Join us for summer camp! We offer one or two week-long nature camps for ages 5-18. Most are day camps (children return home each afternoon) and we also offer away camping and backpacking trips for teens.
Groups of 12 children meet every day at various spots throughout Santa Barbara and Goleta. Camps for ages 6+ travel in passenger van to different local resource-rich locations each day, such as creeks, beaches and open spaces. Every program has 12 kids and 2 staff/1 volunteer to achieve a 4:1 ratio of children to adults.
Our staff create an environment of respect and safety for your children, so they are free to explore their own curiosities outdoors while deepening their connection to the natural world.
2019 Summer Camps
To join waitlists, please click the green button to the right, “Join Waitlists”
As of May 1st, our waitlists have moved to a “first responds, first served” basis. This means that each week we will send out notifications when a space in a camp is available, at 12:15 pm every Wednesday, and the space will be given to the first family to respond to the email. So to receive these emails, please register your child/family and choose the weeks of summer you are interested in joining (the more availability you have, the better your chances).
Please note: At this time, we have allocated the vast majority of funds we had available for summer scholarships, so we are no longer able to offer scholarships deeper than what your household size and income indicates you are eligible for. If you have received a scholarship for two weeks of camp already, we cannot give you additional scholarships and will require you to pay at program fee for additional camps you would like to join.
What are the dates for the 2019 summer camp lottery?
Lottery sign-ups for Summer 2019 FOR ALL FAMILIES (including school-year families) runs through February 25th – March 8th. Lottery results will be announced via email. Entries received after March 8th will not be included in the first round of lottery (but a lot of things shift so there is still a good chance you can get a spot if you register after the deadline).
Which programs are affected by the lottery?
The weighted lottery system applies to registration for summer programs. It also applies to our bi-annual Family Camps and some adult programs, depending on popularity of the event.
How do I sign up for the lottery?
We recommend using Chrome or Firefox
- Log in (or create an account) at register.wyp.org
- If you are adding new participants, add participants that you would like to register from the “Contact and Household” tab at the top of the page. Make sure to enter the correct amount of kids and their current grade level (current participants will not need to follow this step)
- Continue to the “Register Programs” page
- From the drop-down on the top of the page, select “summer”
- Select programs to waitlist then scroll down to the bottom of the page and continue to the “Review and Pay” page
- List varying levels of preference for each kid in each camp that they are waitlisted for
- The more camps that you waitlist for, the better chance we have of finding one with space
- In “Payment Notes” leave a note about your payment preferences (we will not charge you until you are awarded a summer camp)
- In “Other Preferences” leave any notes about who you would like to participate with and the amount of weeks you are hoping to join for thissummer (we will do our best to accommodate for friends and siblings)
- Under payment options, select “join waitlist.” You MUST select “join waitlist” and check out to be placed on a summer waitlist.
What factors affect my chances of enrollment in summer camps?
Families who participate in our school year programs receive PRIORITY REGISTRATION (see below).Our weighted lottery system is not completely random. Certain factors will affect your chances of enrollment, weighted in the following order:
- No outstanding balances from past sessions
- Ability to be flexible in schedule (i.e. “My child is available for most sessions in summer, other than our first choice”)
- Balancing for demographic diversity
- Participation in past summer camps
What happens if I miss the first round of lottery?
Any family (including school-year families) who registers after the March 8th lottery period will be considered for Lottery Round 2.
- Join the waitlist for all sessions you are available for.
- WYP will contact you via registrar@wyp.org if a spot becomes available for your child.
- Families who were included in the first round of lottery, but did not get a spot.
- Families who submitted registration between March 8th and April 15th.
Starting May 1st: Open spots will be filled via an email that goes out to everyone on the waitlist for a given age group, regardless of when they submitted registration.
How many camps can my child participate in this summer?
Read Our Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about WYP summer camps
| CAMP | Ages | Duration | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bumblebees |
Ages 4-5
|
1 week
|
9 AM – 1:30 PM (no aftercare)
9 AM – 3 pm (aftercare) |
|
Ages 6-8
|
1 week or 2 weeks
|
9 AM – 3 PM
|
|
|
Ages 9-11
|
1 week or 2 weeks
|
9 AM – 4 PM
|
|
|
Ages 12-14
|
1 week
|
9 AM – 4 PM
|
|
|
Ages 13-17
|
5-day backpacking
|
Away teen trip
|
|
|
Ages 11-14
|
2 week, 1 wk day camp, 1 week backpacking or residential camping
|
First week:
9 AM – 4 PM
Second week:
Away trip
|
|
| Four Fires |
Ages 13-17
|
1 week Additional application required
|
Away teen trip
|
|
Ages 14-16
|
1 week training for teens (including CPR/First Aid, prep week for volunteering with children later in summer),
|
Assigned camp time
|
|
|
All ages
|
1 weekend camping at Arroyo Hondo
|
Friday evening-Sunday afternoon
|
To see Summer 2019 Pricing, see our Summer Schedule
Program fees for summer camps are organized via sliding scale levels based on ability to pay. More on our pricing.
- Program Fee: This is the actual cost of running the program for Wilderness Youth Project
- Scholarship Level 1, Subsidy: For families that need some financial assistance
- Scholarship Level 2 & Deep Scholarships, Deep Subsidy: For low income families****Deeper scholarships below Level 2 may be requested by completing the scholarship request amount during the application process.
Deeper Scholarship Request Policy: We are only able to grant deeper scholarships below Scholarship Level 2 for:
- up to two weeks of summer camp per child for ages Treefrog and older
- one week of Bumblebees per child
Each family must pay a minimum of $30/child/week. If a family would like to participate in more weeks of summer camp, they must pay at Scholarship Level 2.
WYP Cancellation Policy
Cancellations made 2 weeks before the start of camp will not be refunded.
