Outdoor Fun with Friends
At the Wenatchee River Institute, we believe the best place to spend a day off is outside. Our youth camps focus on connecting youth to the natural world, making new friends, and having fun! WRI's camps are offered throughout the year and topics can be seasonally specific. Students will learn about the world around us, play fun games, explore the trails on the WRI campus, spot birds, make art, and more!
Planning for Summer Camps 2023
WRI is piloting a lottery system for summer camp registration in 2023. Our hope is that the system will offer more equitable access to WRI summer camps and alleviate stress around registration. Summer camps will run July 5 - August 11, 2023.
Campers can enroll in one week of camp through the lottery system. Each camper can enter the lottery once, ranking each camp week in the application to indicate their most desired week to attend. If there are spots in camp after the lottery, those will be open to everyone through general registration. Entering the lottery does not guarantee a camper a spot in camp.
Important Dates:
- March 1-12: Lottery form available
- March 13-17: Process lottery and notification of results
- March 17-27: Accept and register for spots offered through the lottery (You will need to complete registration for the camp spots offered to you through the lottery.)
- March 27: Remaining camp spots will open for general registration in the evening. Update: Most camp spots are being filled through the lottery. The only camp that will open for general registration is Adventurous Artists (August 7-11 for campers entering grades 4-6). We will open waitlist spots for all other camps. Registration opens Thursday, March 30 at 5:00pm.
Lottery System
Timing: The lottery form will be available beginning Wednesday, March 1 at 12:00pm. The form closes Sunday, March 12 at 11:59pm. There will be no priority given to those who filled out the form first. All forms filled out between March 1-12 will be treated equally.
Siblings: We recognize that sending siblings to camp in the same week is a priority for many families, and we want to be able to accommodate that as much as possible. The lottery form includes a question about whether you’re hoping to register multiple campers for the same week of camp. Fill out a separate lottery form for each camper you would like to register for camp.
Filling out the form: Please still fill out a separate lottery form for each camper you would like to register for camp this year. On the form, camps are organized in sections by age range. Only fill out the section that matches the age for the camper for whom you're filling out the lottery. We encourage you to rank multiple camps to increase your camper's likelihood of getting a spot in a WRI camp. You will not receive an email when you submit the form, but you will see a confirmation page. If you would like to save a copy of your submissions, there is a button to print or get a PDF.
Results: WRI will email with your lottery results by the end of the day on Friday, March 17. This email will include a link to registration. You will still have to complete the official camp registration form to accept the spots offered through the lottery (by March 27 at 9:00am). Entering the lottery does not guarantee a spot in camp. We are hopeful, however, that everyone who enters the lottery will get a spot in camp this summer. We encourage you to rank multiple camps in the lottery; this will give a higher likelihood of getting a spot in camp.
Click here watch a tutorial video for a walk-through of the lottery form.
We want every child to have a chance to learn and play outside with us. Our youth camps are priced in the Pay What You Can structure to make camps as affordable as possible to all families. It is our hope that some families will have the ability to pay a little more to offset the costs for families who cannot. When you are checking out, there is a box to type in the amount you can pay.
Safety Precautions: WRI will continue to monitor state and local guidance around COVID and may update our practices if recommendations change. For programs that have both indoor and outdoor components such as camps, we prefer that participants are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. In the event of any COVID exposures, we will be following the current CDC guidelines.
Check back here for upcoming camps and registration news. The best way to find out about camp registration is to join our mailing list or follow our social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter).
Upcoming Camps
If camp events you have already registered for are cancelled, the Wenatchee River Institute will refund 100% of the registration fees. If you have questions about COVID-19 and the Wenatchee River Institute, please call us at 509-548-0181 or email us at programs@wenatcheeriverinstitute.org
