Outdoor Free Play for Kids

My 5 year old went to 6 different camps last summer through Palo Alto (Enjoy), Stanford, and Legarza - this was by far his favorite. He has asked that he only do this camp next year. He got to go to various locations around the Bay Area and explore nature. It was definitely his only camp where he was a kid being a kid. Will definitely do this next year!

This camp was not like any camp we have gone to in the past. In hindsight, we should have read between the lines of what the camp was really offering. However, we do not want others to miss the signs we did. Our experience was as follows:
Our kids were driven in a bus to to a neighborhood public park with water features. There was 1 adult for 11 kids. The adult stayed near the park bench and was on the phone or lying down on the bench so there was no supervision. There was also no engagement or activity planning by the camp. This is probably the intent with “free play”, but we did not realize that and I wanted the next family to be aware. The kids were asked to use the public bathrooms to change into swim wear and afterwards came home in their swim clothes (although mostly dried off). There was a snack break where the kids were offered ice cream. We decided to not send the kids after the first day. The 1 star is to convey that we would not recommend this camp to anyone unless they need immediate help as this camp does do walk-ins.

Good camp. Kids were happy and tired from a whole day of outdoor play and hiking/tidepool etc.

I have been an educator for over twenty years in the roles of teacher, principal, superintendent, and equity coach. Most kids will tell you that their favorite time of the school day is recess, lunch, and PE. The reason is simple: kids get to socialize and have fun in a safe environment without a lot of structure. Essentially, they get to just be kids for a while without getting in trouble for being loud and energetic. We wonder why youth struggle so much these days, but then we expect them to sit quietly all day in classrooms, spend countless hours on homework, participate in structured sports, and when they finally do have time to themselves, they sit in front of screens.
When I saw this camp, I did not hesitate to have my three daughters attend (one elementary and two lower middle school grade aged). Finally, a place where my daughters were able to explore, socialize, and play while being outdoors, in nature! Each of my daughters had their own experiences, branched out to make their own friends, and returned home with their own fun, adventurous stories to share. As a working mom, I am so grateful that I found a camp that took my girls on fun day trips that provided opportunities for unstructured play--exactly the kind of days I try to create for my girls when I am able.
My girls really loved James and thought he was hilarious and fun (more fun than me, for sure). Besides having loads of fun outdoors, they also gained self-confidence, practiced important social skills, and spent many summer hours without their faces staring at a pixelated screen! 6 Stars!

I had so much fun at this camp. My favorite part was Shadow and Diesel and popsicles. I hope I can go back next summer.

Lots of fun! The beaches were the best part to collect shells and rocks.

My kids would so much rather be home playing video games or on TikTok, which is not how I like them to spend ALL day while on vacation. I started with signing them up for a full week. The first day, they were groaning and moaning about going. Seriously. How terrible am I to take them away from staring at a screen all day and forcing them to actually go outside and play? Sheesh! By the end of the week, I had already signed them up for a second week. Yep--they had that much fun! Sometimes we have to push our kids to be more sociable and adventurous. After COVID, my kids now spend so much more time on electronic devices and it has been SOOOO hard to change things back. This camp was so perfect for them and I will be sending them back again soon. Ya, they came home and ended up wanting to play video games for the evening but two hours of games is WAY better than 12 hours of video games! Tip: Definitely send some extra (warm) clothes because the wind at the beach can be chilly!
Last thing-My kids are different than other kids and they felt included and accepted at this camp.

This camp is so much better than other camps because you can spend the time how you want to have fun instead of being forced to join an activity for hours that you don't like very much. You can make new friends and you get to help pick where everyone goes.

I really love the idea of having kids playing in different places especially beaches. However, this camp failed my expectation and we have to quit in the middle. My expectation is as simple as any other camps offered: I can drop off/pick up my kid as scheduled and the communication is smooth and I can find camp teacher/manager if I need. People are very nice, however, the camp is poorly managed.

