Santa Fe Baldy: Three-Day Backpacking Adventure!

Apr 23, 2025
Mountain Kids!
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July 28 – Aug 1 | Ages 10-13

Monday – Friday | $725 + tax

Get ready to unplug, explore, and level up your outdoor game!

This action-packed week immerses campers in the fundamentals of wilderness survival and backcountry skills while building confidence, teamwork, and resilience. They’ll learn to build shelters, read maps and compasses, purify water, practice Leave No Trace ethics, and safely use tools like camp stoves and fire starters.

The highlight of the week? A three-day, two-night backpacking adventure where campers put their new skills to the test—pitching tents, cooking over the fire, stargazing, and hiking to Santa Fe’s highest peak, Santa Fe Baldy. With support from experienced staff, they’ll learn to thrive in the wild and create unforgettable memories with new friends.

Whether they’re first-time campers or budding adventurers, this program is the perfect mix of challenge, discovery, and fun!

Drop-off/Pick-up Times and Locations

We are now offering two drop-off/pick-up locations to choose from: Patrick Smith Park and Swan Park. Swan Park campers will meet at 8:30 and be shuttled to Patrick Smith, leaving at 8:45 to join with other campers. Pick up for all groups is at 3:30 pm at their respective locations.

Challenge Level:

Scholarship Application

Register

Para registrarse en español, haga clic en el botón Registrarse arriba y seleccione español en el menú superior derecho del sitio web de Active. Para obtener ayuda, envíe un correo electrónico a: hello@sfmountainkids.com.

Repetition is Good!

May 06, 2025
Katie
Nature-based learning, Seasonal Musings, Summer Camp 2024, Wildschool
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Why Repetition Matters in Nature-Based Learning

At Mountain Kids! camp, you might notice that certain themes, stories, and activities reappear from year to year—like building survival shelters, exploring insect habitats, or learning how to purify water. This repetition isn’t just tradition—it’s intentional, and it plays a powerful role in your child’s development.

Here’s why children thrive when themes and experiences repeat in outdoor education:

1. Familiarity Builds Comfort and Confidence

Returning to a familiar story or activity—like hiking a beloved trail or learning how to whittle—gives children a sense of security. In nature, where so much can change with the weather or season, predictable rhythms help children feel grounded and safe.

2. Mastery Through Repetition

Each time a child revisits an activity, they deepen their understanding and build new skills. Whether it’s identifying birdsong or safely using hand tools, repeated practice allows campers to grow more capable and confident each year.

3. Deepening Learning Over Time

Nature is a rich teacher, and repetition gives children the chance to notice more details with each encounter. A frog pond visited last year becomes a deeper source of curiosity this year, revealing new layers of learning as their brains and interests develop.

4. Emotional Connection and Joy

Familiar activities carry emotional memories. Singing the same campfire song or walking the same morning trail evokes joy, creates traditions, and builds a lasting bond with the natural world.

5. Pattern Recognition and Seasonal Awareness

Repetition in nature—like watching leaves change color each fall or tracking animal tracks in the snow—helps children recognize natural cycles. These patterns foster ecological awareness and support early scientific thinking.

6. Lifelong Learning and Transferable Skills

As children repeat and refine their outdoor experiences, they begin to apply what they’ve learned to new situations—understanding how weather affects different ecosystems or how teamwork improves a group project. This generalization is key to lifelong learning.

In Nature, Every “Repeat” Is a New Discovery

Even when we revisit the same activities, nature ensures that no two experiences are ever exactly alike. With each return, children notice something new, grow a little more, and deepen their connection to the world around them. That’s the magic of learning through repetition—especially when it’s rooted in the rhythms of the natural world.

Wonders of Water (with The Friz!)

Join our very own Ms. Frizzle as we explore all things water! Campers will have the opportunity to play and learn near many natural water sources. We will learn how to find water in a survival situation and practice purifying water from the wild to drink. We will learn where our water comes from, where it goes, and how to conserve this precious resource. This week will definitely be a cool time in hot weather!

