Ya Gotta Go Hiking at Camp

Let’s not forget hiking! and camping! It’s such a central part of going to an overnight summer camp in the mountains of North Carolina. There are so many amazing forests and woods around you, and there are so many trails to explore, long-range mountain views to discover, and streams to tramp— you just gotta do it.  When you go hiking out of camp, you can also look forward to sitting around a campfire, eating a yummy dinner (yes, everything does taste better when it’s cooked outdoors!), and everyone’s favorite, making s’mores. Don’t be surprised if after your first hiking trip, you want to turn right around and go out again.

Camp Climbing

Rock climbing has become perhaps the most popular outdoor adventure activity at Rockbrook. After learning the basics on the 50-ft Alpine Tower or the indoor climbing wall, our girls head up the hill to Castle Rock where they can get on some real rock. We’ve climbed two routes over the years, and recently developed 4 new ones… a cool zigzag hand crack, a really challenging arching finger crack, a long face route that feels really exposed, and a nice dihedral feature.  There’s enough climbing there to keep anyone busy, so it’s really nice to have that kind of adventure in our own backyard. It’s a rock climbing summer camp experience that can’t be beat!

Activity Spotlight: Climbing

Rockbrook is all geared up for an excellent summer of climbing! What was once an appointment-only event, climbing is now offered as a weekly activity. The Alpine Tower is open every day and the gym’s rock wall is our rainy day alternative. But the adventure doesn’t stop there! To create more of a challenge, we have founded the “Blind Girls’ Walk” club. To be inducted into this wacky band of girls, a camper is blindfolded and guided up the tower with her friends’ help. Many have already joined and the line to climb is growing. GO GO CLIMBING HEROES!

Hey, Let's work together on this.

The summer adventure program at camp includes the challenge “low ropes course” portion of Rockbrook’s Alpine Tower. This is a series of obstacles and events where girls, instead of climbing, enjoy different group initiatives, cooperative games, and other summer adventure activities designed to challenge everyone to work together and accomplish some task. It might involve everyone balancing, or swinging on a rope, or walking a log, but it will certainly require some real problem solving and cooperation. The fun and adventure comes from being together and experiencing the power of teamwork when faced with a challenge. Pretty cool stuff!

Teen Girls Adventure Camp

With all the outdoor adventure available, Rockbrook is a great teen adventure camp for girls. Yes, camp is a lot about the sports, crafts, horseback riding, and other in-camp activities, but it’s also about getting out into the nearby forests for adventure. Load all your things in a backpack for a hike and camping, head over to the river for whitewater rafting or kayaking, or gather up ropes, harnesses, and helmets for incredible rock climbing— it’s all right here. If you want to, you can go on a fabulous adventure trip almost every day at camp Rockbrook. There’s always a new place to hike, new rock the climb, and new river rapid to paddle. Awesome fun, that’s for sure.

Adventure Camp Kids

Kids at Rockbrook Camp also go on great adventure trips right here in the western mountains of North Carolina where we’re located. It’s just perfect for all kinds of outdoor adventure activity. There’s backpacking through the national forests, rock climbing on all the amazing granite around here, and paddling on the wild whitewater rivers nearby. Some of these trips are appropriate for our older campers, but kids of all ages can look forward to getting out and experiencing the excitement of the outdoors.

This photo shows the most popular outdoor adventure activity kids enjoy at camp— whitewater rafting. We take every girl who’s old enough (The Forest Service restricts access by age and weight.) rafting on the Nantahala River. It’s a fun rock’m sock’m ride.