With summer break right around the corner, it’s time to start scheduling summer camps and programs for the kids. Bay Area summer camps fill up quickly as soon as registration opens, so save your favorites. With our Peninsula recommendations, we’ll take a spin around Redwood City, Burlingame, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and San Mateo. If you’ve got some recommendations for additional Bay Area summer camps you love, please add them in the comments!
Summer Camps in Redwood City
Public Library’s annual Summer Learning Challenge
Redwood City Public Library offers its annual Summer Learning Challenge again this year. Last year they hosted more than 9,400 participants! The Summer Learning Challenge programs include robotics for kids, storytimes, Camp Little Learners, Stories in the Park, MakerClub, weekly performances, Crafty Wednesdays, book clubs for kids and so much more. Visit the Summer Learning Challenge page for more details in the coming weeks!
SportsHouse Camps
SportsHouse is a converted distribution facility that houses two indoor turf fields, basketball and volleyball courts and beach volleyball courts. For any sports-loving kid, the SportsHouse summer camps might be right up your alley.
Redwood City Parks and Rec Camps
Redwood City’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services has some of the most extensive summer camp offerings of any city in the Bay Area. They have a full catalog of summer activities and camps for toddlers, kindergarteners, kids and teens but here are some we’re eyeing:
Happy Baby Signs
If you’re looking for a type of “camp” for your older baby or toddler, Signing with Babies accelerates language acquisition, reduces frustration, enhances a child’s self-esteem, and deepens the bond between parent and child. Fun activities and songs will show how easy it can be to integrate more than 30 signs into your everyday routine and jump-start your child’s verbal skills. Babies are welcome but not required. This Introductory Workshop can be followed by 6-week sessions offered by Happy Baby Signs.
Horse Trail Rides
Ages 8+ can take a trail ride on the beautiful all-weather trails of Wunderlich Park in Woodside. They also give Western Horseback Riding Lessons as well.
Summer Camps in Burlingame
Burlingame features camps year-round, not just in the summer. Learn about their different camps and activities offered, and the best fit for your child. Many of the camps are located in their new community center and are well run!
Burlingame is a cool city – it’s a bit of a hidden gem. In this blog, we swing by a few of our favorite local spots to eat and shop.
Summer Camps in Los Altos
Los Altos offers many programs and summer camps for Bay Area residents. They include both youth and senior programming, Shoreline aquatics, athletics and more. We cruised around the Los Altos summer camp listings and these caught our eye.
Petpalooza Camp
Because we love our pets and we bet your kids do too. Wag on over to the most PAWSOME summer camp in Los Altos! A must for every pet-loving kid. This camp features STEAM Teams who will engineer a world created just for pets!
Rebound Basketball Academy
These basketball camps focus on developing sports skills, improving self-esteem, and fair play while teaching the fundamentals of basketball such as dribbling, passing and shooting. The fun games played with the instructors encourage participation and self-improvement as well.
Counselor-In-Training Program
We love this summer camp for teens! Teens gain first-hand work experience as they journey through two training sessions and then become a CIT to the campers. Even better, no experience with children is needed. CITs work in a no-pressure leadership role to support Rec Leaders in facilitating activities, songs and games.
Summer Camps in Menlo Park
Menlo Park has a variety of camps to get kids active and stay healthy, helping them find a new hobby in 2023. Our offices are located in Menlo Park, so you won’t blame us if we just slip out and try a few of these camps out will you? Check out some of our favorite offerings this summer below.
Newton Center Summer Programs
We both want to get in on The Newton Center summer camp because the weekly Wednesday Field Trips are back and they’re heading to some really great places in the Bay Area. Themes for Newton Center camps include unicorns, superheroes and villains, tropical adventure, intergalactic voyages and more.
Lego Summer Camp
You had us at LEGOs! Who doesn’t love Legos!? During Kidizens’ excitement-packed LEGO City-Building and Leadership Camps, kids plan and create their own small LEGO civilization, role-play as young Mayors, and take on an exciting experiential journey to understand how societies form, function and evolve. Discover more by watching this video.
Camp Menlo Swim and Sport
For kids ages 7-12, Camp Menlo swim camp is a terrific place for the kids to learn how to swim. Think of it as a skill they’ll use the rest of their life too!
For more, see the full list of camps and activities in Menlo Park.
Summer Camps in Palo Alto
The Palo Alto Community Services Department provides a wide variety of summer camps for children from the Children’s Theatre, Art Center, Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, and the Recreation Division.
Palo Alto has its catalog of camps available in real-time so if you’re late to registration you can see what’s still available.
Summer Camps in San Mateo
San Mateo features a robust list of camps, including Camp Mateo (coming soon). Learn about what they offer.
Our kids recommend these Bay Area Summer Camps
Jaime’s kids recommend:
- Legarza Basketball Camp: Wesley loved going last year!
- Mountain Camp: includes a day camp near Woodside. They also have an overnight camp near Tahoe.
- Camp Apogee: Amazing adventure camps that run 2-4 weeks for the teenagers. Totally worth looking into.
Julie’s kids recommend:
- St. Raymond’s in Menlo Park does a great job with Camp Cardinal. Nellie (Julie’s daughter) is a camp counselor there and loves it! New this year: a dedicated STEM station was added into the daily rotations, brought to you by KiwiCo!
- Decathlon Camp (books up quickly)
- Mountain Camp Overnight (for older kids)
- Galileo Camps
Reach out to JJ Team Homes With Questions
What is your favorite summer camp memory as a kid? If you have any questions or a topic you’d be interested in learning more about – leave us a comment below or on our social media. Or reach out to us directly. Even if you aren’t in the market, we’d love it if you’d pass along our information to those on the lookout. We love living and working in this area!
