Summer Camp - Experience Learning

Mountain Stewards Summer Camp

At Experience Learning we believe in the power of wild places to inspire, engage, and empower us all. At our summer camps kids completely disconnect from technology and focus on building connections with the people and world around them. Then we step back and give campers the luxury of space and time to truly explore, adventure in, and enjoy the wild and wonderful forests, caves, and streams of West Virginia.

Our Mountain Stewards summer camps are expedition-style programs with a stewardship focus. We offer different camps for ages 6-adult and all experience levels. As we explore each group will take part in age-appropriate service projects. These projects add to the sense of empowerment and satisfaction that our campers experience. Browse our options and please contact us if you have questions about the best fit for your family.

My kids love the sense of true adventure and freedom to explore that they have found at every Experience Learning camp they have attended. This is the camp that they ask to return to year after year. I love how their confidence visibly grows after each program. I love that they have wilderness experiences with someone other than family, that they get the chance to both learn from and share their knowledge with the other kids in their program, and that they gain a wild perspective to apply to the rest of their home/school life. The skills, the patience, and the excitement for wild places that they developed at Experience Learning camps makes all of our family adventures more fun. A week in the woods? Yes please, and I hope every child gets the chance to experience that at least once in their life. – 2021 Camper Parent

Why Our Camps Are Special:

No Counselors

We hire instructors. Our instructors are college graduates who run our educational programming during the school year. They are highly trained experts in outdoor education, adventure, wilderness first aid, and beyond-the-classroom learning.

The Real Thing

We eschew contrived experiences in favor of authentic adventures and kid-guided, instructor-enriched explorations.

Small Groups

No camp program has more than 14 participants, with a maximum child:instructor ratio of 1:7. We only run three programs each week so your child is one of 42 rather than one of hundreds of campers.

Service Learning

After we learn how to take care of ourselves in the wild, we look a little further and spend time thinking about and working on taking care of the world around us.

Bring a Coat

Located at 4000’ elevation, Spruce Knob enjoys some of the coolest weather in the region. Our programs offer a respite from the summer heat and humidity.

Key Values:

Adventure

We support our campers in doing things that are hard, we provide a safe space for taking on a challenge that might feel scary. No child is forced to take part in the adventure component but we work all week to prepare participants to be able to take on the challenge. This is often where a child truly feels personal growth and a deeper connection to their peers.

Environment

We investigate the ecosystems around us and how we fit into those systems, working towards a true understanding of how, “It’s all connected!”

Community

By bringing campers beyond their comfort zones we allow new skills, leaders, and roles to emerge. We take the time to reflect, to talk, and to listen to each other. We’re breaking down barriers, reducing the gap and chasm between people in a world that is increasingly divided.

Stewardship

We take the time to do a significant community service project because we know that our young people can, and will, be a positive force of change in the world. This results in a week that is balanced between inward struggle and growth and outward looking and thinking about others that many campers find deeply satisfying. And when a group of kids accomplishes something significant on their own, it is thrilling, empowering and, yes, FUN!

Small Fries Adventure

Small Fries Adventure (entering grades 1 - 2)

July 16 – July 17, 2022 — Register here

Our youngest offering for newly hatched campers ready to test the waters of an overnight experience. We will spend our time getting comfortable outdoors on a bite-sized adventure. Based at the heart of the Spruce Knob Mountain Center, we will set up tents near the yurts, explore the local watershed, get cozy around the campfire, and make new friends as we develop the building blocks for future camp experiences. More info >>

Forest Explorers

Forest Explorers (entering grades 3 - 5)

June 12 – June 17, 2022 — Register here
June 19 – June 24, 2022 — Register here
July 3 – July 6, 2022 (short program) — Register here
July 10 – July 15, 2022 — Register here

These 4 – 6 day programs will introduce participants to Mountain Stewards summer camps without overloading them with huge packs and outsized expectations. We will explore the local area, catch stream critters, visit beaver ponds, the Spruce Knob summit, and practice navigation and map-reading skills. Together we will learn what it takes to set up camp and care for ourselves and each other, while overcoming the challenge of being away from home and making new friends. More info >>

Mountain Trekkers (coed)

Mountain Trekkers (coed, entering grades 6 - 8)

June 5 – June 10, 2022 — Camp Full! Join the Waitlist here
June 19 – June 24, 2022 — Register here

On these 4-6-day programs we will hike and camp our way to the best swimming holes, caves, and wilderness experiences that the Seneca Creek Backcountry has to offer. Start and finish at the dorms at Spruce Knob Mountain Center, but you will spend most of your time on a multi-night expedition where you will learn camp craft and practice survival skills while exploring the natural beauty of the ecosystems around us. More info >>

