Welcome to the *Official* Camp Chrysalis page! We camp in splendid natural locales as a family of learners together.
For 40 years, our program has developed a distinctive approach to environmental education, offering children rich experiences that combine recreation, learning, and personal growth. Our purpose is to explore and learn, as well as to play and enjoy. Around camp and on side-trips, we focus often on active study of the environment and wildlife, to develop natural science skills as well as appreciatio
04/11/2024
Some Highlights from Sierra 2023. IF you're interested in Archery, cold lakes, backpacking, sliding on snow in July, and more, We still have spots open for Sierra 2024!
http://www.campchrysalis.com/enroll/index.html
04/01/2024
Some Highlights of Mendocino 2023. We still have spots open for Mendocino 2024! come get a hug from an Abalone, jump off a dune, stand under a freezing waterfall, canoe up a river, swing in to it, and do so much more!
http://www.campchrysalis.com/enroll/index.html
03/25/2024
Some Highlights from Big Sur 2023. Enrollment is open for Big Sur 2024!
http://www.campchrysalis.com/enroll/index.html
03/21/2024
some pictures from our snow session this year
Snow session 2023, camp chrysalis 272 new items added to shared album
03/21/2024
We still have slots open for our pinnacles session! April 1st to April 6th. Come spot condors!
http://www.campchrysalis.com/enroll/index.html
10/19/2023
This year we would like to offer a Snow Session! Visit our site to see more details!
Sierra | Camp Chrysalis We are very excited about offering a snow session again this year for skiers and snowboarders of all levels and hope your children can join us. This session is more recreational than natural sciences, and is a great opportunity for campers to develop their skiing or/and snowboarding skills.
04/06/2022
Some pictures from our last Big Sur session! We still have some spots open for this year! Share and Like to help us fill them!
http://www.campchrysalis.com/enroll/index.html
We had a very successful summer in 2021 and were able to run all of our sessions using our Covid protocols to keep campers and staff safe. We expect to run all of our sessions again this year and are moving forward despite the current Omicron surge. Here are the details of summer 2022:
Mendocino is our first session this year with the best tide pooling of the summer. This session is from Monday, June 13 - Wednesday, June 22. We will see very low tides and spectacular sea plants and animals that are usually under water. We will be staying in a large group site at MacKerricher State Park for ten days with trips on the Big River, hiking terraces to a pygmy forest and another to a waterfall. With the wonderful rain this winter, we expect plentiful berries and happy plants everywhere!
Big Sur is our second session and is ideal for first time campers as well as veterans. This session is from Sunday, June 26 – Sunday, July 3. We will be staying in nine contiguous sites at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and will spend lots of time learning about the riparian plants of the redwood and chaparral environment. We’ll explore the Big Sur River, hike to Andrew Molares Beach to swim in a lagoon, learn about and hunt crawdad’s along the river and immerse ourselves in a rich redwood experience.
Our third session is at our Sierra site near the Sierra Buttes with hikes and swimming in twelve bodies of water including nearby lakes and creeks. This session is from Thursday, July 7 – Monday, July 18. Geology and botany are key areas of study and campers see the effects of glaciation as we hike each day and learn the different wild flowers and trees that live in these rich environments. We also offer archery instruction in this more secluded group site. We’ll end this session with a backpacking trip to Deer Lake where we’ll spend two nights sleeping under the stars.
Our backpacking session is our fourth session and smallest session with twelve campers and three staff. This session is from Thursday, July 21 – Thursday, July 29. This year, we are looking at two possible destinations one into the Ansel Adams Wilderness and the other to the Rae Lakes of Kings Canyon National Park. Both will have ample opportunities to gaze at mountain peaks and climb over some, spend time along beautiful mountain lakes and creeks and perhaps see some bears. This session is for our high school campers with some prior backpacking experience.
Our website has been updated and registration is now open. We hope to see your child this summer at one or more of our sessions. Please register early since sessions often fill up by April. For more information, visit our website at campchrysalis.com or contact me at [email protected].
We want to thank all of the families who sent their children to camp this summer. We had four very successful sessions using our Covid protocols to keep our cohorts safe while having fun and learning about the redwoods, tide pools and mountains.
See you next summer and look for new sessions being planned for this winter (a skiing and snowboarding session) and spring breaks (a Pinnacles National Park session).
On April 1, California public health was supposed to announce the guidelines that would allow overnight camps to operate this summer in California. We're still waiting for this to occur.
Join us for an outdoor adventure.
Camp Chrysalis, Summer 2021
Sierra (already full)
Tuesday, June 29 – Saturday, July 10 (12 days) — ages 11 – 17
Backpacking (already full)
Tuesday, July 13 – Tuesday, July 20 (8 days) — ages 14 – 18
Mendocino (already full)
Saturday, July 24 – Monday, August 2 (10 days) — ages 10 – 16
Big Sur
Friday, August 6 - Friday, August 13 (8 days) — ages 9 - 15
For more information visit our website at www.campchrysalis.com, or contact our director, Lee Tempkin, at [email protected] or 510 843-6157. Financial assistance is available.