About Us
Activities
Activities and trips are the vessel for all the fun and personal growth that happen at camp! The flexibility of our camp program allows campers to style a session around their own interests.
Daily Activities
Each camper has the ability to style a session around their interests and curiosity. We encourage campers to try as many new and different activities as possible! Campers gather twice each day to choose their own activities. Depending on how a camper chooses to spend their days, they may not get to try every activity offered. This is all a part of the personal growth and development that happens at camp!
Animal Care
As a working ranch, Mountain Meadow is home to a variety of farm animals that campers have the opportunity to observe and learn more about. The small animals live in the “Chicken Barn,” where there are eggs to gather, incubators to keep an eye on, and pigs to feed. Many campers become attached to these animals as an important part of our camp family.
Archery
Campers recurve bows to hone their skills and earn points for score at the Mountain Meadow Ranch archery range. Bows of varying weights and sizes are available for all campers regardless of age or skill level. Safety is our top priority; campers are always supervised and receive instruction by trained staff members.
Arts & Crafts
At Mountain Meadow, Arts & Crafts is a place where kids can explore their creativity, through jewelry-making, collage, painting, and more. Many of our crafts incorporate natural elements found at camp. A favorite, of course, is tie-dye!
Ceramics
Ceramics is a beloved art activity at MMR. With an emphasis on hand building, campers are involved in the process from sculpting, to perfecting, to glazing, to taking home.
Camper in Leadership Training (ages 13+)
Our CILT program is for campers ages 13 and up. It’s an opportunity for a more challenging, rewarding camp experience. The program aims to educate campers about servant leadership and provide opportunities to practice it. CILTs are true role models for MMR values and lead by example and influence. Campers apply for the opportunity once at camp. If selected, they will spend some second half activity periods, evenings, rest periods, etc. with the CILT leaders in a variety of activities such as team building, shadowing counselors, setting up for camp dances, a reflective early morning hike, reflection prompts, debriefing sessions, etc. CILT is designed to flow alongside typical camper life.
Creek Walk
A special activity offered on those hot summer days when there is a group ready for free exploration and play along the creek! Mud facials, fort building, home-made twig boats, you name it!
Drama
Our outdoor theater is the center of camp entertainment. Campers participate in drama activities and perform plays complete with an array of costumes. Campers help to create everything from the script to the sets and backdrops. If there is not enough interest in staging a play, we host a talent show instead!
Fencing
Fencing is a finesse sport and a true art that fosters unparalleled grace. Equipped with professional masks, protective clothing, and rubber tipped foils, campers are given the chance to compete against each other in duels and other fencing games.
Fishing
The fishing at Mountain Meadow Ranch is exceptional, and catching fish is guaranteed! Campers can fish for stocked rainbow trout at the lagoon. We instruct in basic spin fishing; poles and tackle are provided. In an effort to teach the importance of nature stewardship, we practice and teach proper catch and release techniques.
Frolfing
It’s a combination of frisbee and golf: frolf! Also known as disc golf, this activity is a great way to socialize and have fun amongst the trees, as players aim a frisbee at targets along the course.
High Ropes
We have three different challenge course activities: the circuit, the gauntlet, and the giant’s ladder. Beautifully located in the high Ponderosa pines, campers have the opportunity to test themselves and be pushed out of their comfort zone within a well-supervised, safe, and controlled environment. An 800-foot zip line is the highlight of the circuit, where campers can take a thrill ride out of the forest and across the meadow. Our challenge courses are annually inspected and approved by Challenge Works, Inc.
Horseback Riding
We offer campers of all skill levels the opportunity to engage in a complete equestrian experience, one that goes well beyond the trail ride. Campers will not only have the opportunity to explore miles of trails through the National Forest bordering our property, but will also get the chance to experience true horsemanship through grooming, tacking, and caring for our horses. Our Wranglers are equipped to instruct campers of all skill levels in Western riding, and our avid horse lovers can participate in the Junior Wrangler program. Horseback riding a Mini Camp add-on option for those wishing to spend more time in the saddle!
Lagoon
The Lagoon is the most popular place in camp on a hot summer day, and many of our late afternoons are spent here as other activities in camp are winding down. Paddle boats and paddle boards, rope swing, high jump, trampoline – there’s so much to do! The lagoon is fed by a babbling brook, which carries stocked rainbow trout, making the lagoon a great fishing spot as well.
Low Ropes
In low ropes, campers retreat to the pines by the lagoon for teambuilding activities. Campers learn how to work together, communicate and listen effectively, and most importantly, have fun!
