Mountain Kids! Summer Camp 

June 1 – August 7, 2026: Camp Schedule & Weekly Themes

Registration Begins February 8 (Returning Campers), Feb 15 (New Campers)

At Mountain Kids!, summer is a season for adventure, discovery, and joy in the outdoors. Our nature-based day camps connect children ages 5–13 with the mountains, rivers, and forests of Santa Fe through play, exploration, and hands-on learning.

We believe kids thrive when they feel safe, supported, challenged, and free to be themselves—and our programs are intentionally designed to grow alongside them, summer after summer.

What Sets Our Program Apart

Mountain Kids! offers more than just time outside—we provide a thoughtfully designed, relationship-centered camp experience led by skilled outdoor educators who truly know and care for each child.

🌟 Super-Low Ratios – Our 1:6 staff-to-camper ratio (and 1:4 with Leaders-in-Training) allows for close supervision, meaningful relationships, and deeply engaging, hands-on learning.

🌟 Experienced Field Instructors – Our instructors bring experience working with youth outdoors, along with diverse skills and passions—from wilderness skills and ecology to creative play, storytelling, and art.

🌟 Safety-Focused & Certified – All Field Instructors are, at a minimum, Wilderness First Aid and CPR certified, with safety, risk management, and thoughtful decision-making at the core of everything we do.

🌟 Compassionate Mentors – We prioritize respect for self, others, and the natural world. Our staff support each child’s confidence, curiosity, and emotional growth while fostering a strong sense of belonging.

🌟 Thoroughly Trained & Vetted – All team members pass a background check and complete a comprehensive, week-long staff training before working with campers.

Programs That Grow With Your Child

Each Mountain Kids! program is designed to meet campers where they are developmentally, offering a clear, supportive progression as children grow.

Younger campers begin with playful discovery and imagination-driven exploration. As they get older, campers build outdoor skills, confidence, independence, and leadership. Returning summer after summer allows children to take on new challenges, deepen their connection to nature, and grow into capable, confident adventurers.

This age-based progression ensures every child feels successful, supported, and inspired—no matter where they are on their outdoor journey.

Our Age-Group Progression

🌱 Explorers (Ages 5–7)

• Play, Belonging & Social Growth – Through joyful play, imagination, and group exploration, children build comfort in a group while practicing kindness, turn-taking, cooperation, and a sense of belonging.
  
• Confidence & Outdoor Foundations – Gentle challenges and playful routines introduce basic wilderness skills—such as caring for gear, staying safe, and what to do if separated—helping children feel capable, curious, and confident outdoors.

🥾 Adventurers (Ages 8–10)

• Teamwork, Responsibility & Social Growth – Campers build collaboration, communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills while learning to work together, share responsibility, and navigate group dynamics with confidence.
  
• Hands-On Outdoor Skills & Growing Confidence – Adventurers practice real, age-appropriate wilderness skills (such as shelter-building, navigation basics, water awareness, fire safety, archery, and responsible tool use) through active, experiential learning that builds resilience, independence, and confidence.

🏔️ Trailblazers (Ages 11–13)

• Leadership, Responsibility & Social Growth – Youth step into leadership roles, practice decision-making, accountability, and mentorship, and build advanced social-emotional skills like self-awareness, conflict resolution, and collaboration.
  
• Applied Wilderness Skills & Confident Independence – Through extended adventures and hands-on practice (navigation, shelter-building, fire safety, water treatment, archery, backpacking, and expedition planning), Trailblazers build real competence, independence, and confidence as outdoor leaders.

Growing Beyond Camp

Mountain Kids! programs grow with your child—from playful exploration to leadership.

🧭 Pathfinders (Ages 14–17)

Pathfinders (formerly known as Counselors-in-Training (CITs) is a hands-on leadership program for teens ready to step into mentorship and responsibility. Participants support camp activities alongside Mountain Kids! Field Instructors while gaining real experience as part of the camp team.

