Camper Registration

Our specific precautions will change depending on recent research, public health guidance, and local conditions, but in general we are focusing on:

• Testing & Screening: This involves tests for COVID-19, temperature checks, and symptom screenings before and during camp. In addition, families are asked to quarantine as much as possible for at least a week before camp.
• Cohorting: Campers and volunteers will be with their unit of 5-10 other campers the entire week with no close contact with anyone outside their unit.
• Hand Hygiene: Teaching and enforcing proper hand washing at various points during each day.
• Ventilation: All of our activities and meals are done outdoors and our cabins are open-air, with barriers between bunks.
• Sanitizing: Cleaning high-touch surfaces with EPA-approved disinfectants.
• Face masks: Masks may be required at various times throughout camp, including while getting food, doing activities close to others in their unit, and more.
• Physical distancing: Staying at least 6 feet away from others as much as possible.

In addition, families are asked to take a COVID-19 vaccine if available. This layering of precautions has been shown to be effective in quite a few public settings.

Keep in mind that communicable disease is a always a risk in any social situation, so please speak to a medical professional if the camper or anyone in the camper’s household is at high risk.

If in-person camp is cancelled, we will offer all registered campers a refund and we will likely transition to virtual programs like in 2020.

Please reach out to us so we can discuss further to find the right fit for your camper! In many cases, campers who are 9 years old are able to attend classic camp.

Note that at this time we cannot accept campers who are 18 years old at the time of their camp session.

Please reach out to us! We believe that every camper is a valuable, unique part of the camp experience so we do our best to not turn anyone away because of special needs or abilities. The more we can work together before camp, the better we can plan for your camper to have a fulfilling week.

Independence is one of the important skills campers practice at camp, so we strongly discourage any direct contact with while children are at camp. However, feel free to put letters in your camper’s luggage. (Do NOT put any food in their luggage.)

If there is an emergency at camp, we will call you as soon as possible. We will also provide emergency contact information if you need to reach on-site UniCamp staff during your child’s week of camp.

Campers are separated into cabins with 5-10 other same age/gender campers, with 2-3 counselors. Cabins are open-air with an attached bathroom, sink, and shower. Click here for an interactive view of the inside of a cabin Note that, while not shown in the link, each camper will have a mattress on their bunk that is disinfected between each use.

All UCLA UniCamp counselors are volunteers who go through four months of training and are overseen by more experienced counselors and UniCamp full-time staff. Volunteers are trained in behavior management, bullying prevention, appropriate boundaries, abuse prevention, and more.

We follow the “rule of three” where campers are always with two or more people, at least one of whom must be an adult. Our average supervision ratio is 3 campers to 1 counselor.

Driving to camp If you drive your camper(s) to camp, we will give you an assigned time in the morning to arrive at a meeting location in the Redlands area for a health screening and check-in before you head into the mountains. Picking up your child will work similarly, without the stop in Redlands area.

Bussing Busses typically pick up campers from the UCLA area at 9am on the first day of camp and drop them back off around 5pm on the last day. Each session’s schedule and meeting location may vary slightly.

Please avoid bringing electronics to camp if possible to avoid them getting dirty or damaged. On the first day, campers will be asked to turn in any cell phones for safe storage throughout the week. This policy helps us focus on interpersonal connections at camp without the distraction of technology. Please reach out to us prior to camp if this will be a problem (e.g. for phone-connected glucose monitors).

It can often be good to help your campers practice going for short periods of time without technology before camp.

Every session is planned separately by the volunteers that week and counselors will frequently customize the schedule/activities during each session for their small group of campers. That being said, most sessions are structured similarly:

7am Wake up
8am Breakfast & duties
9am Activities (These are different each day/session. They typically involve swimming, mountain biking, archery, climbing, arts & crafts, yoga, dance, science, drama, initiative/teambuilding games, and more)
Noon Lunch & duties
1pm More activities
3:30pm Snack
4pm More activities
6pm Dinner & duties
7:30pm Night activity (these can be night hikes, talent shows, campfires, and more.)
9:30pm Get ready for bed
10pm Lights out

Unfortunately, the LA County DCFS campership program is temporarily suspended so we are not able to offer no-cost registration to children with an open DCFS case. If that is a barrier to attend camp, feel free to reach out to your social worker to inquire about other options.

All foster youth automatically qualify for free/reduced lunch so they will be offered the subsidized $199 price automatically and the registration forms will continue to ask for DCFS case information. If we are able to participate in the DCFS campership program as we have done in the past, we will reach out to all who qualify with options for a refund.

Please plan to bring at least one mask / cloth face covering per day since masks will be required in many situations at camp. Masks must completely cover the nose and mouth. Face shields (often made of clear plastic) cannot be used in place of masks.

Click here for CDC guidance about how to choose a mask. However, the best mask is the one that your camper is comfortable wearing, so KN95 or other uncomfortable masks are not recommended.