Paintball
Campers journey into the forest to our very own obstacle course where various games are played: capture the flag, protect the president, etc. A supervising staff member referees the games. All equipment and safety gear are provided. When there is enough interest, we host a counselors versus campers paintball tournament at the end of the session!
Photography
Campers are introduced to the art of film photography. The dark room is the perfect spot for a chill activity period spent developing 35mm black and white film. Campers are hands-on in all stages of the photographic process and get to watch the magic take place as film goes from canister to negative to print.
Pool
Who doesn’t love a good pool day? The junior olympic size swimming pool and diving board offers plenty of space for those that want to float and play in the shallow end or work on their belly flops in the deep end.
Riflery
One of the original Mountain Meadow Ranch activities! Founder Jack Sr.’s vision was for every camper to return to the great outdoors, care for a horse, and learn how to shoot a rifle. Under close supervision, campers are taught gun safety and shooting skills using .22 rifles, fired in the prone position on our certified rifle range.
Tennis / Pickleball
Our two tennis courts provide ample opportunity to work on your serve or backhand. For those that want a little more casual play, we offer pickleball too!
Out-Trips
During our classic camp sessions, we offer a variety of fun and adventurous “Out-Trips” where a small group of campers leave camp to explore the natural attractions in our area for a full day. Campers sign up once they arrive at camp and rosters are made by staff. Each camper is guaranteed one out trip per session.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
A day spent sightseeing from the camp van as a group of 13 campers and two staff depart after breakfast and journey to the subway caves, manzanita lake, the boiling mud of the sulpher pits, the peak parking lot for a snowball fight, the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, and Collin’s Pine Museum in Chester before returning to camp before dinner.
Backpacking in the Diamond Mountains (13+)
Backpacking is a wonderful opportunity for older campers to experience the pristine wilderness of the Diamond Mountain Range, that begins just behind Mountain Meadow Ranch. The Classic Session backpacking trip departs Monday of week 2 before breakfast and returns Tuesday afternoon. Backpacking is a Mini Camp add-on option offering a 3-night / 4-day trip for longer exploration.
High Sierra Desert Adventure
A day spent adventuring in the BLM wilderness areas of the Great Basin Desert to explore Native American petroglyphs, desert springs, lizard hunt, fossil hunt, and more! Campers leave after breakfast and return before dinner! Depending on interest, this trip may be offered as a half-day excursion.
Water Sports at Lake Almanor
Campers depart after breakfast for Lake Almanor and spend the day skiing, wakeboarding, knee boarding, or tubing, returning to main camp shortly before dinner. All water sport activities are supervised by certified lifeguards and instructed by trained water-ski and wakeboard instructors. Water Sports is a Mini Camp add-on option for those wishing to get lots of time out on the water!
All-Camp Activities
Weekends and evenings bring our whole camp family together for fun planned events, from movie nights and dances, to sunset hikes and campfire skits. All-camp activities bring out everyone’s spirit of fun, silliness, and sportsmanship. The entire camp participates in these events, yet each camper still gets to choose what role they will have. During certain sessions, all-camp activities expand to include our annual July 4 extravaganza – games, festive foods, a dance party, fireworks! – or day trip to soak up the classic fun and amusements of the Lassen County Fair.
Color Wars
At the beginning of each session, the camp family is divided into four teams to compete in several fun and crazy competitions. Each team is assigned a color and together they come up with their own team name, cheers, song, mascots, etc. Before each event, teams gather, don their face paint and decorated shirts, and get amped! Team chants echo throughout the camp, and the mayhem is on!
Overnight
This is our favorite night of every session! The camp family divides into two groups, girls and boys, to hike to their own camping spot and sleep outdoors for one night, usually on the first Tuesday of each two-week session. The groups get to experience and explore new scenery—ponds, boulders, meadows, forests, and streams. Overnight groups get to sleep under the open stars, rediscover imagination, roast marshmallows, bond with their cabin-mates, and more! The Overnight embodies the essence of summer camp.
Campfire
The Campfire area is the heart of camp. We gather to close each week and session for a time of laughter and reflection, for singing songs and giving thanks. We end each campfire with a peaceful time of reflection and sharing, led by a Director who offers encouragement in a Servanthood trait for the upcoming week. Time stands still at the campfire, and the Mountain Meadow Ranch family truly comes together as one.
Join our camp family!
Mailing Address | PO Box 610, Susanville, CA 96130
Google Maps | Mountain Meadow Ranch Summer Camp
Phone 530.310.9281
Email [email protected]
