Setting & Facilities

Our Geography

Mountain Meadow Ranch is nestled in the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northeast California, 75 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada, and the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The ranch property sits just on the timberline and encompasses over 900 acres. To our east lies the Great Basin Desert, and to the west are richly forested mountains. Our section of the Sierra Nevada is known as the Diamond Mountain Range. Mountain Meadow Ranch sits at 4500’ elevation, where daytime temps average in the mid 80s and 90s, cooled in the evenings by fresh mountain breezes; summer nights average in the 50s to 60s.

Our Cabins

Each cabin at Mountain Meadow Ranch is unique in style, but every cabin has electricity, wall-to-wall carpeting, and its own bathroom and shower facilities. Many have a front deck that overlooks the central meadow, a great place to catch up with cabin mates and enjoy the view. Campers sleep in their own twin-sized, cozy wooden bunk beds with bedding or sleeping bags. All clothes and belongings are kept in trunks or luggage that slide under or to the side of the bunks. There are shelves and countertop space in the bathrooms. Cabin groups are assigned by age, grade, and gender, and in groups of 8-16 campers with 2-4 counselors at a time.

It is a priority that our cabins be clean, safe, and comfortable. Laundry is done once a session by our support staff. Campers join in the stewardship of their “camp homes” through cabin clean-up (natural, nontoxic cleaning products are provided) and daily cabin inspections, all for the chance to win a “cleanest cabin” ice cream party at the end of the first week and pizza party at the end of the session!

The Big House Porch

The Big House Porch, overlooking the lagoon, is a key gathering place for Story Time and something we call “Handle Time” at the end of every typical day at camp. The camp family comes together here to share positive and encouraging highlights from the day, from lake Out-Trip adventures, to shoutouts for someone who conquered their fears at High Ropes. Stories are awarded “Big Ones” to commemorate a good time or accomplishment. “Handles” are our version of a camp nickname. A handle must be accompanied by a truly good story; is heavily debated over as a camp family; requires a counselor second; and is ultimately voted upon for majority agreement by the whole camp. A truly good handle “sticks” and becomes that individual’s new Mountain Meadow Ranch identity. Times spent gathered around the central hub of camp further facilitate our family atmosphere.

Campfire

This is one of the oldest and most revered locations at Mountain Meadow Ranch. The rocks were originally found by the lagoon and brought to their home in the cabin meadow by Jack Ellena, Sr. to be perfectly situated amongst a stand of tall 200-year-old pine trees. This location is truly the heart of camp. We gather here to select activities in the morning and afternoon; before playing any all-camp Color Wars activity; and most importantly for the Campfire itself.

The Campfire is our Sunday and last day evening activity where the whole camp family comes together for cabin skits, camper of the week awards, songs led by guitar, and sharing time under the stars. These are the moments that solidify the camp experience and take it from just “a ton of fun” to something more. Many alumni from over the generations still remember the way the pine trees looked silhouetted against the twilight sky as they sang “Country Roads” with their camp friends – now family.