain bike trail. All skill levels accommodated. Meet at Cedaredge Library at 9:00, return at 2:00. Helmets are mandatory. BYO or check out at TNC. BYO lunch, water bottle, sunscreen, outdoor clothing, comfortable shoes (no sandals).
Hiking
July 13th & July 27th | Registration deadlines: July 6 & July 20 | Cost: $10 Fee | Ages: 6-14
Fly Fishing
June 22 & August 3 | Registration deadlines: June 15 & July 27 | Cost: $10 Fee | Ages: 10-14
