Summer Camp 2023
Blazing New Trails at Forest Floor
Not just new camps… totally new experiences added to our familiar lineup.
Waitlists and More 2023 News
Waitlists are available on all full camps. Just go thru the normal registration process (without any payment) and you’ll be in line for when spots open up. Every year families change plans and a many registrations open back up.
In addition to new camp experiences, we’ve also shifted our age brackets, with camps for Ages 6-7, 7-8, 9-12, and 12-17.
Of course, we’re also back with 40 sessions of our popular nature & craft camps.
Teen Overnight Camp
An overnight program where teens can push their edges in a real way.
Shadow Scouts: Advanced Forest Ninja will be six days and five nights of epic adventure.
We will dive into tracking, teamwork, survival, trail craft, tool creation, stealth, sneaking, stalking, and epic night games, all with a healthy dose of FUN!!!!
More detail below in Ages 12-17.
Sports in the Field & Forest
A new camp series that “Reimagines What Sports Can Be” for Ages 8-12.
Important Note on Drop-Off / Pick-up Location
Due to a limited number of seats available in our passenger vans, many of our camps no longer have the option of choosing to drop-off/pick-up at Haw Creek Commons(which would include shuttle service to our forested camp location at Shope Creek and back at the end of the day). Therefore with some camps you’ll only be presented with option of choosing to drop-off/pickup directly at Shope Creek.
As spaces become available in our passenger vans we will be contacting those families who could only choose Shope Creek to find out if they would like to switch to Haw Creek Commons. We will contact families based on their time of enrollment(first-come first-served).
Registration Is Now Closed for 2023 Camps
Thank you to everyone… we had our biggest, funnest, and best summer camp season ever!
We’re already planning for 2024 and should have the schedule finalized and open registration in January 2024.
Now Offering a Downloadable Schedule
One page summary with all programs and phased registration dates.
Print, discuss, and plan in advance before registration opens.
Full camp listings follow below as usual.
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
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 generally 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.
2023 Summer Camp Schedule
Registration is Now Closed.
2024 Schedule Coming Soon!
Ages 6-7
Ages 6-7
Flight of the Faeries
June 19 – 23
July 17 – 21
Wander the mountainside making whimsical crafts and brewing flower tea.
Ages 6-7
Legend of the Gnomes
July 3 – 7
August 7 – 11
Create a gnome village in the woods as a base to learn crafts and go exploring.
Ages 6-7
Mysterious Animals of the Forest
July 31 – August 4
Campers uncover tracks, role play a hunting fox, craft animal personas and learn about their wild neighbors.
Ages 6-7
Feathered Friends
June 5 – 9
July 10 – 14
Learn to identify birds by sight and sound, with a variety of stories, educational games, observation, and even some craft projects.
Ages 6-7
Ancient Stones & Dinosaur Bones
July 24 – 28
Take a journey back in time as Young Paleontologies, searching the forest for ancient remnants and learning with a fun range of activities as we go.
Ages 7-8
Ages 7-8
Nature’s Kitchen: Fire Craft & Cooking
June 12 – 16
July 10 – 14
Hunt down wild edibles and learn which are safe to eat.
Ages 7-8
Archery Range
August 7 – 11 (1 spot left)
Practice a variety of different projectiles and become a more skilled archer.
Ages 7-8
Stealth Rangers
June 26 – 30
July 24 – 28
Begin your training and develop the skills needed to become a Forest Ninja.
Ages 7-8
Crafty Critters
July 31 – August 4
Create a variety of fun and useful items using materials found on the land.
Ages 7-8
Journey of the Green Man
July 17 – 21
Join the fabled Green Man on his magical quest to save the realm.
Ages 8-12
Run Wild!
July 17 – 21
July 24 – 28
July 31 – August 4
August 7 – 11
Re-imagining what sports can be! An active, sports-based camp that’s a departure from our typical wilderness camps.
Ages 9-12
Ages 9-12
Archer’s Arena
June 26 – 30
July 31 – August 4
Become the target and play Capture-the-Flag with safe foam-tipped arrows.
Ages 9-12
Forest Ninja
June 5 – 9
July 24 – 28
Move silently through the landscape as a team and learn the art of camouflage.
Ages 9-12
Bramblehurst School of Bushcraft & Wizardry
June 19 – 23
July 3 – 7
July 17 – 21
Head out into our wooded campus for a MOST interesting week of learning new skills alongside your freshly sorted House-mates.
Ages 9-12
Secrets of the Jedi
June 12 – 16
August 7 – 11
Deepen connection to nature and grow attuned to its life force, while honing the physical skills of survival.
Ages 9-12
Wild Crafters
July 10 – 14
Answer the ancient call to create with a series of nature-based crafts in community with fellow creatives.
Ages 8-12
Run Wild!
July 17 – 21
July 24 – 28
July 31 – August 4
August 7 – 11
Re-imagining what sports can be! An active, sports-based camp that’s a departure from our typical wilderness camps.
Ages 12-17
Ages 12-16
Woodcarving: Bowls & Spoons
June 26 – 30
July 31 – Aug 4
Deepen your relationship with the trees as you learn to carve useful objects from wood.
Ages 12-16
Blacksmithing
June 5 – 9
June 19 – 23
July 10 – 14
August 7 – 11
Create useful tools from red hot metal using a forge, hammer and anvil.
Ages 14-17
Counselor In Training Camp
Take the first step in learning to be a nature connection mentor with our Counselor in Training program.
Ages 12-16
Knife Making
July 3 – 7
July 17 – 21
Create a handmade knife from scratch using a variety of blacksmith & shop tools.
Ages 12-16
Girls Blacksmithing
A special session of Blacksmithing camp for young ladies led by an all-female team.
Ages 13-16
Shadow Scouts: Advanced Forest Ninja
July 17 – July 22
An overnight adventure camp where teens can push their edges in a real way learning The Craft of the Scout.
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
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 MOST 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.
Please note that on some weeks our reservations for van transportation fill up. If you are not interested in Drop-Off and Pick-Up in the Forest (see below), please make sure to check the camp registration page to see if shuttle transportation from Haw Creek Commons is still available.
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 teen crafting programs (Blacksmithing, Bowls & Spoons) and RunWild! 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
2023 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.
Pre-Screening and Monitoring
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Any child arriving in the morning with signs or symptoms of COVID-19 will not be permitted to attend programs that day. 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.
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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:
- As of Fall 2022, we will no longer require masks to be worn on our shuttle vans transporting campers
- Children and staff will not be required to wear masks, but will be fully supported if they choose to do so.
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.