June 7-11 | Ages 5-7

8:30–3:30 | Early & After Care Available

Mon-Thu $347 | Mon-Fri $425 | Mon-Fri (8-5:30) $550 + tax

Challenge Level:

Scholarship Application

A Walk on the Wildside

Mar 02, 2020
Mountain Kids!
Wildschool

Our Saturday Wildside group had a blast this past week hiking along the Santa Fe River.

We started the day finding north and orienteering for treasure; it turns out kids can use their spidey senses to find treasure (apples and oranges), rather than compasses. 😉 We also used a stick compass to find north and all four directions, so easy and useful.

We were challenged in some physical agility; walking across logs, climbing and descending muddy slopes, and playing King of the Log; where one person tries to bounce an opponent off a log without touching them. A fun new game!

The rope swing was another fun-filled challenge, with some giddy swinging and Tarzan whoops filling the warm winter day. Only two kids took to the river for a wee splash and were none the worse for wear. Plastic bags and extra socks sure come in handy for wet feet on a winter day outside.

We hiked down the river through towering cottonwoods, in awe of the beauty, and the two hawks we encountered, who were just as interested in watching us as we were them.

We finished our day with a lesson on how to harvest willow and used our kitchen peelers to take the medicine rich bark from the plant. Each Mountain Kid went home with a paper sack of bark to make tea as a remedy for fever, diarrhea or sunburn.

What a beautiful winter day to wander and play along the Santa Fe river.

#mountainkids #santafe #simplysantafe #letyourkidsouttoplay #kidsnature #kidsoutside #plantmedicine #winterwander #adventures

August 5: Mud, Clay, & Camouflage

It’s been another muddy good week with the Mountain Kids! It all began with an adventure to Deer Creek, where the Hummingbirds and the Eagles discovered several puddles of mud, camouflaged themselves from head to toe, and cooled down with an afternoon spent playing in the flowing water. While the Hummingbirds played in the stream much closer to the trailhead, the Eagles enjoyed a lengthier hike up to the ‘swimming pools’, where they practiced their [what felt to be] cold plunge and admired the beauty of the waterfall!

Tuesday, the two teams parted for different adventures. While the Eagles explored their way up the Santa Fe river, from Patrick Smith Park, the Hummingbirds took a sweet little adventure to Glorieta, where they gathered local clay, before heading back to the park due to incoming weather. While the adventures in Glorieta were short lived, the two teams enjoyed the opportunity to recombine at the park and spend an afternoon sculpting sweet pieces of art with our freshly harvested clay.

Wednesday morning started with a fun craft which showed the Mountain Kids how to create paintbrushes from yucca and painting pigments from different crushed up elements and stones. Before long, both teams were on their way to Abiquiu Lake, where the Mountain Kids found ample amounts of mud, dug through the dirt, sand, mud, and clay, and made a splash for several hours in the lake.

The Eagles and Hummingbirds headed up to the Big Tesuqe Trail for their Thursday adventures. While the two teams participated in separate hikes, both, the Eagles and Hummingbirds were able to practice their camouflage skills through games such as Eagle Eye” and “Pig”. Of course there was plenty of time, too, for the kids play in the water as they wished! Several of the Eagles competed in a dam building competition and used their wild imaginative creativity in order to build fairy houses along the river.

Friday found both teams exploring the Santa Fe River with an adventure up to the nearby tire swing. During our hike up the River, the Mountain Kids found several different berries and plants which we broke down into vibrant body paints. The afternoon was filled with much fun, playing at the Cerro Gordo Park, in the river, and on the tire swing! Our day was finished with a sweet little treat and a lovely lesson on bee keeping. One of our Hummingbird campers is a local bee keeper and brought a jar of his recently harvested honey to share with us, in addition to showing us his gear and talking us through the process of beekeeping. It wasn’t long after our lesson on bees that each Mountain Kid began running around and involving themselves in a massive water fight to end an exciting week!

The Secret Language of Birds & Bugs: July 15-20

It was a bugging good week for the Mountain Kids! Monday’s adventure on the Aspen Vista trail, accompanied by the Hummingbird’s hand-crafted bug catchers, provided a lovely introduction to a variety of our local bugs and birds. Tent Caterpillars painted the dirt paths and climbed up the aspen trees which allowed for fun and easy hands-on access to the little critters! After spending the morning reviewing some of the characteristics of different birds and bugs common in our area, the Hummingbirds practiced their creativity in a few rounds of bug and bird charades!

