Overview

Redwood City, Saratoga, San Francisco, & Huntington Beach Locations

Special Note: Redwood City & Huntington Beach camp spot registrations are only available on city websites (see registration links below in Calendar to access direct links).

Learn Wilderness Guiding Skills At Our Outdoor Summer Camp On-The-Move!

“WilderSkills provides access to the natural world and expertly nurtures many fundamental aspects of what it takes to help children become well-balanced, skilled, and fundamentally happy human beings in a rapidly shifting modern environment.” – David Lee, Education Counselor

WilderSkills is excited to offer our innovative Jr Trail Guide Outdoor Summer Camp program at open-space nature parks in Saratoga and Redwood City California.

Taught by some of the most experienced back-country guides, nature specialists, and primitive survival skills experts in the United States, this summer camp training program provides campers Ages 7-13 the chance to develop real-world outdoor guiding and adventure skills.

The WilderSkills Jr. Trail Guides Experience:

WilderSkills Jr. Trail Guides is an immersive real-world nature connection and outdoor wilderness summer camp program. Our Junior Trail Guides outdoor summer camp program offers campers a more focused opportunity to learn outdoor skills specifically applicable to learning how to be a future outdoor guide (Wilderness Survival skills, First Aid, Plant Identification, Hiking Safety, and more!) in a roving summer camp environment. WilderSkills daytime summer camp locations presently include locations in both the SF Bay Area and Orange County California.

Is Each Summer Camp Week Different?:

Yes! Campers can attend summer camp all summer long and learn new things weekly while also reinforcing some skills weekly that are best learned through regular repetition (like First Aid).

WilderSkills Trail Adventure Programs Help Jr Guides Develop REAL WORLD Skills Like:

• Wilderness First Aid & Survival Techniques
• Outdoor Cooking
• How To Research & Plan Outdoor Adventures
• Plant Identification & Uses
• How to make Improvised Primitive Emergency Shelters, Hiking Packs + Other Gear.
• Traditional Outdoor Tool Construction & Methodologies
• Wilderness Emergency Response Protocols
• Back-country Navigation
• Animal Sign Observation, Tracking, & Behavior
• How to prepare for All-weather adventures
• Outdoor Games
• Knife & Outdoor Tool Safety + Care

Outdoor time with WilderSkills also fosters HIGH VALUE SOFT SKILLS such as: Unstructured problem-solving capabilities, Independence and self-regulating behavior development, Critical early development physical strength & coordination, Self-expression, AND HOW TO HAVE FUN OUTDOORS IN REAL NATURE.

Age Groups: 
WilderSkills is designed for youth ages 7 to 13, with campers generally sub-divided into age appropriate groups (roughly 7-9, 10-13). If desired, siblings can still be in the same group regardless. Session content is customized for each age group, with each age group focusing on wilderness lessons and activities on par with their maturity level and interests.

Camp Locations:

San Francisco Bay Area:
Saratoga, CA – Quarry Park Wilderness Open Space in Saratoga.
Redwood City, CA – Stulsaft Park (40 open acres of trails and wild space)
***Special Note: Redwood City camp spot registrations only available on city website here. Please check directly with Redwood City regarding registration dates.

Southern California:
Huntington Beach, CA – Registration opens in April 2025! Email to waitlist.

Camp Hours:

Saratoga programs: 9am – 3pm
Redwood City programs: 9:30am – 3:30pm
Huntington Beach programs: 9am – 3pm

Extended Care: At present, we do not offer early drop-off, or extended care options. Some families choose to meet this need by making pickup/drop-off arrangements with other friends attending WilderSkills programs.