Summer Camps & Activities

Hard to believe, but it is that time again...time to think about summer activities and summer camps! Where do you start?! The Camp Fairs have already taken place in March and many of the camps "early bird discount" offers have expired.

Well, first of all, you can start with your local parks and recreation guide. You will find lots of summer day camps and activities for a relatively low price and they are pretty tried and true. Click here for the Fremont Parks and Rec Guide or check out your city's guide.

YMCA is another good choice for a lower-cost option that has great programs and includes extended care for full-time working parents. It not only has day or week long camps, but also has family camps where families can camp together and enjoy time together while learning crafts, meeting new people and enjoying the outdoors.

East Bay Regional Parks has lots of activities year round and has many hikes, nature walks, nature classes etc to check out for the summer.

Of course, swim, tennis, soccer, golf, baseball are all sports that are popular in the summer since they are outdoor sports. Again, check out the parks and rec guide for your city for lots of options for classes that are age-related. There are also specialized organizations which run week long camps for kids such as:

Soccer:
FC Fremont Soccer Club -http://www.fcfremont.com/
Kidz Love Soccer - http://www.kidzlovesoccer.com/
AYSO Soccer - http://soccer.org/home.aspx
Striker's Den Soccer Academy: http://www.strikersden.com/

Tennis:
Golden Gateway Tennis and Swim Club - http://www.ggtsc.com/
Bay Area Tennis Lessons by Jeff Randolph - http://bayareatennislessons.com/
Local tennis organizations directory - http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/U_S__States/California/Metropolitan_Areas/San_Francisco_Bay_Area/Recreation_and_Sports/Tennis/?o=a&skw=bay+area+tennis

Swim:
Splash Swim School - http://www.splashswimschool.com/
Happy Fish - http://www.swimhappyfish.com/
Fremont Swim School - http://www.americanswimacademy.com/fss/
West Coast Aquatics - http://www.westcoastaquatics.com/
Silliman Center - http://www.newark.org/play/recreation.html

Golf:
Pruneridge Golf Club - http://www.pruneridgegolfclub.com/
Nike Golf Camp - http://www.ussportscamps.com/golf/

Lacrosse:
Atherton Lacrosse Camp for beginner and intermediate levels and starts at age 5.

Baseball:
Rob Andrews Baseball Camps - http://www.robandrewsbaseball.com/index.html
SF Giants Baseball Camp - http://www.campchannel.com/summer-camps/San-Francisco-Giants-Baseball-Camps-1972.html

Many sports, including more unique ones like fencing, are represented on http://www.bayareakidfun.com/pages/sportslessons.html

Other interesting options to check out:

http://www.campunique.com/
http://www.huskyhouseforkids.org/
Adventure Day Camp - http://www.adventuredaycamp.com/
http://www.sfgokids.com/
JCC Summer Camps - in contra costa county: http://www.ccjcc.org/ or in oakland: http://www.jcceastbay.org/
Crystal Springs Uplands School camp - http://www.csus.org/

SF Zoo camps: http://www.sfzoo.org/
Bay Area Discovery Museum Camps: http://www.baykidsmuseum.org/
Chabot Space and Science Center: http://www.chabotspace.org/

Youth Science Institute: http://www.youthscience.org/
Mr. Shargel's Science Adventures: http://www.shargelscience.com/
The Explorers Club: http://www.eckidsclub.com/
Destination Science: http://www.destinationscience.org/
Camp Galileo: http://www.galileo-learning.com/

Renaissance School in Oakland: http://www.therenaissanceschool.org/
Children's Musical Theater: http://www.cmtsj.org/
Kids Culinary Adventures: http://www.kidsculinaryadventures.com/
Little Star Cafe: http://www.littlestarcafe.com/

Girl Scout Camp (you don't have to be a girl scout to register): http://www.camprocks.org/
Calero Ranch Stables: http://www.caleroranchstables.com/
Rawhide Ranch: http://www.rawhideranch.com/

UPDATE: If you are looking for some tips to get your kids into camp and overnight camp links, check out this article that came out today, 6/3/09 from todayshow.com.

Good Luck!