Wade, our wonderful bug friend in town, met with the team on Tuesday and guided us on a hike to several different bugs. The Mountain Kids learned about local spiders, beetles, ants, grasshoppers, water insects, and many more during their time at the Beaver Ponds.

With lots of new information concerning different bugs, the Hummingbirds were ‘antsy’ for their visit to the Bug Museum on Wednesday. The team met with Wade, again, at the Harrell House Bug Museum, where they held different bugs, watched the spiders and tarantulas get fed, and explored several different caged critters.

On Thursday, the Hummingbirds buzzed on over to the Santa Fe Raptor Center where they met with a variety of different owls and falcons and learned about their characteristics, diets, and different habitats. Each child was able to spritz one of the falcons with water to help him cool off in the heat. Boy – it sure was a hot one! The Hummingbirds also had their chance to cool off by splashing around in the river in El Rito.

We finished our day with watermelon and ‘appreciations’. It was sweet to hear the kids appreciating new friends they had made, the birds they saw, bugs they met and the counselors who lead them throughout the week.

Friday was a sweet end to the week spent playing in the mud and water at Nambe Falls!

July 8-12: Robin Hood’s Secrets

“The story of Robin Hood evokes clever and thoughtful adventures in the woods, stealthy river crossings, balancing on logs and fine homes in trees.” The Hummingbirds had an adventurous week discovering ways to heal wounds, practicing archery and fire making skills, and uncovering techniques for keeping invisible and camouflaged in the woods! A Monday spent at the Norski Trail was the perfect opportunity to learn about the Leave-No-Trace Principles, how to stay prepared with the 6W’s (who, what, where, when, why, and weather), and to gain some practice building shelters and hiding huts.

A day of hiking at Rio en Medio, on Tuesday, allowed for the Mountain Kids to romp throughout the woods and experience several beautiful and refreshing river crossings. A handful of the Hummingbirds chose to challenge themselves with an extra long hike all the way back to the waterfall – a glorious feat well worth each step!

Wednesday, the Hummingbirds began their morning learning how to create Pinon Pine Salve which can be used to help in healing small scrapes and wounds. After their fun craft, the Mountain Kids headed out to Chupadero where they worked with, Michael, a wonderful primitive skills educator, who taught them new archery safety and skills and how to create fire with sticks! After a day spent in the sunshine, Thursdays trip up the Santa Fe River, allowed the Hummingbirds to use their imagination while balancing on logs, crossing the river, and walking stealthily up the waterway!

The Hummingbirds and Eagles joined together, on Friday, for a day spent splashing in the mud and water at Abiquiu Lake. The low waters allowed for endless amounts of clay and mud which was just perfect for practicing camouflage skills!

July 1-5: Mud, Clay, & Camouflage

Monday was a great start to a week full of mud, clay, and camouflage for the Eagles and Hummingbirds! Our first adventure location for the week was Deer Creek, where the Mountain Kids found giant pools of mud in which they rolled, jumped, and played for hours! The Eagles got into full camouflage mode and quickly were ready for stalking and hunting in the jungles of New Mexico!

On the Hummingbirds hike, several of the campers witnessed their first rattlesnake in the wild, enjoying the shade covered rocks. We gave the snake its space and moved along, full of excitement for what we had experienced.

Tuesday was all about clay! Each child had the opportunity to get their hands dirty in clay during our morning craft, making little pinch-pots and tiny clay structures. A trip to Galisteo allowed the team to romp about hunting and gathering buckets of their own clay – which was used Wednesday morning to create miniature ‘adobe’ bricks for clay houses. More messy mud fun followed, with a day spent playing camouflage games on the Little Tesuque trail.

The Mountain Kids! had a wonderful day, Thursday, discovering the Galisteo River, finding clay, making pigments, and whipping up some ‘algae pancakes’. We gathered cattail pollen as a last little treat and wandered along the dragonfly river path.

A refreshing end to the week was had at Nambe Falls on Friday. The Hummingbirds and Eagles hiked up stream together and cooled off with a splash in the lovely pool, created by the beautiful, roaring waterfall. It was certainly a clean and cool finish to a fun and messy week!