There is no fault tolerance if anything unexpected happened. And the time scheduled is just for reference. During our enrollment, we were almost never able to drop off kids at the park at 8:30 am especially on Mondays, since no one is there. And there is no notice of what is going on. Parent has to stay, take care the kids and make calls to figure out what happened by themselves. And most of the time, your call weren't answered. Turns out some adults had family emergency or someone's car stopped working. James had to make last minutes arrangement, finding other people. These are all understandable reasons. But as a camp, it should have the backup plans instead of letting parents waiting cluelessly on weekday mornings.

Pick up time is just for reference as well. They were not on time or even closer(to 4:30 PM since my son didn't want to attend it anymore and wanted to be picked up asap). The only way to figure it out is to call James or others and they usually don't pick up the call. Again, left us no clue when we can go and pick up the kids. We don't leave close to those parks and there are ~15 min driving from our home. Very inconvenient for working parents.

The camp itself is ok. But I do not recommend sending kids without friends together especially if your kids are little. My son is 5 and he is the youngest kids in the camp. The second youngest is ~8 year old. Most of the kids are much older. He made one friend in the first week and none in the second week. He didn't want to attend it anymore and we were really struggle with the no schedule/information as mentioned above. Finally we dropped out(no refund). It would be better to have a group of friends attending this together or your kids can easily make friends with older group of strangers(my son has many friends at his age). Otherwise, I don't recommend it. I really regretted signing up two weeks before trying out the camp.

This is a must-do summer camp. My daughter enjoyed it a lot and wants to return back. This camp worth each of the pennies that you are going to spend. I highly recommend James and his team [especially Diesel :)], they are awesome. Thanks!

Amazing camp! Our daughter loves playing outside, exploring nature and new places and she really loves dogs. I can't believe we were able to find a camp that has it all! She came home happy, tired and full of great memories every day, and she is looking forward to next week's trips and adventures and playing with Diesel and Shadow.

After nearly a year of quarantined distance learning, this camp was a welcome change of pace for my 7-year old. Everyday at about 4:30pm I picked up a messy, exhausted but super happy kid who made new friends at this camp. This was worth every penny!

My 8-year-old strongly requested to attend this camp after his first time with this camp two years ago. He enjoyed the camp so much. He even brought his own fishing and crabbing gear to it. My only concern is that he was so focus on playing that he only a little bit snacks the whole day. But what he said was one word “fun” !

Great camp! My 10 yo's main complaint was it was very exhausting :)

My 2 kids had so much fun. They loved just being outdoors all day playing in nature with other kids. James is very accommodating and easy to communicate with. All very responsible staff.
We felt safe to leave our kids with them all day. For working parents it's a great thing that this camp is a full day, not an early pick up like most camps.

Great camp, My son (9) loved every minute of it! That’s all he’s talking about now :-)

The camp was amazing! My two daughters (8 and 11 years old) are begging for more. Every day was a different adventure for the kids and they loved it. The staff is amazing and the activities are greatly loved by the children. It’s guaranteed that the kids will love it, will come back happy, tired and dirty and will have a great night of sleep. Great outdoor camp!
THANK YOU: James, Cristiane and staff.

We absolutely loved this camp! Our princess, two weeks short of 5 yrs old had a blast with the teachers and other kids. We can't wait to come back. Thanks for taking so good care of our darling and showing her the best kid friendly spots ❤️

This is as close to what summer was like when I was a kid as you can get in the bay area. My son's attended 4-5 things and looooves it. It's not run as regimentedly as most things around here, so you have to be a little flexible, but I appreciate that experience for my kids. James is awesome and I will continue to send my kid several times a summer.

This camp was the perfect remedy from months inside and virtual school. James and his team simply love taking kids for an outdoor adventure every day. Both my son (11) and daughter (8) enjoyed every minute and I can't think of a better way for them to spend the summer than with an fun day at the beach, playing in a creek, or taking an easy hike in a local park. They even have a "kids choice" Friday. Planning on more sessions later in the summer!

My son, (5-year olf and fist time summer camp) loved this camp!

