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 6 – 7, 2025 — 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)

Session 1: June 9 – 13, 2025 — Register HERE!
Session 2: July 6 – 9, 2025 — Register HERE!
Session 3: July 13 – 16, 2025 — Register HERE!

These 4 – 5 day programs will introduce participants to Mountain Stewards summer camps without overloading them with huge packs and outsized expectations. This year, Forest Explorers will focus on watershed exploration and forest history. 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 >>

Survival

Survival (entering grades 5 - 7)

June 22 – 25, 2025 — Register HERE!

This 4 day camp is all about learning survival skills. Practice skills including shelter building, land navigation, knife safety, and campfire cookery. Use primitive tools to make cordage out of natural fibers and delve into sensory awareness and sacred order. More info >>

Mountain Trekkers

Mountain Trekkers (entering grades 6 - 8)

Coed: June 9 – 13, 2025 — Register HERE!
Girls: July 13 – 17, 2025 — Register HERE!

On these 5 day programs we will hike and camp our way to the best swimming holes, caves, and wilderness experiences that the local area has to offer. Over the course of the trip we will venture out on a multi-night expedition where we will learn camp craft and practice survival skills while exploring the natural beauty of the ecosystems around us. More info >>

All Things Rock

All Things Rock (entering grades 7 - 9)

June 15 – 19, 2025 — Register HERE!

This year, our All Things Rock camp will be getting off the ground. The week will be spent learning about climbing as the group travels to a series of spots in Pendleton County, WV. More info >>

Rivers and Rocks

Rivers and Rocks (entering grades 9 - 12)

July 20 – 24, 2025 — Register HERE!

Dig deep into everything the iconic local wilderness areas have to offer on this multi-night high adventure expeditions. The terrain will be rugged, the adventure will be real, and yeah, it’ll probably be a little wet. We will climb on real rocks, get on the water, and give back through service projects. More info >>

Adventure Mountain Biking

Beginner Mountain Biking: July 6 – 7, 2025 — Register HERE!
Beginner Adventure Mountain Biking: June 29 – July 1, 2025 — Register HERE!
Intermediate Adventure Mountain Biking: July 21 – 24, 2025 — Register HERE!
NICA Adventure Intermediate Mountain Biking: June 22 – 26, 2025 — Register HERE!
NICA Adventure Advanced Mountain Biking: June 15 – 20, 2025 — Fill out the Application HERE! We will review the application and email you a registration link once the camper qualifies.

Nothing is virtual about this camp, it is a hands-on experience where we will ride on skill level appropriate trails, talk to other kids in person, get our hands and feet wet in wild streams, and explore, adventure in, and enjoy the wild and wonderful forests of West Virginia. More info >>

I learned about who I am as a person and that if I look within myself I can find some of the strength and courage that I’ve felt was missing from me. – Summer Camper, Leadership Camp
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
That was the best experience of high school and allowed me to flourish in my further experiences in high school. Absolutely transformed my idea of my own physical, social, and mental capabilities and made me feel much more confident!!!! I couldn’t recommend it more. ~Former Summer Camper
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
That was the best experience of high school and allowed me to flourish in my further experiences in high school. Absolutely transformed my idea of my own physical, social, and mental capabilities and made me feel much more confident!!!! I couldn’t recommend it more. ~Former Summer Camper
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
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