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Outdoors With Friends' Washington, DC Camps

 

Camp registration packet is available for download here

 

Our Camps: We will be offering Spring Break camp for March 29th through April 2nd as well as five weeks of Summer Camp in 2010. Camp activity descriptions are at the bottom of this web page. All camps have a Thursday overnight camping trip with campers back at home base on Friday. Our camps focus on team building and outdoor exploration, and we love to have fun. The mission of Outdoors With Friends is simple; to provide the best possible outdoor educational experience for children without compromising the experience itself.

 

Locations: We're operating camp out of the Community Center at the Horace Mann School, 4300 Newark St in NW. Each week, Day One is always held at the Community Center, but the rest of the week includes local trips scheduled within a 60 mile radius of the DC metro area. Trips from various weeks include visiting Great Falls, Carderock, Catoctin Mountain, Harpers Ferry, Shenandoah National Park, Calvert Cliffs, and Bull Run National Park.

 

Ages: Our Camps are designed for ages 8-12 but exceptions can be made in certain situations (for example, if siblings would like to attend together).

 

Camp Size: 25 campers

 

What to Bring to Camp: We meet at 8:30 every morning at Horace Mann Elementary's Community Center (behind the school). Please let us know if you can't get there by 9:30 in the morning, so we know that you will be late. Pick up is at 4:30, unless you have told us the day before that you need aftercare... then pick-up is 5:30. Here's some things to bring:

 

Outdoor Adventure and Safety: Are your kids going to come home injured every day? No. We are going to take risks, but they are controlled. Your kids will learn how to climb trees properly, without falling. They will learn how to construct friction devices to build a primitive fire. We will construct bows and arrows and fire them, and learn how to use them safely. We will learn how to recognize potentially dangerous situations in the woods, and more importantly, how to avoid them. And we’ll have FUN! 

 

Times and Costs: The cost for a week of camp is $285. Camp runs from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Before- and after-care is $20 per day. There is no charge for before-care for Horace Mann students. An after-care fee of $20 is charged for each child not picked up at 4:30 pm. We have to have advanced notice if you need before- and after-care either on the registration form or you can give us notice one day in advance.

 

Registration Process: Spots will be filled in order of completed registration packet and payment received via mail, and a waiting list will be created. If you don't receive an email confirmation from us, then you are not registered.

Here's how to register -
  1. Call Matt at 202-758-3377 – This will give us an opportunity to tell you more about the camp and also what to expect so you may determine if our camp is right for your child. Matt will then email you a registration packet. This is a home office number. Feel free to call up until 9PM.
  2. Fill out the registration packet and mail it in with payment in full. Please have the forms returned to Matt as soon as possible to ensure that your child gets a spot. The registration packet and payment must be mailed in.  The address is on page one of your packet.
  3. You will receive a confirmation email. Upon receipt of your completed registration packet and payment, you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive a confirmation email then we do not have your child registered for camp.

 

Refunds will be made up to 30 days before the start of camp. After that, refunds will only be given if the vacant spot is filled.

 

Questions: Please contact Matt with any questions at 202.758-3377.

 

Spring Break Camp Activities: March 29 through April 2

Monday: Onsite. Wilderness First Aid training, get-to-know-you games and trust activities. And, as always, the beginning of our traditional week-long battle of Capture-the-Flag.

Tuesday: Trip to Rock Creek Park. James and Matt have hidden a huge stash of Treasure somewhere in the park, but you’ll need your compass, animal tracking and primitive hunting skills to locate it. All participants will have to work as a team in order to find the bounty!

Wednesday: Rock climbing at Carderock. Test your limits, challenge yourself and support your friends as we climb the cliffs along the Potomac.

Thursday: Drive out to the Blackburn Trail Cabin in Virginia for an overnight camping trip. Wood stoves, roaring campfires, hot dogs, S’mores, sleeping bags, a night hike, and, as always, it’s Girls versus Boys in our Annual Dutch Auction.

Friday: Wake up, have a hearty breakfast, clean up our cabin and head out to Harpers Ferry for one final showdown of Capture-the-Flag in the ruins of the old battlegrounds on the river. We’ll have lunch in town before heading home.

 

 

SUMMER CAMP ONE: Extreme Adventure (EA), June 28 through July 2

Monday: Onsite. Wilderness First Aid training, get-to-know-you games and trust activities.

Tuesday: Canoeing on the C&O canal, emergency water safety training, build our own raft project.

Wednesday: Extreme climbing at Carderock (but also extremely safe).

Thursday/Friday: We will be continuing our extreme adventure and doing our overnight at Burke Lake Regional Park. We had a great time last year at Burke Lake, and we'll be back Friday afternoon and hope to get in another game of Capture-the Flag.

SUMMER CAMP TWO: Survival 101 (S1), July 5 through 9

Monday: Onsite. Team-building, and get-to-know-you games and trust activities.

Tuesday: We will learn how to make our own primitive compasses and read a topographical map to locate a hidden stash of treasure in Rock Creek Park. Along the way, we will learn how to locate fresh water and build emergency shelters.

Wednesday: Climbing at Carderock. Participants will also learn how to build a litter to move injured team members through the woods in an emergency scenario activity.

Thursday/Friday: We will learn primitive fishing, tracking and fire building skills at Lake Fairfax.

SUMMER CAMP THREE: Mountain Explorers (ME), July 12 through 16

Monday: Onsite. Team-building, and get-to-know-you games and trust activities.

Tuesday: We'll be exploring the cliffs and rock formations along the Potomac river at Great Falls. While in the park, campers will learn how to use compasses, read maps, and track small animals.

Wednesday: Climbing and rock exploration at Carderock.

Thursday/Friday: After setting up camp, we will have an afternoon rock climbing session in Catoctin National Park. Before bed time we'll go for a brief night hike, then it's up before dawn to watch the sun rise.

SUMMER CAMP FOUR: Battle Week (BW), July 26 through 30

Monday: Onsite. Team-building and trust activities, as well as new strategies for our week-long battle of Capture-the-Flag (CTF).

Tuesday: We're going to historic Fort McHenry in Baltimore to capture the flag at the fort!

Wednesday: Carderock climbing and more CTF along the banks of the Potomac.

Thursday/Friday: We're setting up camp at Bull Run Regional Park. We're spending the afternoon in the water park and then it's the grand finale of CTF on the old Civil War Battle grounds.

SUMMER CAMP FIVE: Pirates Week (PW), August 2 through 6

Monday: Onsite. We're doing crew-building activities and getting our sea legs.

Tuesday: The crew is off to Fletcher's Boathouse for an awesome water battle on the low seas.

Wednesday: Up the main topmast, we're climbing at Carderock.

Thursday/Friday: We're off to the shipwreck at the water park at Bull Run Regional Park. A night hike along the river before we start our Thursday bonfire, we'll return on Friday with tales of treasure.