Summer Camp Programs

June 16th - 21st, 2025

Overview

Is your child an explorer in the making? Do they love the great outdoors? Are they curious about hiking in nature, wildlife observation, camping, learning survival skills and more, but have never had the chance to experience such activities? Our Youth Summer Camp Programs provide Frederick County, MD 4^th, 5^th and 6^th graders the opportunity to explore some of our national parks. We are currently planning future trips for 10^th, 11^th and 12^th graders, so stay tuned!

In 2025, our youth summer camp trip is to the world’s oldest national park, Yellowstone National Park! With 2.2 million acres available to explore, this trip is bound to give your kid memories to last a lifetime.

Also, if you sign up for our 2025 Youth Summer Camp at Yellowstone National Park, your child will also be able to attend all of our October 2024 – May 2025 local Outdoor Education Programs at no additional cost. That’s a total of 6 adventures your kid can attend!

We do provide financial aid for those who qualify!

Requirements for Financial Aid

Get Kids Outside will pay up to 90% of the cost of the outdoor program for your child for those that qualify. Qualifications are based on Household income using the ALICE standards.
Each child is required to get 2 letters of recommendations. These can be from a teacher at school, a coach, a church leader, or from a community program leader such as Scouts, FFA, 4-H, etc.
Each child receiving funding is required to attend the Fundraising dinner on March 12^th and 2 of our Outdoor Education Programs prior to the Camp.
Each child should bring one silent auction item for the annual fundraiser. We can help with ideas if you would like to make your own basket, or we can also refer you to companies that have given us a basket/item in the past and would be willing to give again in the future.

If you would like more information on how your child can receive financial aid, please click here to send us an email: Scholarships and Financial Aid.

Donate Here

Your donation helps fund our nonprofit, Get Kids Outside, so that we can continue our mission! Don’t forget: Since Get Kids Outside is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, any donation you make is tax-deductible!

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Adventure Highlights

Visit iconic landmarks such as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, Mud Volcano and Yellowstone Lake
See geothermal features such as Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic, Fountain Paint Pots and Roaring Mountain
Witness a beautiful sunrise over Hell Roaring Creek
Experience the thrill of horseback riding and learn important horsemanship skills.
Observe wildlife such as bears and wolves and visit the acclimation pens from the 1995 Reintroduction of Wolves
STEM projects

Summer Camp Itinerary

Our morning will start early as we meet locally in Frederick, MD to carpool to one of our local airports to catch a flight to Bozeman, MT. Once in Montana, we’ll have the chance to make a quick stop at a local grocery store to pick up our preordered supplies for the week. We’ll then drive to Gardiner, MT and the northwest entrance of Yellowstone National Park where we’ll check in to our cabin for the week. After settling in and enjoying a hardy dinner, we’ll take a short ride into the park for our first opportunity to observe the wildlife.

Today we will visit the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, Mud Volcano, and Yellowstone Lake. Kids will have a great opportunity to learn about the fascinating history of the world’s first national park and the super volcano that fuels it.

Today is the day all our future geologists will be waiting for with great anticipation! We’ll visit some of the more than 10,000 geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park, such as Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic, Fountain Paint Pots and Roaring Mountain.

Our morning will start before the crack of dawn as we will leave early to catch a beautiful sunrise over Hell Roaring Creek. Next we’ll search for some apex predators, such as bears and wolves. We’ll also go to one of the most special and “secret” places in the park, an acclimation pen from the 1995 Wolf Reintroduction. This is one of the first den sites where wolf puppies were born in the park and will provide a great chance for kids to learn about some of the parks wonderful wildlife.

Today we’ll being putting our STEM caps on. Most of this day will be dedicated to reviewing what the kids learned so far and using their skills to complete several STEM projects from throughout the week. This will include our wildlife observation from some of David’s favorite lesser known parts of the park. If we’re lucky and the sky is clear, this will also be a great night to re-enter the park for some breathtaking stargazing. Your kid just might get to see the Milky Way with their own eyes!

Sadly it’s time to pack up and head home. After cleaning up our cabin, washing all the dishes and taking the trash out we’ll drive back to Bozeman to catch our flight home. We can arrange a carpool to and from the airport with a meeting place back in Frederick, MD where the kids can share all of their great stories with you.

Note on Itinerary:

Although we do our very best to adhere to the schedule listed above, this itinerary is subject to change, for numerous reasons beyond our control, including weather and trail conditions. Know that things are always changing. Many factors go into daily decisions and can greatly impact what each day looks like, including other groups, guest abilities, extreme conditions, and inclement weather.