Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at Roughing It!  We are grateful to all of you for helping us create the Roughing It spirit and camp memories we’ve shared over the years.  

Happy Veteran’s Day!

Happy Veteran’s Day to one and all. We are grateful to those who have served our country and those who continue to serve today. We are especially appreciated of those Roughing Staff who have protected our nation. Thank you to our current Roughing It Staff and Founder Hobie Woods and Personnel Director Jessie Haugan for […]

The Importance of Gratitude

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, now is the time of year when people start to reflect on everything they are thankful for.  Although this is the season to be grateful for everything you have, gratitude is something that is great to practice all year long.  In Juliana Breines article, Four Great Gratitude Strategies, she […]

Happy Halloween!

Looking for a fun, safe Halloween event for children? Swing by our New Camp office 954 Mountain View Drive, Lafayette this Friday 1-5pm (behind Trader Joe’s) for trick or treating and see Gus in his Halloween costume!  Stick around for Trick or Treat Street in Downtown Lafayette on Mt. Diablo Blvd. from Oak Hill Rd. to […]

Ready for Camp – Global Citizenship and Summer Camp

Camp is not only a great way to prepare children for adulthood, but it also helps prepare children to become global citizens.  Every year, summer camps across the country welcome many international campers from countries all over the world. Our camp is fortunate to be located in the San Francisco bay area and for years […]

Back to School – Take your camp skills to school!

School is back in session, and summer camp is starting to feel like a long distant memory.  In reality, children bring the skills and life lessons they learn at camp with them to school every day.  Although they do learn new activities like swimming, horseback riding, and making lanyards, these are not the most important […]

Final Farewell To Summer

Summer is over, school is starting, and camp won’t start again until next year.  Luckily, the magic of camp never has to end.  We have all the memories we made over the summer to remind us of everything we learned.  Looking back, we are so proud of all the growth we saw in campers, both […]

Dear Camp Counselors – Thank you for Making a Positive Difference

Here is a great read we would like to share with our camp families and staff.  Dear Camp Counselor was written by a mom to the staff of her children’s summer camp, Caroline Furnace Lutheran Camp (a residential camp on the east coast).  Although it is written with a Christian focus, the message it sends […]

How to Stay Cool When the Weather is Hot at Camp

Everyone knows that it gets pretty hot in the summer.  At summer camp, campers spend the whole day outside, staying active and participating in many fun activities.  Because campers spend so long in the sun, it’s very important to find ways to stay cool throughout the day.    In the past, one fun activity was to […]

Summer 2015 – our 43rd Year!

We want to welcome all new and returning campers to summer 2015!  We’re excited to kick off our 43rd summer season, and our staff can’t wait to meet all our campers.  This summer, we hope you make new friends, build new skills, and challenge yourself by trying new things.  This includes meeting and getting to […]

How to get a Non-Swimmer Ready for Camp

Swimming can be a fun and exciting experience, but it can also be scary and intimidating for some children.  Most children are familiar with a bathtub, but switching from a bathtub to a large pool or natural body of water can be overwhelming.  Many may be too frightened or reluctant to even go in the […]

How My Son Learned to Swim at Camp

One of the highlights of  Roughing It is our swim program.  Instead of giving our campers free swim all the time, our program is designed to actually teach children how to swim through swimming lessons.  It is very common for younger children to be nervous about getting in the water, and many parents have questions […]

Why Teens Need Camp

Young children are not the only ones to benefit from summer camp.  Teens, especially in middle school, get just as much, if not more, out of a summer at camp.  Unlike younger campers, teens have many opportunities to apply their leadership skills to real-life situations, such as helping out the younger campers or assisting their […]