My kids loved this camp! Every day they came home tired and full of stories to share!

This summer (2019) my three kids went to the Outdoor Free Play Camp. The camp was amazing. Every day was a different adventure for the kids and they loved it. Whether it was the beach, hiking at a park, or swimming at the aquatic park they liked the supervised freedom and change of scenery. Not to mention the Friday Kids choice was always their favorite day as ice cream seemed to always be involved.

My son is on the spectrum and being at summer camp is not easy for him to be successful. However, quite a few of the outdoor free play camp counselors/leaders had some sort of educational training which made having my son at the camp truly fun for him, the other kids, counselors, and me. The camp saw my son as a whole person and worked with him to be successful to where everyone saw his behavior and his spirits improvement over the summer.
Originally, I signed up for 4 weeks at outdoor free play camp, and 2 weeks at another camp. The other camp did not know how to work with kids on the spectrum, and they let my girls sunburn even thou they were asked to apply provided sunblock. Last minute on a Wednesday night I called the camp leader at outdoor free play and told him my situation and he told me there was be room for my kids and asked me to sign up on Activity Hero. My kids finished out an additional 2 weeks at the outdoor free play happy and without sunburns.
Outdoor Free Play is now my go to for summer camp.

I can’t say enough good things about this camp or James, the owner who runs it. I connected James with a child I mentor, for whom summer camp has previously always been out of reach, and James welcomed him with open arms. When he missed a day, James reached out to me to make sure everything was okay- something I thought to be very impressive and caring given how many kids/locations James is looking after every day. Further, he asked to be connected directly to the non-profit I work with so that he could try to help even more under served kids attend camp.

Most importantly though, the camp itself was amazing. The kids got to do new things every day- swimming, hiking, field trips, capture the flag. Hearing about all the different activities made me feel nostalgic for my childhood summers! I feel like I Don’t Wanna Grow Up offers exactly what its name implies- the quintessential summer experience that celebrates kids being kids. When I asked my mentee how camp was going he said “I wake up happy every single day because I’m so excited to go to camp!” It doesn’t get any better than that.

Bottom line- this is a great camp run by great people who deserve your business!

