Our kids attending the week long summer camp and they loved it. It was the perfect blend of outdoor fun and activities for their age, 9 and 11. They made connections with staff and other campers and were happy to chat about what they did each day. Staff posted email updates a couple of times in the week on what they did and what they would do. Definitely would recommend. I got a real sense that the staff took great care of the kids right from the start and were 100% engaged read more

My kids love Wilderskills. They come home every day from camp excited to be learning about making shelter, cooking food, identifying plants, and learning survival skills. And it's so wonderful to have them in nature all day, playing and coming home tired and dirty. Thank you to the counselors and leads for making this camp so special! read more

Sadly this camp did not live up to expectations. The program was extremely rigid with lots of time spent sitting around and being bored. My son was made to feel unwelcome and despite multiple attempts to get feedback from management, it has been over a week and still no communication. read more

My kid enjoyed summer camp. Great teachers, plenty of fun, plus he learned a lot. Great camp!

Thank you for an amazing week for my two boys! I was not sure whether my older son (11) would take to this camp but the activities you did and the free play engaged them both very well. They learned a lot of new skills (filtering water, making tools and backpacks and shelter) and came home with some pretty amazing crafts (handmade spoons and nature books). They also came home happy, dirty (love it!) and tired and eager to share their discoveries and creations. This camp was great so kudos to the counselors and planners!! read more

Our boys (10 and 12) did the camp this summer, and they LOVED it! They learned a lot about the outdoors and survival skills, which is a lifelong skill that they will keep. They had so much fun playing in nature, using knives, and starting fires! I loved that they had a week without devices and they didn't miss them! We'll be back next summer! read more

I brought my daughter to WilderSkills for their recent demo day and we loved it. My daughter and I do a lot of things outdoors, but it was really fun to learn more about local plants and shelter building - things that I didn't know! My daughter really loved climbing inside the shelter after we were done, she was pretending to be a squirrel! It was also cool to practice fire building. We couldn't actually get an ember, like the instructors were showing us, but it was fun to try. I do wish the class had been a bit longer, I think a few of the participants wished they had more time on fire building. But then again there is so much to cover in just a demo day! I'm planning on signing my daughter up for the summer program. read more

Amazing day!! We had a great time AND learned something too. I really think if I got lost hiking, I would have the skills needed to keep me alive until I found my way, or until I was rescued. This is definitely a learn-by-doing experience and this process allows your confidence to grow. Shelter, water, fire, food - everything was covered with information and ways of thinking that I had never been exposed to. Of course for the kids, it was all about the fire!! Making fire was such an awesome experience and Dan was so patient and made sure that everyone was able to achieve their fire-making goal! I highly recommend this wonderful day-in-the-woods experience!! read more

My little one loved this camp. Knife skills, independence, wilderness safety, and socializing with children she would otherwise not have known. You know how little kids are- you try to teach them something and it's boring, but for some reason it clicks when someone else is instructing. Suddenly the child knows how to use a knife without chopping a finger off! I think that was the most important skill acquired. Be ready to pick up a tuckered out kid if they are on the young side. Mine passed out in the back seat on the ride home the first day and was so close to doing the same for the rest of the week. All in all well worth it. I do hope they expand and start offering something closer to Santa Cruz because that hour drive every morning- then working in coffee shops in Seratoga? Ehh... not my absolute favorite, but I've spent the day writing in worse places before. read more

It was great to find a summer camp that wasn't about computers or sports. My son (13yr) loves the outdoors and had a great time at camp. Every day he would come home and write and illustrate what he learned in a camp journal that he decided to create. He would go in the back yard and show the rest of the family some of the skills he learned. Was great to see all the excitement and new skills he learned. read more

We love Wilderskills and the opportunities for learning and personal growth that it offers. The counselors are knowledgeable, kind, and foster independence and confidence in the campers. The location is gorgeous, and it provides a different type of experience for kids who are often too connected to screens. Best of all, my son loves coming each day and requests to attend year after year! read more

Totally Impressed. The curriculum is really well-rounded and informative, but still really engaging and entertaining for kids. I feel like things things like this you have to choose one or the other: Either it is really sound curriculum, or its fun, this one was both. Dan's ability to move through the course content smoothly and efficiently balanced perfectly with Laura's engaging stories and activities and ability to connect with the kids is magic to watch. I want to grab other people's kids and take them just to watch it happen all over again. Great skills, great service, awesome people. read more

I just can't say enough good things about Wilder Skills. As a parent of a child with severe ADHD which caused us to have a terrible time in the past with summer camps, we were looking for something in nature (great for ADHD) that would let him have a fun summer camp experience and be successful. Not only was he successful, but he was happier coming home each day than we've ever seen. The only downside that I can see is that there are now wood shavings all over our yard as he's taken to practicing his skills during all his free time!!! We did Wilder Skills for the few weeks this summer between normal school and the summer school session that is a part of his special education program. When he got to summer school, they asked us who this kid was, he was more calm and focused than they had ever seen. We were excited to hear that Wilder Skills is going to be running a year round session and hopefully, you will see us there. Thank You!!!! read more

