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Campers enjoy the Escondido Creek during last year’s Escondido Creek Conservancy Summer Adventure Camp. Photo courtesy of Escondido Creek Conservancy
Campers enjoy the Escondido Creek during last year’s Escondido Creek Conservancy Summer Adventure Camp. Photo courtesy of Escondido Creek Conservancy
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Escondido Creek Conservancy summer camp showcases Elfin Forest

Summer will definitely not be a bummer for children participating in the Escondido Creek Conservancy’s Adventure Camp. This summer day camp program launched last summer and returns for more fun and excitement on June 20.

The Escondido Creek Adventure Camp is a wildly engaging five-day outdoor day camp, where, campers ages 7-10 will explore the enchanting Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve, and where they will discover the natural world by hiking, playing, and conducting hands-on science. But don’t wait, spots are filling up fast!

The camp starts June 20 with openings for the weeks of June 27, July 11, July 25 and Aug. 1.

The wide variety of activities includes guided exploration, crafts, games, science experiments, stories, visits from special live animal ambassadors and more. Each of the five days at camp will have a different theme, including Exploration & Discovery, Plants & Pollinators, Amazing Animal Adaptations, Watershed Wonders, and Pollution & the Solution.

Our camp counselors will engage the kids through the natural beauty of the Elfin Forest, where many species of native plants and animals reside.

The Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve is a spectacular 784-acre open space park and recreational area, offering approximately 11 miles of hiking, mountain biking, equestrian trails, picnic areas, and scenic mountain viewing points.

In March of 2008, the Escondido Creek Conservancy and Olivenhain Municipal Water District partnered to create the Elfin Forest Interpretive Center Honoring Susan J. Varty, located at 8833 Harmony Grove Road in Escondido.

Campers get an up close look at a turtle during last year’s Escondido Creek Conservancy Summer Adventure Camp. The camp returns June 20 for kids ages 7-10. Courtesy photo
Campers get an up close look at a turtle during last year’s Escondido Creek Conservancy Summer Adventure Camp. The camp returns June 20 for kids ages 7-10. Courtesy photo

Since then, the two organizations have collaborated to provide educational programing and environmental management opportunities within the Reserve.

The Elfin Forest Reserve makes the perfect backdrop for youth to engage with nature and participate in hands-on learning. Campers get to play, learn, and explore the natural beauty of the reserve and its many native plant communities of oak riparian, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral.

Most importantly, they get the opportunity to learn about the importance of preserving habitats like these for many years to come.

Campers will be picked up from Grape Day Park in downtown Escondido and transported to the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve, where they are transformed into scientists and will engage in nature-based activities, all of which are intended to introduce the campers to the fun and the wonder of the outdoors.

At the end of each day, the campers return to Grape Day Park where they are given time to enjoy supervised free play and socialize with their fellow campers until their parents/guardians pick them up.

The cost is $275 and each day runs from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. with pick-up at Grape Day Park between 1-1:30 p.m. For more information and to register, visit https://escondidocreek.org/adventure-camp/