Mountain Trekkers (all boys)

Mountain Trekkers (all boys, entering grades 6 - 8)

June 12 – June 17, 2022 — Only 1 spot left! Register here

These 4 – 6 day programs will introduce our all-male Trekkers to canoeing. Once we master our paddle skills on a flatwater lake, we will pack up and take off to a nearby river for an overnight canoeing expedition before making our way back to the Spruce Knob Mountain Center to unpack and unwind. Our single-gender camps for middle school aged kids are designed not to exclude others, but to create a space where they can begin to seek understanding of themselves and the world around them. These camps help to strengthen their connection to their peers and deepen their understanding of why these relationships are an important aspect of their lives. More info >>

Mountain Trekkers (all girls)

Mountain Trekkers (all girls, entering grades 6 - 8)

June 26 – July 1, 2022 — Camp Full! Join Waitlist here
July 3 – July 6, 2022 (shorter program) — Register here

These 4 – 6 day programs will introduce our all-female Trekkers to canoeing. Once we master our paddle skills on a flatwater lake, we will pack up and take off to a nearby river for an overnight canoeing expedition before making our way back to the Spruce Knob Mountain Center to unpack and unwind. Our single-gender camps for middle school aged kids are designed not to exclude others, but to create a space where they can begin to seek understanding of themselves and the world around them. These camps help to strengthen their connection to their peers and deepen their understanding of why these relationships are an important aspect of their lives. More info >>

Rivers and Rocks

Rivers and Rocks (entering grades 9 - 12)

June 19 – June 24, 2022 — Cheat River Water Trail Canoe Expedition — Register here
July 10 – July 15, 2022 — Otter Creek Backpacking Expedition — Register here

Dig deep into everything the iconic local wilderness areas have to offer on multi-night expeditions. You can choose between canoeing on the Cheat River Water Trail and backpacking in Otter Creek. The terrain will be rugged, the adventure will be real, and yeah, it’ll probably be a little wet. We’ll end the week at another one of West Virginia’s most beloved areas, Seneca Rocks, to partner with the USFS on a stewardship project and sneak in some rock climbing too. More info >>

NICA Adventure Camps

NICA Adventure Camps (entering grades 6 - 12)

June 26 – July 1, 2022 — Boys Intermediate to Advanced Camp — Register here
July 17 – July 22, 2022 — Coed Advanced Camp — Register here

In partnership with the WV Interscholastic Cycling League, our camps use bikes as a tool for adventure. As we make our way into backcountry settings, we will sleep under the stars and build community within our group. Daily group rides will be an integral part of the experience, but riding will not be the only highlight of the program. Bike maintenance and camp crafts, group awareness and personal development, map reading, fire building, and self-awareness activities all help develop a basic set of skills that participants can call from in their fall races, schoolwork, and adventures for the rest of their lives. More info >>

Leadership Adventure Camp

Leadership Adventure (entering grades 9 - 12)

July 5 – July 22, 2022 — Register here

Our Leadership Adventure Program will be driven by you, the participants. Your team will start with backpacking, caving, climbing, canoeing, and more. Once we experience many of the greatest hits the local area has to offer, it will be your turn to work together to plan the final expedition. We’ll provide everything you need – but you have to show up for the challenge. Be ready to learn new skills, understand risk, and see firsthand what it takes to plan an expedition. You will also partner with other conservation agencies on meaningful stewardship projects. More info >>

We are free to have fun and learn in our own ways while still effectively accomplishing the goals of the program. – 2019 Summer Camper
I learned so many interesting facts about the world around us that I will definitely take with me, but I also learned how wonderful it can be to be a part of a group in which everyone gives their all and wants to have a great time no matter the challenging situations or the rainy days. – camp participant
I learned to trust myself more and not be afraid to advocate for myself. – Summer Camper, Leadership Camp
The mountain stewards camp is a wonderful, fun, confidence and skill building experience every kid should go through! – Sandy Frank
I love the freedom at this camp. It doesn’t feel like a structured camp with strict rules. We are free to have fun and learn in our own ways while still effectively accomplishing the goals of the program. – camper
In this program I was able to be my own leader, which has allowed me to see the ways in which I can improve myself and the ways in which I am strong. – Summer Camper, Leadership Camp
Through living and working alongside all the different people that come to this camp I was able to experience many different and new ideas, perspectives, and skills that shaped me as a person. – 2019 Summer Camper
The staff were terrific helping us coordinate what camp would fit us best. So patient and understanding. My daughter had a wonderful week and learned so much and made memories and friends. Great experience! – Kristin Potts