Activities and Age Groups

Trailblazers (ages 5 to 7)

The Trailblazers explore the mountain through games and structured free play. This age group might not travel quite as far as their older counterparts, but they have just as much fun! Trailblazers spend their days singing songs, listening to stories and recording all of the mountain sights and sounds in their journals (or, as we like to call them, Adventure Logs!). Your camper will learn a great deal about wildlife through educationally framed games and most likely build an awesome debris shelter “fort”. We also recognize that with little ones every day is a unique experience, so activities are dictated by whatever is going to keep Trailblazers smiling and coming home with awesome stories to share. This age group explores the mountain’s closer network of Discovery trails and often climbs the short, but awesome, Dinkey Peak.

Minimum Age

We trust our instructors, and based on several years of feedback about the 5-7 year old age group, this year we have adjusted it so participants must be 5 by Dec 31st, 2021. This means, they will be a minimum of 5 years and 6 months by camp time. Experience has shown that these 6 extra months, and having a year of school complete, make for a much better experience in camp for them and the rest of their group. This means everything to us, so we apologize for the inconvenience and let down this change may bring but believe it's for the best.

Forest Guardians (ages 8 and 9)

Being our middle age bracket, the Forest Guardians are given the opportunity to learn and explore at a level not suited to the Trailblazers, but not quite as intense as the Mountain Rangers. We aim to teach your camper to revere and respect the living world around them through games and discovery. At every turn we provide opportunities to practice newly learned skills such as how to use a compass or how to hang food safely from bears. A perennial favourite with this group is the hike to Mystery Lake, where “pondology” and the hunt for cool aquatic insects can last for hours.

Mountain Rangers (ages 10-12)

The Mountain Rangers go on longer treks than both the Trailblazers and Forest Guardians. We try to mix hard skills like plant ID and shelter building with age appropriate games like Capture the Flag that are sure to keep your child engaged and entertained in outdoor learning. Depending on the interests of the group they might also learn knots and go much more in depth into navigation. Typical longer days for this age group include Dog Mountain, the North Shore Search and Rescue Cabin and (occasionally) even First Pump Peak!