Santa Cruz Overnight Camp

First Steps: Intro Camp

We know that some families aren’t ready for a full overnight camp experience just yet. All the fun and learning seems great but it’s all so new and kind of scary. After all, you didn’t learn to swim in the deep end without floaties! Our 2 night Intro Camp program is specifically designed for first time campers who just want to try out the overnight camp experience. It allows you and your camper to get comfortable with the idea of camp in a more intimate program that is geared just for these type of campers. Kennolyn is proud to be one of the few camps in California that offers this short type of session.

Intro Camp – Not available for 2021

Gives campers an introduction into cabin life, camp activities, and Kennolyn’s traditions. Although it is not designed to be a full camp experience, it is a great stepping stone. The magic of camp can be sparked even in this short experience!

Highlights

  • Limited to 16, first time campers
  • 3 days, 2 nights
  • Entering 1st-4th grades only
  • Pre-programmed activity selection rather than individualized schedules
  • Evening only outpost, no sleeping in the woods
  • A more sheltered experience closely managed by experienced staff. Ideal for nervous first timers and their nervous parents

These sessions are pre-programmed with a selection of camp activities. The Intro Camp schedule is likely to include swimming, archery, crafts, animal care, outdoor cooking, riflery, nature hikes, field games and lots of camp songs. Campers will also be a part of evening campfires. Intro Campers will do an evening only outpost so they will experience the fun of cooking foil stew over an open fire and being in our beautiful forest but will return to their cabins to sleep. The activities will be modified to best fit the age of the campers. Campers will travel to these activities as a cabin group along with their counselor. With a limited number of campers, and lots of caring staff, we keep our camper to staff ratios low and the level of excitement high. Because of the limited enrollment, cabins will have an age spread of 2-3 grades.

There will be no horseback riding, BMX, climbing wall, pottery, specialized crafts or carpentry, outpost sleepout, fencing, trapeze, specialty camp options or off-site trips. There will not be individualized camper schedules as there is with all other overnight camp programs.