2021 Season is Now Over
Registration will open for our 2022 Summer Camps Season late this year and camps this year filled faster than ever, so make sure to get on our newsletter. Skip to camps list.
Nature Connection Camps
Our weeklong camps run all summer with multiple camps happening each week for various age groups. Crafts, role playing, archery, stealth, blacksmithing, foraging and more.
Camp sizes are capped at 14 or lower, and run by two skilled nature-connection mentors. You won’t find better camper to counselor ratios.
There’s something to get any kid excited about some healthy outdoor time. Your kids are going to LOVE IT.
Why Choose Forest Floor?
We mentor children to have fun, be healthy, and achieve their fullest potential by connecting with nature.
- Health benefits of nature connection
- Learn wilderness skills & traditional crafts
- Meet new friends and reunite with old ones
- Unforgettable adventures every day
- Skilled and caring mentors
- Exciting wilderness experiences
- Convenient in-town drop-off & pickup
- Flexible hours for drop-off & pickup
Waitlist Available
Previously full camps often have additional spots open up due to cancellations. So please sign-up for the waitlist by going through the standard registration process. No payment is required.
2021 Summer Camp Schedule
Our 2021 Summer Camp Schedule has now completed. You can review camp descriptions below for your 2022 wish list, though we usually mix it up a bit from year to year.
Ages 5-7
Ages 5-7
Flight of the Faeries
June 14-18, 1 spot left!
July 5-9, full with a waitlist
July 26-30, Full with a waitlist
Wander the mountainside making whimsical crafts and brewing flower tea.
Ages 5-7
Legend of the Gnomes
June 21-25, full with a waitlist
July 12-16, full with a waitlist.
August 2-6, full with a waitlist
Ages 5-7
Mysterious Animals of the Forest
June 7-11, full with a waitlist.
June 28 – July 2, full with a waitlist.
July 19-23, full with a waitlist.
Aug 9-13, full with a waitlist.
Campers uncover tracks, role play a hunting fox, craft animal personas and learn about their wild neighbors.
Ages 6-8
Ages 6-8
Nature’s Kitchen: Fire Craft & Cooking
June 7-11, full with a waitlist
August 9-13, full with a waitlist
Hunt down wild edibles and learn which are safe to eat.
Ages 6-8
Archery Range
June 14-18, full with a waitlist.
July 12-16, full with a waitlist.
Practice a variety of different projectiles and become a more skilled archer.
Ages 6-8
Stealth Rangers
June 28 – July 2, full with a waitlist.
July 19-23, full with a waitlist.
Begin your training and develop the skills needed to become a Forest Ninja.
Ages 6-8
Crafty Critters
July 5-9, full with a waitlist.
August 2-6, 1 spot left!
Create a variety of fun and useful items using materials found on the land.
Ages 6-8
Journey of the Green Man
June 21-25, full with a waitlist.
July 26-30, full with a waitlist.
Join the fabled Green Man on his magical quest to save the realm.
Ages 9-12
Ages 9-12
Archer’s Arena
July 5-9, full with a waitlist.
August 2-6, full with a waitlist.
Become the target and play Capture-the-Flag with safe foam-tipped arrows.
Ages 9-12
Forest Ninja
July 12-16, full with a waitlist.
July 26-30, full with a waitlist.
Move silently through the landscape as a team and learn the art of camouflage.
Ages 9-12
Mammoth Hunters
June 21-25, full with a waitlist.
A journey through time in the art of projectile weaponry.
Ages 9-12
Secrets of the Jedi
June 28 – July 2, full with a waitlist.
August 9-13, full with a waitlist.
Deepen connection to nature and grow attuned to its life force, while honing the physical skills of survival.
Ages 9-12
Wild Crafters
June 14-18, full with a waitlist.
Answer the ancient call to create with a series of nature-based crafts in community with fellow creatives.
Ages 9-12
Nature Detectives
June 7-11, full with a waitlist.
July 19-23, full with a waitlist.
Young investigators dive deep into the knowledge of the natural world while solving an intriguing mystery.
Ages 11-17
Ages 11-15
Basket Making
July 5-9, Full with a waitlist
Learn different techniques and materials while making functional basketry.
Ages 12-15
Blacksmithing
June 21-25, full with a waitlist.
June 28 – full with a waitlist
July 19-13, full with a waitlist
Create useful tools from red hot metal using a forge, hammer and anvil. Please note min. age is 12.
Ages 14-17
Counselor In Training Camp
June 14-18. Apply now!
Take the first step in learning to be a nature connection mentor with our Counselor in Training program.
Ages 12-15
Knife Making
July 12-16, Full with a waitlist
July 26-30, 1 spot left
Create a handmade knife from scratch using a variety of blacksmith & shop tools.
Day Camp Hours
Our summer camps run daily, Monday through Friday.
Camp hours: 9:00am – 3:00pm
Flexible Drop-off:
8:30 – 9:00am at Haw Creek Commons
8:45 – 9:15 am at Shope Creek Wilderness
Flexible Pick-up:
3:00 – 3:30pm at Haw Creek Commons
2:45 – 3:15 pm at Shope Creek Wilderness
Our In-town Drop-Off and Pick-Up Location
We are no longer at the Asheville School in West Asheville.
Our new location since spring 2020 is Haw Creek Commons, in East Asheville off Tunnel Road. This is our main Drop-Off and Pick-up location for summer camps.
Haw Creek Commons is a community co-working and activity center where Forest Floor has a presence. See the location on Google Maps.
Drop-Off and Pick-Up in the Forest
Parents may also choose to drop-off and pick-up at Shope Creek Wilderness. The Address is 472 Shope Creek Road. The timing of Drop-Off and Pick-Up in the forest is slightly different than at Haw Creek Commons.
A few crafting programs take place in the woods at Haw Creek Commons, in these cases there is no transportation or forest drop-off/pick-up.
A Day at Forest Floor
2021 COVID Safety Policies
Our COVID-19 safety policy is based primarily on pre-screening and monitoring. It is our current position that the single largest preventative factor at our programs is the fact that we are open-air and outdoors(with the exception of van travel).
Pre-Screening and Monitoring
- We will take every child’s temperature each morning upon arrival. If any child registers a fever (thermometer reading of 100.4˚F or higher) or are showing any signs of COVID-19 (cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell) we will not allow them to attend. If during the program day a child displays signs or symptoms of illness they will be separated from other students and parents contacted to pick them up.
- All staff will be self-monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19. If they develop symptoms, they will notify their supervisor and stay home. Any staff person who develops symptoms of illness during the work day will be separated from students and other staff and sent home ASAP.
Masks & Social Distancing:
- While on Haw Creek Commons property (NOT our forested Shope Creek program location) we abide by their policy, which is currently that everyone ages 3 and up are required to wear a mask anytime they are less than 6 feet from another person.
- While in vans all students and staff are required to wear masks for the duration of the trip.
- At our Shope Creek Wilderness location children & staff will not be required to wear masks or social distance, but will be supported to the best of our ability if they choose to do so.
Cleanliness:
- Children will wash hands each day immediately upon arrival and throughout the day.
- Children are asked to carry a personal supply of hand sanitizer and will be asked to use it before and after activities that could result in cross-contamination.
We will do our best to fully support any child or staff who chooses more restrictive social distancing or mask wearing than the policies outlined above.