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As you begin planning your children’s summer activities, please consider Camp Stevens, an amazing summer camp and retreat center run by the Episcopal Church in the mountains east of San Diego just outside the historic town of Julian. Many young people at Saint Andrew’s have gone to Camp Stevens repeatedly for summer camp, and some loved their experiences so much they could hardly wait to return as teens to work there as camp counselors. Feel free to ask, the Browning, Hane, Caprini and Trimpey families about their children’s recent experiences.
Camp Stevens is renowned for their inclusivity, celebration of diversity, fabulous outdoor experiences, and their farm-to-table kitchen. As Camp Stevens website explains, “We work to ensure each camper leaves with a greater sense of self-love, confidence, spirituality, and creativity from a week of being accepted as they are in a compassionate community. We believe that by exploring together in a group they develop a greater sense of empathy and responsibility to others and ready to face new challenges in the future. We hope that they feel inspired by their time in nature and have a deeper desire to become stewards of the earth.”
Summer Camp is for children ages 8 to 17, and they are grouped by age into different Adventure Groups. Each group cooks out over a campfire and sleeps under the stars at least once a week. Older campers may challenge themselves on the high ropes course, and younger campers aim for new heights on the climbing wall. All campers have the option to try classic camp activities such as swimming, hiking, archery, and arts & crafts. For the more adventurous youth, Wilderness Camp is available for teens aged 13 to 17 and, depending on the particular week, involves backpacking either in the mountains and valleys around San Diego County or kayaking around Catalina Island. In addition, you can make pick-up/drop-off easy by signing up for the bus that departs/returns from Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church in Anaheim.
A great way to introduce young children to Camp Stevens and make them comfortable with sleep-away camp is to take your entire family to Camp Stevens for one of their weekend Family Camps. You’ll stay together in bunk beds in a room in one of the lodges and explore what’s growing in the gardens, visit the farm animals, and enjoy counselor-led activities like hiking or archery or maybe even go on a local winery tour. The next Family Camps happen over Mother’s Day weekend (May 10-12) and Memorial Day weekend (May 25-27).
For more information about Camp Stevens programs or to register for camp, please visit them on the web by clicking here. Plan to register early because some sessions do fill up quickly.
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