I'm on the fence about leaving 3 stars (not 4), but despite all the things that went wrong and how they were handled, my kids did love the camp. This is why I'm leaving only 3 stars:
The Good Stuff::
James, the camp owner, is a really great guy, and his brother Thomas ran our little group (he was amazing!). I really did appreciate who they were, and what they were trying to do (as a camp in general). I love the idea of this camp, it's sad that I have to send my kids to a camp just to go out and play haha...modern day in Silicon Valley I guess. Anyway, my kids LOVED the camp, and adored Thomas (we all did). In response to another review, James did send a very helpful informational email the night before camp. Unfortunately, my husband was out of town, and I was sick, so I didn't get a chance to read the camp email (like I normally would). The camp is broken down into 4 pick-up and drop-off park locations, and all camps meet at the exciting daily venue that is planned. So, there are 4 camp counselors (including James) to run the camp. The email said that there would be a 1:5 ratio of counselors to kids. Loved the camp, believed in the camp, and planned on sending my kids there every summer going forward! Cool!
The Not-So-Good-Stuff:
1. First Red Flag: We arrived at our drop-off pick-up park location on the first day of camp, and no one was there. After about 20 minutes, I decide to check my email for an update because I thought it was odd for a camp counselor to be this late for a camp on the first day (especially with all the good reviews!). I read my email, which was very helpful, with all the counselors names and phone numbers etc. I called Thomas, and he was on his way (no big deal). The poor guy is not from the Bay Area, and he hadn't fully anticipated the horrible morning traffic. He arrived, so no big deal. Oh, I also read in the email that we were not supposed to let our kids bring any important items with them (nice shirts, favorite stuff etc.). Of course, my son brought about 4 sentimental things that we could not replace (including his only swimsuit, his school backpack and our house key)!
2. Second Red Flag: I decided to pick my kids up from the aquatic park (the fun location for the day), instead of the picking them up at our pickup spot, because it was a very hot day. I arrive at the aquatic park, and my kids are starving. No one told them where the free snacks or extra waters were. What was worse, was that they were both extremely sunburned (horribly bloodshot eyes, they were exhausted and extremely dehydrated). I asked my kids to get their stuff and get in the car. My son couldn't find his backpack. I'm not even sure how that can happen, when there is a picnic table with ALL of the kids' backpacks - and there are 2 camp counselors sitting at the table. I was told that one of the kids from another counselor's group had taken my son's bag by mistake. I called James right away, because I really wanted to get my hands on the backpack. He was sure it would turn up, and said he'd look into it himself (thanks!), he also joked about how many items he had in his lost and found. It made me wonder why he wasn't sending an email to parents at the end of each day, detailing the items in the daily lost and found? He did mention that some people just come and take what is not theirs (that's just disgusting), so I had some sympathy for his efforts.
3. Third Red Flag: While picking up my kids at the aquatic park, I noticed that one of the young counselors hadn't realized that one of his very young kids had run off FAR from the camp table - he had to scream at the top of his lungs to get the kid to come back. I know kids move fast, and we've all been there, but it just made me worry a bit (hopefully no Camp Galileo incident in the future).
4. Fourth Red Flag: That night, I emailed James for an update, and I mentioned how sunburned my kids were. I mentioned that I was hoping the counselors could help my kids reapply their sunscreen, especially given that it was an outdoor (water-themed - that week) camp. His email response was: "with so many kids spending so much time in the water we're fighting a losing battle." I was really surprised by this response. Surely, one adult can look after 5 kids, and set an alarm to apply their SPF throughout the day. It's ok, because Thomas was a rockstar, and did just that! My kids weren't the only ones terribly sunburned though.
5. Fifth Red Flag: I spent 3 days trying to get help from James, to no avail. I didn't know at the time, but he was swamped and couldn't get back to me. So, I ended up emailing each of the parents individually, asking if they had my son's backpack. Granted, whoever took the backpack meant to steal it, because my son's name and phone number were all over the bag (and everything inside the bag was labeled). No one had found it, but I had to be the one to reach out to each parent.
6. Sixth Red Flag: My kids couldn't go to camp the second day, because they were so badly sunburned. They were supposed to go to a really cool goat farm in Pescadero (and the beach!)! I even saw some amazing photos of the place on the camp's website. Evidently, none of the kids got to go to the goat farm, I can't remember the reason, not enough tickets or something? It was a very hot day, so at least they went to the beach, and they all had a blast (my kids heard all about it the 3rd day). Unfortunately, a similar thing happened on the 4th day of camp. The kids were supposed to go to a marine reserve north of SF, hike near the water, and look at starfish etc. (also highlighted on the camp website)! However, they ended up having to hike far away from the water (the weather was in the upper 80s/low 90s that day), and my kids were really disappointed (and hot). The kids were hoping to have cooled off by the water, but the camp hadn't reserved enough spots to do the water hike (they had too many kids)?
By Thursday night, I had my husband call James (I was exhausted and still very sick). James said that ANOTHER CAMP's kid came over to the camp table and claimed my son's backpack. He said he knew the name of the other camp, and he would get the camp owner's help on tracking it down. We were SO grateful! He was so lovely and we were hopefully. Light at the end of the tunnel, and faith restored in the camp!
*Post-camp, nothing was followed up on. I had my husband call last week. James ended up saying they didn't know who took the backpack, and that it was just a RANDOM KID who claimed/took it - the kid wasn't at camp at all!?! Evidently, there are kids who do this knowingly (watch out). How does something like this happen? I'm very saddened that James didn't see this through 100%. He actually told us to call San Mateo county ourselves. No offer to reimburse us, no offer to make the call... just thanks and buh-bye. Maybe I'm acting too uptight, first world problems after all.
I was so ready to write an amazing review about the camp, I really wanted to! It IS a fantastic camp, and I adored James and Thomas! But by the time we were done dealing with the hunt (with no email or phone response for 4 days), and being blown off at the end, I was just ticked off, and had to write a more critical review. I am responsible for letting my son take so many important things to camp, so it's ultimately my fault. However, NO ONE should be allowed to come to the camp table (where all the COUNSELORS are sitting!) and take ANYTHING. And those other red flags were concerning too. My Advice to the camp:
1. Get an admin to handle all the emails, and parent concerns. Email the parents at the end of each day with a list of found items (photos would be above and beyond). Also, get an automated email going for last-minute registrations, or have an admin contact them directly with camp information that was sent out before they registered.
2. Have someone else run the camp. James is amazing, and he should oversee the direction of the camp, still have fun (it's his baby, and it's such a great idea!), but it's getting too big for him (for any one person actually!). When an owner gets tired, crabby with the kids, or fed up with running the minutiae of a business (from what I heard, and from what we experienced as adults), it's time to get more organized and formal help (and grow). Please make some changes before you ruin the amazing caliber and experience of this playful and timeless camp. This camp could go anywhere, if done right, if managed by the right people - or it could just have the potential to be run much smoother with less stress. Honestly, it could be a huge chain, if you want it to be. It's one of those obvious ideas, that most people don't try to excute. There is so much potential for greatness here - just my 5 cents. I think the recent suffering reviews are good news - that you are getting too big! lol!
2. Have a system for organizing the kids' stuff.
3. Keep a much better eye on the kids!
4. Make sure the kids stay hydrated and sunscreen'd.
5. Hire more counselors who know the Bay Area, who are trained in running and GROWING (especially counselors who know the Bay Area mentality, the expectation levels, and the crazy type-A parent factor - like me). You have to step it up while you still have a great reputation.
6. Sign extra kids up for the day trips, so they actually get to do what is advertised on your website. It's understandable that it would happen one time in the week, but not twice.
5. Go to different venues if there are thieves casing the area, or find a way to keep people and thing safe.
Parents, if none of this stuff upsets you, and you can send the kids off to camp learning from my mistakes, then send your kids!!!
They will have a BLAST. ***Just be responsible for their hydration, their SPF, their stuff, and their planned expectations. If you can let it all slide, then send them. They will love it (I hope).
That's why I gave three stars, instead of four. I hope you read this James, a lot of great things can come out of this experience. Thanks for your passion, your love of adventure and children, and for trying to make it a memorable experience.

