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Yosemite Summer Camps

Yosemite Backpacking Summer Camps Overview

Yosemite summer camps are the Lasting Adventures specialty. We offer a 6-day Young Adventurers’ Program for ages 11 to 13, a choice of a 6-day or 13-day program for teens ages 13 to 18, a 13-day Women’s Adventure Camp for young females, and a 27-day Junior Guide Leadership Expedition for teens ages 14 to 18 looking for a more advanced adventure.

For all our Yosemite Summer Camps, participants are equipped with top-of-the-line gear provided by Gregory PacksLEKI trekking poles and our other outstanding partners. The primary goal of our expertly managed, professionally outfitted Yosemite youth programs is to provide unforgettable experiences that intimately connect each child with nature, themselves, and the greater world around them.

Throughout our youth and teen outdoor summer camps, participants are guided along some of the most famous trails and to the top of some of the most iconic peaks within Yosemite National Park. Our experienced leaders have extensive knowledge of the backcountry and are trained to share their expertise personally with each participants.

In addition to taking participants to many of Yosemite’s famous destinations, our leaders guide guests to lesser-known areas, such as off-the-trail high alpine lakes (where fish are plentiful), backcountry waterfalls, alpine meadows, and spectacular vistas. Participants will walk on Yosemite’s fabled polished granite, experience the park’s famous sunsets from unparalleled vantages, and discover the nuances of its majestic wilderness teeming with life.

On most trips, we backpack every day except one (a layover day and location is usually agreed upon by the team) and we are on the trail for an average of 3 to 5 hours each day. Most of our Yosemite backpacking adventures go from a higher elevation to a lower elevation (in other words, we generally hike downhill), and throughout the experience, we take our time, take in the views, and break at some awesome watering holes. Even so, views of the Yosemite backcountry are just one of the many outcomes that come from these adventures. For our youth and teen backpackers in Yosemite, inspiration, passion and life skills are the paramount takeaway.

The primary mission of our outdoor summer camp is to foster environmental stewardship, teach responsible recreation, and provide opportunity for personal growth through the facilitation of impactful wilderness experiences. Through our nonprofit scholarship program, we also seek to provide disadvantaged youth, families, and communities the opportunity to experience America’s National Parks, regardless of their economic standing. In addition to unique individual backgrounds and certifications, our outdoor educators are trained in Adventure Based Programming, which challenges participants to improve their sense of self-esteem, worth, and confidence. Campers participate in daily goal-setting, group activities, and debriefing (usually mixed in with marshmallows around the campfire), all done within an environment of fun and support. All participants also learn basic backpacking skills, wilderness ethics, wilderness appreciation and Leave No Trace principles. Along with creating lasting memories, our goal is for participants to finish their adventure with a greater knowledge and appreciation of themselves, the world at large, and the environments around them.

Yosemite Summer Camp Adventures

participants resting on one of our california outdoor summer camps

Junior Guide Leadership Expedition

This 27-day wilderness summer camp in the California high country is geared toward youth looking for an adventure beyond our other Yosemite summer camps.

Trip Highlights:

Difficulty:

Strenuous

Trip Length:

27 Days
young women resting on our Yosemite girls summer camp adventure

6 & 13-Day Yosemite Young Women’s Programs

This unique Yosemite summer camp for girls ages 13-17, led by our top female guides, focuses on showing young women their true potential in both an outdoor setting and in their day-to-day lives while teaching the practical skills of backpacking and outdoor safety.

Trip Highlights:

Difficulty:

Moderate-Strenuous

Trip Length:

6 Days
participants on our 13-Day backpacking summer camp adventure in Yosemite

13-Day Yosemite High Country Adventure

This 13-Day Backpacking Summer Camp in Yosemite combines risk-taking and challenges along with fun and support from others while camping and hiking beside high alpine lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and meadows.

Trip Highlights:

Difficulty:

Moderate-Strenuous

Trip Length:

13 Days
Participants relax during one of our West Coast Summer Camps in Yosemite National Park California

6-Day Yosemite High Country Adventure

This Yosemite summer camp adventure includes camping and hiking beside high alpine lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and meadows.

Trip Highlights:

Difficulty:

Moderate-Strenuous

Trip Length:

6 Days
Hikers enjoying the view on one of our Yosemite summer camp programs for kids

6-Day Yosemite Young Adventurer’s Program

These Yosemite summer camp programs for youths 11-13 offer shorter hiking distances and an introduction to camping, backpacking, and the outdoors among the natural geological formations surrounding us in the Yosemite high country.

Trip Highlights:

Difficulty:

Easy-Moderate

Trip Length:

6 Days

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