An adventure-filled summer ahead!
Summer camps are back again this year! After a very successful first year offering specialized outdoor recreation and conservation day camps in 2023, this June we’ll have expanded offerings with some exciting new themes.
Thanks to generous funding from the Woodward Trust and the Johnson Foundation, our 2024 day camps are free of cost to our teens, offering immersive experiences that deepen skills in adventure sports, introduce teens to spaces in the city for outdoor recreation that are free and easily accessed with public transportation, and provide hands-on learning in conservation and environmental science.
Our 2024 summer camp lineup includes:
June 3-7: Bike Camp, giving Crew teens immersive experiences in the basics of bike mechanics, street riding skills and introductory mountain biking skills. Our partners are MoBo Bicycle Coop, Queen City Bike, GOT DIRT Mountain Bike Training, and Bishop’s Bicycles is very kindly assisting us with storage at our Milford location for the last half of our camp week.
June 10-14: Urban Adventure Camp, new this year! Students will meet at Sawyer Point each morning to embark on adventures they can continue on their own long after the camp wraps up. Campers will embark on city hikes that include historical sites, unique points of interest and natural space woven in among the built environment; learn pickleball; roller skate; and play sand volleyball. This pilot is aimed at building self-sufficiency in outdoor adventuring, introducing our teens to a variety of activities they can easily access, with each participant taking home a pair of high-quality roller skates and pickleball sets thanks to the Johnson Foundation’s support. Partners include Urban Hikers, Pickleball at Sawyer Point, Skate Downtown Cincy, Cincinnati Parks Foundation and Cincinnati Parks.
June 17-21: Intermediate Paddling Camp, where students will complete the American Canoe Association’s “Paddle Safe, Paddle Smart” course, learning kayak and canoe paddling techniques and safety for both canoeing and kayaking. As a bonus, teens will also get to experience a day of sailing on Caesar Creek Lake.
June 24-28: Ecology Camp, introducing students to experiential learning in conservation and ecology. Each day brings a deep dive into a different area, including wetlands, water systems, regenerative farming practices and urban habitat restoration. We’ll have our program partners confirmed soon, and will update this post with details.
Camp enrollment is limited to students in grades 7-12 who attend one of our 27 partner schools and have participated in at least one outing with us during the current school year. Adventure Crew families can keep an eye on their email for a message from Director of Programming Paige Young about enrollment. Last year, our camps filled up within 20 minutes of opening the online registration system. In an effort to be as equitable as possible with the limited number of spots available this year, we’ll be shifting to a lottery system and will share details in the email for how the process will work.
For more information, email Director of Programming Paige Young, paige@adventurecrew.org.
We wish all an exciting, adventure-filled summer ahead!