My 10-year-old son attended (via the Rengstorff Park location) one day and I will not take him back, due to safety and communication concerns. In particular they invited my child to sit in the front seat on the freeway (unsafe for kids under 13 per NHTSA). Also they were over an hour late returning, apparently due to a combination of having left very late (can happen due to last-minute logistical snafus) and worse-than-usual traffic (also happens), but they did not communicate effectively to the parents, at least some of whom were worried sick. There was zero communication for the first 40 minutes after the rendezvous time, after which point the owner's mother (who had a subset of the kids with her) arrived and told us the rest were "on their way" but she couldn't narrow it down further. The driver used the rationale that he couldn't call/text while driving for safety reasons (agreed) but that doesn't explain why he couldn't send a communication upon leaving quite late or upon making the stop on the way. Overall I just don't feel comfortable sending my child with this program.

My son went to many camps this summer, but this was his absolute favorite. I will not take off a star for the fact that they asked us to be there at 8:30 and the organizers only made it at close to 9...then they said they would come back with the kids at 4:30 pm and they came back at 5:30....It was insane waiting for so long...The organization of the camp clearly needs work and more manpower as there are too many kids participating for the amount of people chaperoning the kids.
However, my son had such a blast (he turned 9 this summer) that he said out of all the camps he went to, he would like to be in this one most next summer. I had him in here one day and he said next time he wants at least a week. I am considering putting my daughter with him next summer as well. She was too going this time around. I just hope for a better organization next time. I sent him with sunscreen and no one helped him throughout the day with it and he had really bad burns on his back and chest that hurt him for 2 weeks. But he had fun and he was safe, so what more could I have wanted? He kept telling about this camp to all his friends!

