Outdoor Adventure Camp will teach kids biking, water safety

After not having it for two years because of covid, Ski Hut is bringing back Outdoor Adventure Camp.

“With the high need of kids activities and the lack of staffing, a lot of people reached out and have wanted to have a camp again,” said Ski Hut Community Outreach Coordinator Bobbie Larson. “We’re really excited to be able to offer one week of our camp.”

The camp will take place the second week of August, with a full day of activities that Monday through Friday.

“A lot of it really is biking etiquette,” said Larson. We do bike maintenance, bike skills, speed control, and a neutral position. We teach them how they should be properly, how high their seat should be and where their brakes should be, so really, the basics.”

Kids ages 6 to 12 can attend Outdoor Adventure Camp, no matter their skill level.

“Half the day is focused on mountain biking, and it’s focused on meeting kids where they’re at,” Larson explained. “Some kids come who don’t even know how to ride a bike, and some kids have a lot of experience mountain biking in the program. We just split kids up based on their skill levels and then they get to do everything from doing elements on the field here, or they’ll go out and do trails.”

The second half of the program is focused on water activities, such as kayaking, SUP board, and water safety. Every kid is taught how to wear a life jacket properly.

“Having a life jacket that’s not properly fitting can actually make it more difficult for somebody because you’ve got something attached to you that isn’t properly fitting you,” Larson empasized.

Instructors from Swiftwater Rescue and the aquarium will be at the camp to teach the kids about water movements and swift water education.

“Today they might swim in the river and it’s low, but if it rains tonight, that river can come up dramatically,” said Larson. “I feel like a lot of the times we’ve had tragedies in our community, it’s not because people are just being dumb, it’s because they don’t know what they don’t know.”

From water education to controlling speed while biking, safety is a major emphasis at Outdoor Adventure Camp.

“We want people to get into the outdoors, but we ultimately want them to have the knowledge to be safe,” said Larson. “At the end of the day, it makes it really worth it when a kid comes to me and says, ‘that was the best week I had all summer’.”