All camps at Cincinnati Nature Center are designed with the goal of providing fun, hands-on, educational experiences in nature for children ages 3 to 13 years. Our camps challenge kids to be active and creative while developing confidence and social skills in a natural setting. Our small camper to staff ratio allows for increased personalized attention for our campers. Our camp instructors make camps engaging and joyful for kids while promoting inclusiveness, safety, age-appropriateness, and passion for nature.

Camp counselors know that camper safety is the first priority. We have worked hard to provide the safest experience for your child by adhering to all of the Ohio Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control best practices. An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. Procedures have been put in place for the safety of campers and staff. We will adhere to strict cleaning protocols of our facilities including sanitizing all surfaces, restrooms, and any items touched on a regularly scheduled basis in compliance with the Ohio Department of Health operating best practices. Staff are trained in first aid and CPR prior to the start of camp. At Long Branch Farm & Trails, water safety protocol demands that campers and staff wear life jackets when canoeing and during more challenging stream hikes.

Long Branch is only about 10 miles north of Rowe Woods, located just off of OH-28 and close to Loveland. The beauty of Long Branch Farm & Trails is in its remoteness; fewer members hike daily there, allowing campers more space and freedom to explore.

Each camp has something special to offer to all children within the designated age range. Camps with a wide mixed-age audience are separated into smaller, age-appropriate groups.

Groups will be preassigned and children will be separated into groups on the first day of camp according to age. If your child has a friend or relative registered in their camp and you wish to place them in the same trail group, please indicate this on your online health form under, “additional information” and we will do our best to do so as long as you indicate this TWO WEEKS PRIOR to the start of camp in Ultracamp. If you wish for your child to be placed with a friend or a family member whose ages are not within one year of one another, our policy is to place the older camper with the younger camper’s trail group. The group that your child is assigned to will be your camper’s trail group for the week. Individual groups will not interact with one another.

Camps are carefully designed for specific age groups and, within most of our camps, children are further separated into smaller, similarly aged groups to ensure the best quality experience at camp. We do not allow children outside of the designated age range to join in camp for the following reasons:

• Young children often lack the endurance for some of our activities designed for older children.
• Young children often lack the social maturity to deal with older campers.
• Enrolling a child in a camp designed for older children may inhibit either the young child or the older campers. We encourage you to register your camper when they come of age for these camps!

We’re happy to make reasonable accommodations for special needs. Parents and guardians with questions regarding the ability of camp staff to meet a child’s needs should contact the Camp Director, Bekah Cohen, before registering for camp. See below for contact information.

Over the years, we have had many campers with food allergies. The action we take depends upon the severity of the allergy. Children with strong peanut allergies eat away from members of the group with peanut products. (For example, a whole table of campers and staff who do not have peanut products in their lunches will sit together at a table or use a designated nut-free picnic blanket.)

Our well-trained counselors provide experiences that help increase your child’s confidence in an inclusive, age-appropriate environment. Little Acorns is the only camp at Cincinnati Nature Center in which a parent/guardian will attend with their child.

No. In order to meet the high demand for our camps, we sometimes offer the same theme and activities of one camp (such as Creek Week or H2Whoa!) for multiple weeks. This allows greater numbers of children to enjoy these camps. Although children can attend multiple weeks of the same camp theme if they desire, the activities and content will not change week-to-week for each theme, so they would find themselves repeating the same activities in which they already participated.

Parents or caretakers should please stay in their car and wear a mask during pick-up and drop-off. In accordance with current health directives, a mask mandate is in effect for everyone in kindergarten and older. All campers are required to bring a mask to camp. Masks should be packed in a ziplock bag and put in the camper's backpack when not in use. Counselors will build in time throughout the day for campers to physically distance outside and have some mask-free time. Staff will continue to wear face coverings at pick-up and drop-off, and throughout the day when addressing children and when they are within 6-feet distance to them.