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Coed Pre-Teens (ages 9-12) Wilderness and Nature Camps In the Santa Cruz Mountains

All of our pre-teen programs are total immersion wilderness experiences in primitive camping, nature, survival skills, and outdoor recreation, with real rites of passage in a village atmosphere.

Pre-Teen Overnight Weekend Skills Camps 

  • March 24 - 25
  • April 21 - 22
  • Fees: $100
  • Registration: Pre-Teen Form, e-mail: Toni or
    call 831-431-6454

Offered the 3rd weekend each month throughout the school year. Preteens will learn and practice nature core routines, including wild crafting, orienteering, animal tracking skills, shooting sports and more. Each month will have a different focus and each month the pre-teens will become more self-reliant. These camps are offered rain or shine.

Resident Spring Break Camps

  • April 2 - 6 (Santa Cruz and other School's Break)
  • Spring Break 2 April 9 - 13 (Marin and other School's Break)
  • Times: Drop-off 9 AM Pick-up 3 PM
  • Price: Day camp $450; Overnight camp $900
  • Registration: Pre-Teen Form, e-mail: Toni or
    call 831-431-6454 

 

 

 

Brian, Remember when we were at that creek and the other group of kids (from an other organization) was there, and the director limited his kids from exploring and investigating nature? The thing that is so great about Wilderness Skills Institute is that we can explore and have fun the way the world was made to be, live at your own risk.

Thinking about you,
Kobe Kobe Kobe:)

Pre-Teen starting hand drill fire

Kobe Pole, Age 12
6th grade at Hall Middle School, Larkspur, CA 

This was Kobe's and his brother Ryan's first successful fire made with a hand drill!!! This was taken at our first weekend camp last spring.

 

 

Nature Summer Overnight and Day Camps*

  • June 11 – June 15 Day Camp only Introduction to Nature closed
  • June 17 – June 23 Deep Nature Skills Full
  • June 24 – June 30 Hard Core Primitive & Horsemanship Full
  • July 1 – July 7      Blacksmithing, Welding, Tool Making Camp & Horsemanship   --- Open                    
  • July 8 – July 14    Art and Bush Crafts & Horsemanship  Full                   
  • July 15 – July 21  Climbing, Rappelling, Geocaching   Full                       
  • July 22 – July 28 Archery, Atlatl, & Tomahawk Open
  • July 29 – Aug. 4 Science and Math in Nature Open
  • Aug. 5 – Aug. 11 Orienteering and Geocaching Open
  • Aug. 12 – Aug. 18 Backpacking, Rappelling, Geocaching Open
  • Aug. 19 – Aug. 24 Renaissance Open

* Resident camps are Sunday through Satuday, day camps Monday through Friday. The campers can stay for 1 or multiple weeks. We offer multi week and sibling discounts, and provide transportation from the airport.

  

 

The preteens will spend their days exploring the creek, meadow, forest, estuary, tide pools, farm and ranch. Learning hands on skills, animal tracking, wilderness safety, navigation, wild crafting, playing nature-based games, learning survival skills, science-based natural history, rappelling, archery, blacksmithing, gardening, swimming and more.

Resident camps will enjoy camp fires, storytelling, night hikes, astronomy, remote camping trips, early morning bird sits and animal tracking.

 

Contact Toni for details.

Registration: Register here e-mail: Toni or call 831-431-6454

 

  
 
"Wilderness Skills Institute is very important to me, not because it’s fun (but it is really fun) but because it creates strong bonds with the people you meet there. Another reason is it teaches you skills that you wouldn’t have know without it, like making fire, tracking and archery. Wilderness camp doesn’t just prepare you for stuff physically, but mentally too. This camp also expands your comfort zone (in the good way). In a nutshell Wilderness Skills camp is a big part of my life and I think without I wouldn’t be the person I am today."

 

 
"Wilderness Skills Institute is very important to me, not because it’s fun (but it is really fun) but because it creates strong bonds with the people you meet there. Another reason is it teaches you skills that you wouldn’t have know without it, like making fire, tracking and archery. Wilderness camp doesn’t just prepare you for stuff physically, but mentally too. This camp also expands your comfort zone (in the good way). In a nutshell Wilderness Skills camp is a big part of my life and I think without I wouldn’t be the person I am today."

Nick Newman

Nick Newman age 12, 7th grade White Hill Middle School, Fairfax, CA

Family Programs

  

Family Camps

Please contact Toni or call 831-431-6454 to arrange dates, times, and activities for you, your family and friends.

 Family Camp
For updates about our youth wilderness and nature programs join Coyote Tracks, our informative e-newsletter. It contains wild craft projects, wilderness safety, native plants, and animal tracking sections to better connect your family to the nature of the Pacific North Coast.  

photo of happy feet at Wilderness Camp

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Phone  831.431.6454 

Wilderness Skills Institute, LLC

Wilderness Skills Camps Reserves the right to change dates, times, locations, and pricing.

 Toni@WildernessSkillsInstitute.com