Sapling Camps

What to Bring:

Backpack
Towel
Lunch and snacks
Water bottle (we’ll have a cooler for refills)
Sunscreen (swim shirts are highly recommended for helping prevent sunburn!)
Rain gear if the forecast calls for it
Medications if necessary
Please leave phones and electronics at home!

What to Wear:

For land based activities:

Comfortable, weather appropriate clothes
Sneakers or other shoes that are comfortable for running and climbing
Hair ties for longer hair *hairstyles must be able to fit under a helmet*

For river activities: *We plan on swimming in the river every day of the week*

Swimsuit (we encourage campers to wear swim trunks or their swimsuit under their clothes since changing areas are limited)
Water shoes, secure sandals (like Chacos, Tevas, or Keens), or old tennis shoes other than their running/climbing footwear. No crocs or flip flops!

• My child is on the waitlist. How likely are they to get into that camp session?
  • I would not count on it. While it does happen from time to time, it is generally unlikely. Please refer to our cancellation and waitlist policy at the bottom of the page.
• Will my child be in the same group as his or her friends?
  • If they are signed up for the same camp (Old Growth, Birch Sapling, Red Oak, etc) and the same week they will be in the same group.
• What is the difference between Red Oak, White Oak, and Post Oak camps?
  • Red Oak, White Oak, and Post Oak camps are separate groups of kids with a different set of counselors, but will have the same programming in regards to adventure activities. They are equally awesome!
  • The same is true for Maple Sapling and Birch Sapling.
• Do you perform background checks on your staff?
  • Yes. We perform annual checks on all of our camp staff through a third party which covers local, state, federal and sex offender registries.
• My child is turning _______ years old on ________. Can you make an age exception?
  • We almost never make exceptions in regards to our age groups. We have built into our camp structure a one year overlap in camps (i.e. a 9 year old could attend Sapling or Oak, and a 12 year old could attend Oak, River Shredders, or Old Growth).
• I am trying to enroll my child in a camp but I’m not seeing the enrollment options for their age group.
  • It’s most likely that the camper’s age was incorrectly listed upon enrollment. Please email us at riversidecamps@gmail.com if you run into this problem.
• Do you offer extended day programming?
  • We have built into our schedule a flexible pick-up time between 3:30PM and 4:00PM.
• I’ve forgotten my password and when I try to reset it through the website I am not receiving any emails.
  • Most likely, the email you used to initially register your account is no longer current. Your email address is like a user name in our system so if that changes we need to be notified to change that on our end. If you can think of what email you initially received our confirmations from, that is the account to sign in on and book for the summer.
• Are you hiring?
  • We hire for the summer season between January and June. Apply here for summer camp employment.
• Do you have a Counselor-In-Training (CIT) program?
  • Yes! 16-17 year olds are welcome to apply as CITs. Apply here. Our CITs volunteer at our Sapling, Oak, and Earth Heroes camps for 2 weeks during the summer (preferably consecutive, Mon-Fri). They function as counselors and role models for the kids, are directly mentored by our experienced staff, and learn both technical and transferable skills in the education and outdoor recreation fields. If all goes well, they receive stellar references from us and are invited to apply to work with us as counselors once they turn 18.
• Do you have a scholarship program?
  • We do! If none of the sliding scale choices are affordable to you, please email us at info@riversidecamps.com to ask about our scholarship program. In order to offer assistance without increasing barriers, we do not require proof of income, but ask that you only request scholarship funds if you’re not able to attend otherwise.
  • There is an option to donate to the scholarship fund during the registration process. Donations are not tax deductible. All scholarship funds go directly towards camp spots for scholarship recipients.

**Cancellation/Refund Policy: All payments are non-refundable. Exceptions made at the discretion of our staff. If we are able to fill your camper’s spot through the waitlist, we will refund you all but a $35 per instance processing fee. See our waitlist policy below.**

**Wait List Policy: If we are filling spaces in a camp more than 1 month out from the start of that camp week, we will contact one family at a time from the wait list on a first-to-sign-up basis and give them 48 hrs to accept the spot. After 48 hrs we will contact the next family on the list.  If it is within a month of a camp session, we will contact everyone on the wait list concurrently and follow a first-to-respond policy.**