Our son enjoyed this camp a lot -- not often kids get to run free all day in new places, but that's the gist of it, no more, no less. Since kids come in and out of the camp constantly the owners should send an automatic email to anyone who signs up on activity hero with "what do expect/what to pack/where to meet" a bit more in depth - all we had was the short activity hero description, no email - granted we signed up last minute. Would be good to explain adult to kid ratio. Had no idea where to park and we were lost a bit figuring out where the meeting point, stressed out we had missed the departure. Luckily they did not leave until 9am (definite plus). Our son loved the camp but do think they could tighten up how they interact with parents entrusting their kids. Still a good option as needed, and they are flexible and responsive.

It was a last minute sign up but my daughter ended up having so much fun. Cuesta park is very convenient and because it was so hot, they ended up taking the kids to the beach. The kids had a blast! Will definitely sign up for next summer as well.

First time signing up for camp with I don’t wanna grow up! My daughter absolutely loved it!! Lincoln and Andy are the sweetest! Thank you!

My son had a great time going to beaches and playing outdoors. He said he loved the camp. The administration could use some improvement - emailing instructions sooner and using a better check-in/check-out system so parents can have confidence our kids are in good hands and only being picked up by authorized people. But overall, my son had a great week.

Highly recommend this program and we will definitely sign up for it next year. Sent my son (5 yr old) there for just one day to fill in a gap in my schedule. He was really really happy at the end of the day, and talked about where the group planed to go to the second day. And he was quite disappointed after I told him that we had another arrangement for him. So far the kid has been to 5 different camps including this one. When asked about which one he liked most, he said it's this camp without a slight hesitation.

Highly recommend this program. Excellent programming and locations. My daughter loves this camp and asks for it all the time. James and the team are thoughtful and caring and definitely deliver on their promises of a good time for the kids and a tired kid for the parent.

Hands down! Best camp my kids ever attended! I have an 8-year old and 5-year old. This was absolutely their favorite camp!

I sent my 9 years old to I Don’t Wanna Grow Up for two sessions. He didn’t get to attend all days during the first session as it was his birthday on the Wednesday and I though it would be nice to have a day off with him. He liked the idea at first, but after attending camp, he wished he could also spend some time with James and the friends he made there on the day of his birthday. The second week just confirmed how much he liked it and he says he wants to go back again.

The staff is amazing and the activities are greatly loved by the children. It’s guaranteed that the kids will love it, will come back happy, tired and dirty and will have a great night of sleep.

Awesome camp!!!! My son returned home each evening, happy, dirty and tired!!😀

My 6-year old son has been to the outdoor free play camp during spring break and asked to go again this summer. This is now his favorite camp! James takes the kids to amazing places where they can play and learn about nature.

Great camp for elementary school kids! My 10 and 8 y olds loved being outdoors and playing all day!

My son had an amazing time! He enjoyed the full day of playing and exploring nature. He came home with a huge smile on his face and a great attitude. James and his son, Lincoln, made the camp special!

My son enjoyed this camp, so much of fun begin outdoors!!

James was great for the week camp my kids (Dean and Alexandra) did with him in late August. They said it was their favorite camp of the summer! They said it was the main one where they didn't feel like they were still being bossed around like at school. Every day they were out exploring, having fun and just being kids. They came home happy and tired every day. Will happily sign up for one of his camps again.

My daughter had a wonderful time! She came home dirty, exhausted and a huge smile.. Huge thumbs up!

Highly recommend!! James and his crew were excellent! Both my son (9) and daughter (7) absolutely loved this camp! They said it was their favorite camp of the entire summer! They loved all the excursions, especially Half Moon Bay. Mostly, they got to enjoy being a kid and having fun with nature. We'll definitely be signing up again next summer.

My 5-yr-old loved his experience. He’s tired, dirty and happy when he returned from the camp!

I just signed in for one day, and it is a really great experience for my 7-year-old daughter. She loves it.