What an unforgettable summer at Wenatchee River Institute! During our 6 weeks of summer camps, we offered 3 camps per week—the most we’ve ever offered in WRI history, reaching kids entering 1st through 9th grade, and every single spot was filled! From splashing through local waters to creating nature-inspired masterpieces, climbing high, and learning wild survival skills, our campers brought boundless energy and curiosity to the trails. Here is a look back at everything our amazing young explorers accomplished this season across our programs and community partnerships.
School Group Programs
Local school groups joined us for multi-day immersion camps focused on teamwork, local ecosystems, and environmental observation across diverse public lands.
Wenatchee School District’s Lincoln Elementary: Campers kicked off their 3-day adventure at the WRI campus with inflatable archery, bug hunting, and trail exploration. Day two brought a trip to the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery for real archery, a facility tour, salmon life-cycle lessons, and bracelet making. They wrapped up their week exploring Lake Chelan State Park’s trails and waterfront while learning about how freshwater cycles on our planet.
Wenatchee School District’s Lewis & Clark / Newbery Elementary Schools: This 4-day camp featured campus bug hunts and inflatable archery, followed by a hands-on tour and real archery at Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. On day three, campers joined Al Murphy from Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance at Ski Hill for trail stewardship and a hidden stuffie hunt. The week concluded with trail exploration and freshwater studies at Lake Wenatchee State Park.
Explorer Camp with Orondo Elementary & Middle School:
- Younger Campers: Enjoyed leaf painting, trail hikes, inflatable archery, and beach play at WRI, followed by a wildlife hike and archery at Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, and wrapped up with straw blow-painting and art projections.
- Older Campers: Hiked, painted rocks, tested their aim with inflatable archery at WRI, toured Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, and finished their week with art projects and archery back at Orondo Elementary & Middle School.
Adventures on the Water & Trails
These high-energy camps took participants into the field to build outdoor recreation skills, practice river safety, and build confidence on water and rock.
Middle School Adventure Camp: Campers explored Lake Wenatchee State Park, floated down the Blackbird Channel in their personal flotation devices (PFDs), tackled five hours of indoor bouldering at Riverfront Rock Gym, and hit the water for paddleboarding with Leavenworth Outdoor Center.
River Wild Camp (2 sessions!): Focused on river safety and water navigation. Highlights included tubing down the Wenatchee River, spending full days on Stand-Up Paddleboards (SUPs) on the Wenatchee River, building stick forts at Lake Wenatchee, floating the Blackbird Channel, and testing flora/fauna skills via riverside scavenger hunts.
Rock On! Camp: Campers learned figure-8 knots, belay mechanics, and bouldering at Riverfront Rock Gym before heading outdoors. Guided by Northwest Mountain School, they top-rope climbed up Icicle Creek, backed up by stereoscope rock studies and river swims.
Hands-On Learning & Exploration
Through active discovery, campers learned to investigate regional history, local wildlife, food systems, and essential outdoor survival skills.
Cool Critters Camp: Young explorers hunted for camouflaged butterflies and beanie babies around WRI trails, made clay animals and bird airplanes, and built beachfront forts at Lake Wenatchee State Park.
WRI / Cashmere Museum Explorers Camp (2 sessions!): In our inaugural year partnering with the Cashmere Museum and Pioneer Village, campers traveled back in time to explore both pioneer skills and the history of the p’squosa people. Activities included churning butter, dipping candles, hand-washing clothes, panning for gold, launching paper-mâché volcanoes, charcoal drawing, anthotype printing, and visiting the new Cashmere Public Library.
Soil to Snack Camp: Campers toured two local farms to learn about agricultural pollinators, then harvested and foraged ingredients to prepare watermelon salad, carrot top salad, roasted carrots, herb butter, and berry lemonade.
Bike & Explore Camp (with Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance): Blending trail rides with outdoor themes, kids made pipe-cleaner dragonflies, hunted for hidden crafts, cooled off in sprinklers, and rode alongside EMBA leaders. Storytime with Virginia covered local lore, and campers built mini natural boats to float downstream.
Kids in the Wild Camp: The older session of campers dove deep into wilderness survival, practicing Leave No Trace and the 10 Essentials. They learned knot-tying and casting during a fishing trip with Trout Unlimited at Blackbird Island Pond, toured the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery for archery practice, foraged berries, logged field notes in nature journals, and embarked on a GPS-based pirate treasure hunt.
Kids in the Wild Camp: Younger wilderness explorers adapted creatively to a heavy wildfire smoke week. Campers pitched tents as a group, made binoculars and natural bug creations, and practiced indoor inflatable archery and skits. Once the air cleared, they enjoyed outdoor archery at Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, built homemade boats, and finished the week with a smoke-free pirate treasure hunt and beach time!
Pathfinders Outdoor Camp: In a new partnership with the Wenatchee Valley YMCA, campers adapted flexibly when air quality shifted our plans—transitioning to indoor group games, visor decorating, and pool time at the downtown Wenatchee YMCA before wrapping up with clay sculpting, s'mores, and indoor archery.
Creativity & Nature Arts
Through collaborative partnerships, campers blended artistic expression with outdoor investigation, using natural materials and local performance spaces as inspiration.
Creativity Camp (at ICCA): Partnering with the Icicle Creek Center for the Arts, campers dove into theater, improv, poetry, and clay sculpting inspired by the trails and art installations around Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort. Campers even organized and performed their own talent show on the Snowy Owl Stage!
Amazing Artists: Young creators tried blind contour drawing, traced full-size self-portraits, built miniature rafts to test in Icicle Creek, crafted natural bugs, and used horsetail straws for blow-paint art. They finished the week building rafts, painting rocks, and creating tube-projected light shows!
Adventurous Artists: Older campers tackled an art-filled week exploring diverse mediums: watercolor painting, nature collages, painted clay sculptures, and hand-carved rubber stamp printing.
Forest Friends: Focused on outdoor play, campers crafted friendship bracelets, set up camouflage challenges across the River Haus Lawn, took a field trip to the splash pad at Walla Walla Point Park, went on a bear-themed hike to spot wildlife tracks, and visited Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery.
A massive thank you to all of our campers, family members, instructors, and community partners for making Summer 2026 an extraordinary season of learning and outdoor connection! We can't wait to see you back on the trails next year.
Check out Summer Camp photos on Facebook.
Special thanks to our 2026 Summer Camp Sponsors: Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort, Hotel Pension Anna, Munchen Haus, Leavenworth / Pine Village KOA, Syndicate Smith, Leavenworth Outdoor Center, Cashmere Mountain Bed and Breakfast, and Crunch Pak.
