Denver is the capital city of Colorado that is home to an incredible amount of natural, beautiful landscapes. Its mountainous terrain is covered with snow each winter for skiing and snowboarding. In the summer, there are nearby wide open plains and gorgeous mountainsides perfect for hiking and camping. There are also plenty of opportunities for swimming and water sports with its numerous lakes.
Due to its natural areas, these summer programs offer an excellent opportunity for kids to explore the outdoors supervised by experienced instructors. While you’re here, check out our guide on Colorado summer camps.
With these Denver summer camps, your children can enjoy a good mixture of adventure and education.
Best Denver Summer Camps
1. Renaissance Adventures
At Adventure Quest with Renaissance Adventures, children and teenagers can become the heroes of a mythical world. They’re transported to a magical place where their decisions matter and impact how their story turns out.
Your children are placed in groups of up to 6 kids, where everyone gets an opportunity to shine. They can participate in fun quests, solve mysterious riddles, and fight off pirates and ogres with foam swords. As they have the time of their lives in this magical experience, they will also be building up important critical thinking and teamwork skills.
The Adventure Quest programs are open to ages 6-17. They also offer birthdays and have year-round classes, so your kids can keep attending after summer ends and with new adventures each time, they’ll never run out of unique experiences. You can find them in two locations in Denver, including Denver Waldorf and Berkeley Lake Park.
2. Denver YMCA Camps
The Denver YMCA offers day camps all summer long with a variety of themes and sessions. The summer camps are suitable for children ages 5-15, depending on the exact location. Multiple locations also offer Kindercamp for younger students ages 4-5. These YMCA programs are an incredible place for your child to make new friends and learn new skills.
Each summer camp provides exciting activities, including swimming lessons, team sports, science experiments, arts and crafts, and field trips. There are camps found all around the greater Denver area, so it’s easy and convenient for families to find a camp for their kids with ease. There is a 1:15 ratio for campers to counselors.
Parents can choose from sports camps, STEM programs, and fun adventure overnight camps.
3. Camp Telaphiba
Camp Telaphiba offers overnight camps to young campers ages 10-18 that provide a welcoming place to learn how to dance while enjoying a traditional summer camp experience. With its location in Broomfield, Colorado, it’s only a 24-minute drive from Denver.
Boys and girls can take multiple dance classes each day in various styles such as jazz, hip hop, ballet, tap, and musical theater. Kids and teenagers can make a dance crew with their friends, start a routine from scratch, and much more.
Outside of their dance training, they participate in a host of other fun activities. They can partake in nature hikes so bring shoes, swimming, arts and crafts, camp games, and campfires. The camps start in the middle of June through the end of July, with both one-week and two-week sessions.
Their sleepaway camps go beyond simply teaching kids how to dance. Camp Telaphiba focuses on helping its students learn essential life skills and become more positive.
4. International School of Denver Camp
The International School of Denver hosts day camps each summer for kids. The International School of Denver Language offers summer camps in English, Chinese, Spanish, and French. Kids ages 3-14 can attend camp. The camp sessions are separated into different age groups but start around 8:15-8:30 am and end at 3:30-3:45 pm.
Children have a chance to learn a new language or practice an old one while having lots of fun at camp. Children aren’t required to have previous experience speaking the language, so those of all skill levels are welcome.
Apart from the language camps offered, they also have other styles and themes. You can enroll your child in a soccer camp, circus arts, Minecraft camps, and much more. Each camp includes enriching outdoor activities, provides healthy meals, and gives kids the chance to have fun while making new friendships and enjoying the summer!
5. Colorado Academy Summer Camp
The Colorado Academy offers summer camps for elementary, middle school, and high school students. Campers can experience half-day or full-day camps with different themes and interests available. There are plenty of camp options based on sports, music (including piano lessons), science, technology. Kids can learn new hobbies like rock climbing, fencing, video editing, yoga, skiing, and much more.
Whether you’re looking for a STEM, academic, arts or sports camps, there’s sure to be an option that matches your child’s interests. Each camp also includes plenty of time to play outside, participate in hands-on activities, group games, and come with an included lunch.
If parents are looking for a summer day camp where the schedule is filled with adventure and different ways to let kids explore their creative side, their programs are an excellent choice. They also now offer a horse program where kids can practice their horseback riding skills.
6. Denver Waldorf School Summer Camp
The Denver Waldorf School offers camps for students three years old to those starting 8th grade. In their summer programs, kids can play in the pool and local parks and participate in different weekly themes. Students in lower grades can experience much of the same but also get to participate in walking field trips around town. Upper-grade students get to travel even farther around town and partake in other fun outdoor adventures.
Each theme includes new content for each group, such as gardening, science experiments, beekeeping, foraging, survival skills, mural painting, and archery. With so many things to do each week, there’s always something fun and exciting going on. They also offer certain specialties and focuses like their sports camps that cover volleyball and basketball.
Students from sixth to ninth grade can also participate in sports summer camps for volleyball and basketball. At these Denver CO sports camps, kids can spend several hours each day honing their athletic skills and improving their technique over the course of the summer.
7. Dream Big Day Camp
Dream Big Day Camp offers programs for students in K-11th grade. They have options in various categories like sports, STEM, arts and crafts, cooking, and performing arts. Each option helps kids acquire new skills, meet new people and develop themselves and their confidence before the school year.
Dream Big offers 1-week, 2-week, and 3-week programs. Each summer camp is a little different depending on the age of the campers. For elementary and middle school students, there are additional tripping camps where the students participate in nature-based activities to learn more about our natural world. All the kids are dropped off and picked up at different times due to the many diverse programs offered.
There is also before and after care for an additional cost. There are some scholarships available to help make things affordable for families in need. Staff is mainly composed of college students and older adults, with a small 6:1 student-to-counselor ratio. Kids can expect fun events that include color wars, dances, climbing walls, water slides, and more.
8. Jewish Community Center Camps
The JCC offers a variety of summer camps in Denver that aim to build upon the explorative nature of its young participants. Campers can take full advantage of options like Camp Shai, Ranch Cam, and Junior Tennis Academy. Surrounded by its impressive Colorado landscape, JCC provides campers with a range of experiences that build upon personal skills and allow children to connect with the natural environment.
With its surroundings and facilities, students in kindergarten to 12th grade can expect fun things to do that involve games, STEM learning, sports, arts, and more. It’s the perfect place for children to develop social skills as well as improve their self-confidence and self-esteem.
Leveraging the warm weather, these Denver camps encourage young people to embrace their curious side, exploring aspects of themselves and their surroundings. New friendships are fostered, adventures are embarked on, and valuable lessons are offered throughout the entire experience. Each camp is inclusive, welcomes people of all faiths and backgrounds, and reinforces values like engagement, excitement, activity, and personal growth.