• Leadership, Mentorship & Teamwork – Pathfinders assist with daily camp activities, mentor younger campers, and practice communication, cooperation, and positive role modeling in real group settings.
• Responsibility, Skill-Building & Future Pathways – Through hands-on experience, feedback, and behind-the-scenes exposure to camp operations, Pathfinders build confidence, responsibility, and professional skills while exploring pathways toward future leadership and staff roles (Participation in the Pathfinders program does not guarantee future employment).

Curious about the Pathfinders leadership program? Learn more and find application details HERE. 

The Mountain Kids! Experience

Across all age groups, campers form friendships, build resilience, and develop a deeper connection to the natural world. Through hiking, games, creative play, art projects, survival skills, and stewardship projects, Mountain Kids! inspires confidence, compassion, and care for the environment—ensuring kids return home happy, full of stories, and, best of all, dirty and tired!

What Your Child Will Do & Learn at Mountain Kids! Camp

At Mountain Kids!, camp is about more than just being outside—it’s about learning through play, exploration, and real experiences in nature. Each week is thoughtfully designed to meet kids where they are developmentally, while helping them grow in confidence, curiosity, and connection.

Across our camps, children spend their days actively engaged in the forests, trails, streams, and mountains around Santa Fe—building skills, friendships, and a lasting relationship with the natural world.

🌲 Hands-On Outdoor Skills
Campers learn practical, age-appropriate outdoor skills through play and exploration—building shelters, navigating trails, practicing water awareness, and, for older campers, biking, archery, camping, and backpacking.

🐾 Nature Awareness & Environmental Learning
Kids explore the natural world by tracking animals, studying plants and water systems, and learning to care for the land through curiosity, observation, and Leave No Trace principles.

🎨 Creativity, Imagination & Play
Campers build forts and fairy houses, create art, invent games, and dive into imaginative play—balancing unstructured and semi-structured time that fuels creativity, resilience, and joy.

🤝 Social Growth & Confidence
Through small groups and supportive instructors, campers build friendships, practice teamwork, take healthy risks, and grow confidence at a pace that fits their age and experience.

🌟 Safety, Care & Connection
Clear routines, caring staff, and a thoughtful balance of activity and rest create a safe, inclusive environment where every child feels known, supported, and excited to explore.

Our goal —and what we often hear from parents —is that campers head home tired, proud, and eager to return—with muddy hands, new skills, and stories they can’t wait to tell.

• Ages 5-13

• Monday – Friday; 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

• Daily Aftercare; 3:30 – 5:30 pm 

• *NEW* Sliding Scale Pricing

• 1:6 Adult : Child Ratio

• Drop-Off & Pick-Up at Patrick Smith Park

My kids vote Mountain Kids! The best of Santa Fe Summer Camps!

~ Kendel Broad, Mom

We noticed that our daughter was constantly engaged with other kids. The staff did a great job of using objects from nature to keep the kids happy, active and involved. From our observations, the activities and games used to engage the kids were creative and fun. We appreciated the fact that she was able to get wet and dirty on a daily basis!!

~ Laurie Anderson, Mom

Can I come here forever?

~ a Mountain Kid

She loved everything and was always happy! She was motivated to get up because she knew a great day was awaiting her!

~ a Happy Mom

I just wanted to say thank you for providing such a holistic, kind, and trusting camp for kids. My son is really high energy and we’re often worried about bringing him to new spaces and places if we aren’t sure about their willingness to meet him where he is emotionally. It means a lot to us to have an outdoors experience for him that lets him be who he needs to be while still challenging him to try harder, be responsible for his actions, and to love the outdoors.

So, thank you again!

~ Julia Gay, Volunteer and Alumna Coordinator, Girls Inc.

Mountain Kids continues to set the standard for outdoor day camps for kids. It has to be one of the best in the country. The variety of outdoor venues that our kid is exposed to, the tough and active play that they are allowed/expected to do, the real training to outdoor hiking — I feel as if Mountain Kids is providing tools to a lifestyle, a lifestyle that is centered on environmental protection and the importance of physical engagement, not just a ‘day camp.’

~ Elizabeth Durden, Mom