Wanderers

My 6-​yr old son Shane just did the 1-​week Marin Hikers camp this summer. He really loved it and said he wants to go again — that’s huge for any experience that does not involve rockets or planes. He only knew one other girl from a past year — and he’s not the most outgoing guy in the world — but they really made him feel comfortable. He returned each day with information (new to us) on local plants, stories about the elk herds, and conservation concepts. He clearly loved the fun days at the beach and those sunny hikes in the fresh air. We’ll definitely do it again.
Sarah, SF parent

My son and his best friend did the Wanderers Marin Day Hiker camp last week. They’ve tried summer camps together before and it’s been frustrating. Steve & Kate’s is not structured enough for one of them and YMCA is too structured for the other. Wanderers camp struck the right balance and they both really enjoyed themselves. They got to visit some beautiful locations (Pt. Reyes, Muir Woods, Mt. Tam, Stinson Beach). I wasn’t there, but apparently the pace was kid-​friendly, with time to poke along and and play around while still covering quite a bit of ground and learning about the plant and animal worlds. If a hike is too much of a death march, I always hear about it, and my kid did not complain. I was impressed with the ratio of adults to kids. The staff was kid-​friendly and safety-​conscious. We plan to sign up for the Sonoma Coast sleepover camp next summer. I’m always rushing my kid from one place to another. I’m glad he had this chance to stop and smell the flowers.
UPDATE: Sadly Wanderer’s Camp has ceased operations effective November 2011. Bummer. There’s nothing else like it.
ANOTHER UPDATE FOR SUMMER 2012: They are offering a couple of weeks of camp – sign up while you can – it’s awesome and much more affordable than other sleep-​away camp options.

My daughter went on her first sleepaway camp with Wanderers this summer and had an amazing time. There is a good counselor-​camper ratio and she came home with lots of stories and great memories of the experience. Every day seemed well planned with food and different places to explore and a wide variety of activities.
Last summer she spent a week with the day trip camp and also loved it. The hiking is fabulous and gives them a great sense of accomplishment. Kurt and team do a great job!