Extremely patient with my two boys (one of which was really acting up) during the summer camp - who both love the outdoors. Will do this again, may sign up for a weekend class myself. Raising my boys to not be afraid of the wild, and developing the confidence to deal with it. read more

My 8-year-old son took this camp for a week in July 2014. He LOVED it! The location couldn't be more gorgeous, and it was great to see kids getting down and dirty with nature. read more

My 8 year old son loved WilderSkills summer camp. He rated it #1 out of 8 different camps he took last summer. I myself was envious of all the fun and useful survival techniques they have learned. My favorite was a spoon he made by burning out an indentation on a tree branch. read more

I very rarely do reviews, however I am excited to have found this gem of an opportunity. My three children (11/9 and 7) were interested in this camp and I have to say I was hesitant as they have different interested. I signed them up and on picking them up the first day I found they did not want to leave. On the 2nd day I did not have to wake them up and they were beyond excited to get to camp. This camp goes above and beyond any expectations I had for them. Hands down the `best camp ever' they have attended in their eyes. I would have to agree there. They are going to do the Advanced course next Summer. Every topic is well thought out and safely taught. Highly recommend this outdoor experience for all. Hoping to attend as a family very soon. Well done WilderSkills on a quality, attentive and engaging program. read more

I don't normally write reviews, but this camp is worth sharing. It's such a breath of fresh air to see something getting kids in nature, giving them space and tools to connect them to the primal ways of living. The camp is very well run and the leaders of the camp are not only extremely skilled, but also kind awesome people, always with a smile. Location is beautiful. My kids came home passionate about so many new things they learned. And are still carving wood every chance they get! read more

My kids have attended WilderSkills camps two years in a row. After their first year, they insisted on attending at least two sessions. They look forward to WilderSkills all year. It is their favorite camp by far! The setting is beautiful, the kids have wonderful freedom to explore, they are taught new skills that my kids talk about through the year, and they develop true confidence in their abilities outdoors. The counselors are kind, thoughtful, and incredibly knowledgeable. Dan does an incredible job with the camp details, connecting with the kids, and putting together a truly unique experience, not to be missed! read more

Awesome camp. Our kids loved it. There were great shared experiences with a real connection to nature.

If you can only send your daughter or son to one camp this summer, this is the one. This is an extremely well run camp by adults who really believe in what they are teaching, are invested in the kids having a wonderful experience, and who are skilled, thoughtful, and mature enough to carry out that task. Our camp was run by Dan with assistants Nikki and Jack. The kids learned how to carve wood with a knife, build a warm shelter for the night, find their way in the woods, camouflage themselves with clay and mud, and build a fire with a kit they made themselves (no matches). They had ample time to just run around in the beautiful redwoods, rocks, and creek at the site. What a fun, happy, and wonderful week out in nature for them! The leaders made sure all the boys and girls had the opportunity to participate in everything according to their interest (but did not push them), the leaders participated in the games the led, and they nurtured the kids. Issues with bullying and stick-throwing were kept well at bay; these folks know how to run a camp and keep kids secure. I was extremely impressed. We'll sign up again next year! read more

Absolutely awesome!! We learned how to survive, make fire, and build a shelter out of nothing but what we could find. Things I've wanted to know for years! The best part was seeing self-confidence grow in the kids as they made their own fires and architected their own shelters. Phenomenal! Wish we could do more. read more

I can not recommend this camp and company enough! My husband and I had a blast the one day we did it. So much that we're going to do another one in the next couple months. My daughter is so lucky, she had an incredible week playing and learning survival skills in nature. She learned how to make a friction fire kit (bow drill, spindle, wood plank, and hand hold) and use it to make coal then used to make fire. She also had so much fun being covered and covering herself in clay so that she could camouflage. They got to make a spoon by burning the wood with coal and carving out the ashes. They also learned how to make shelter by starting with the spine (long log brace on a tree), adding the ribs (smaller branches on the sides to create the space), building the inside (bedding using pine needles), and adding the fat and skin (more pine needles and dried leaves). They also learned how to clean water to drink by dropping in hot rocks from the fire pit and how to distinguish edible plants. With all that they learned, they still had time to play survival skill games and plenty of free play! read more

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I'm so excited to have such a wonderful program here in the Peninsula! Laura Stein's knowledge of wild edible plants was impressively extensive, and I came away from my Wilderskills experience feeling more confident that I could survive by myself in the great outdoors-and eat well! Check them out...Wilderskills rocks! read more

My students (4th and 5th grade) and I recently took a field trip to WilderSkills as a part of our SS study of Early Peoples. We spent the day amongst the redwoods, learning what life was like for our native ancestors.From boiling water with rocks, to weaving rope from plants, students learned that surviving in the wild is no easy task. The activities supported our cooperation and team building skills, as students needed to work together to build a shelter of pine needle "duff" and crack acorns for ash cakes.The kids had an absolute blast and are already asking if we can go back! I would highly recommend this trip! read more