Summer Camps in Mountain View: A Parent's Guide

On a July morning, small kayaks push off the dock at Shoreline Lake while, a few miles south, campers at Deer Hollow Farm feed the animals before the trails warm up. Summer camp in Mountain View covers more ground than most parents expect, and this guide walks through it.

A Parent's Guide to Summer Camps in Mountain View

Mountain View sits in an interesting spot for a camp summer. It has the tech-corridor energy of the South Bay, with robotics and math academies a short walk from the Castro Street farmers market, and it also holds onto some surprisingly rural corners: a working farm at the edge of Rancho San Antonio, a sailing lake tucked between the wetlands and the office parks of North Bayshore.

The camps themselves are run by a wide mix of people. The City of Mountain View's Recreation Division operates camps of its own, including the farm camp many local kids grow up on. Nonprofits like the Community School of Music and Arts and Peninsula Youth Theatre have been teaching here for decades. Mountain View High School's athletic department runs a beloved summer sports camp. And dozens of independent studios and academies, from ballet schools on Old Middlefield Way to a tennis academy near Rengstorff Park, fill out the calendar with weekly sessions from mid June through mid August.

Most families end up mixing and matching: a farm or water week, a sports week, an arts week, and some unstructured time in between. Among kids camps in Mountain View there is genuinely something for every temperament, which makes the planning question less about whether a camp exists and more about which weeks go to what.

Nature and Outdoor Camps in Mountain View

Deer Hollow Farm Wilderness Camp is the one many Mountain View parents mention first. The farm is a 10 acre historic homestead inside the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, home to roughly 75 to 100 farm animals, and the City of Mountain View's Recreation Division runs about seven weeks of camp there each summer for around 400 children. Sessions are tiered by age, roughly 6 to 10, 10 to 12, and 12 to 14, and the older groups earn overnight experiences: the middle tier ends its week with a sleepover in the Ohlone Village, and the oldest group takes longer hikes and spends a final night in the barnyard. The farm also offers a dedicated camp track for campers with special needs, ages 6 to 17.

On the north side of town, Shoreline Lake Kids Camps put kids on the water. Certified instructors teach kayaking and sailing to US Sailing standards, and a week covers water safety, boat handling, knot tying, and how to right a capsized sailboat, a skill kids are proud of for years. Younger campers paddle and play games like kayak polo; older ones run a racecourse under sail.

For kids who would rather be on two wheels, Bike Dojo's Kids Dojo mountain bike programs build riding skills and self confidence on Northern California trails, with summer camp and after school options for ages 10 to 18.

STEM and Science Camps in Mountain View

This is the South Bay, so it is no surprise that Mountain View's science and engineering camps run deep. Evodyne Robotics Academy on Castro Street has students aged 10 to 18 building AI enabled robots from scratch, with real programming in C++ and Python, 3D design and printing, electronics, and CAD along the way.

A few blocks away, Snapology STEM Camps take a playful route into the same territory, using LEGO bricks and hands-on projects to introduce younger kids to robotics, coding, and engineering ideas.

For the child who lights up at a hard math problem, Art of Problem Solving's Mountain View academy offers summer enrichment courses in advanced math, language arts, science, and computer science for students in grades 1 through 12.

Sports Camps in Mountain View

Spartans Sports Camp at Mountain View High School is a local institution with a neighborly twist: it is operated by the MVHS Athletic Department, and proceeds support the school's sports programs, over $482,000 donated since 2012. Campers entering grades 1 through 9 choose from multi-sport, performing arts, and academic enrichment weeks, and every summer camp day includes on-site swimming.

Across town, Saint Francis Youth Sports and Activity Camp runs week-long day camps for ages 6 to 11 that rotate through a huge menu, football, volleyball, street hockey, track, water sports, and classic picnic games included.

Families with a single-sport kid have specialists to choose from. Silicon Valley Tennis Academy camps meet players from beginner through high performance levels. Coach Ken Soccer brings ball skills and small-sided play to JA Vargas Elementary. And Decathlon Sports Club of Los Altos, which meets at Springer School, keeps an old-fashioned day camp feel alive with stickball, treasure hunts, water fights, and slip and slide afternoons.

The El Camino YMCA on Grant Road rounds out the picture with full-day summer camps, swim lessons, and adaptive programs under one roof.

Arts, Music, and Theater Camps in Mountain View

The Community School of Music and Arts has anchored arts education in Mountain View since 1968 and is Northern California's largest nonprofit provider of arts education. Its home at the Finn Center on San Antonio Circle, opened in 2004, hosts summer art and music camps in drawing, painting, ceramics, digital art, and mixed media, kept small at a maximum of 15 campers so kids get real attention from professional teaching artists. The connected Mohr Gallery shows work by professionals and students alike, and CSMA's free Family Concert Series has been a Mountain View tradition since 1984.

Peninsula Youth Theatre, founded in 1992 and a resident company of the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, runs two-week summer camps where campers do the whole job of theater: they act, and they also design and build the sets, props, and costumes for their showcase. More than 8,500 local children have crossed PYT's stages since its first production of The Wiz.

Dancers have real depth to choose from here. Three classical ballet academies, Bayer Ballet Academy, Pacific Ballet Academy, and Osipova Ballet Academy, all run summer camps and intensives, and Fantasy Dance School covers everything from ballroom to hip hop to tumbling.

For a culture and language immersion week, Los Altos Chinese School's summer camp, held on Springer Road in Mountain View, blends interactive Chinese lessons with theme projects, cultural activities, and a field trip.

How to Choose and What Camps Cost in Mountain View

A few practical things Mountain View parents learn by their second summer:

Registration starts early. City of Mountain View camps, including Deer Hollow Farm, opened 2026 registration in early March, with residents getting a head start before non-residents. Independent camps set their own calendars, and many post summer schedules in late winter. Planning your camp weeks in February and March is normal here.

Think in care hours as well as program hours. Half-day camps suit younger kids and lighter weeks; full-day camps like the YMCA's, Spartans, and Saint Francis are built for working parents, and several offer extended care on either end. Check drop-off and pick-up windows before you fall in love with a schedule.

Age fit matters as much as topic. Deer Hollow tiers its weeks by age so a 13 year old is out on long hikes while a 7 year old is mostly with the animals. Most specialty camps list age ranges honestly; believe them.

On cost, Mountain View camps are priced in line with what families see across the South Bay, and access support is real. The City of Mountain View offers eligible low-income resident families financial assistance through Community Services Agency screening, covering up to 90 percent of a class or camp fee up to $500 per child. CSMA offers financial aid across all its classes, camps, and lessons, based on family size and income. Spartans Sports Camp sets aside need-based scholarships each summer. If a camp looks right for your child, it is always worth asking the provider about assistance before ruling it out.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mountain View Summer Camps

When should I register for summer camp in Mountain View? City-run camps opened 2026 registration in early March, residents first. Many independent camps post schedules between January and March. A good rhythm is to sketch your summer in February and register through early spring.

What ages do Mountain View camps serve? The full span. Preschoolers have play-based options, elementary kids have the widest choice of farm, sports, arts, and STEM weeks, and teens can go deep with robotics, ballet intensives, sailing, mountain biking, and counselor-track programs.

Are there full-day camps with extended care? Yes. The El Camino YMCA, Spartans Sports Camp, and Saint Francis all run full-day programs, and several include swimming or offer extended hours for working parents.

What do summer camps typically cost in Mountain View? Costs vary by format and hours, and are in line with the wider South Bay. Financial assistance exists at several camps, including the City's fee waivers for eligible resident families and CSMA's income-based aid.

Are there free or low-cost options? The City's financial assistance program can cover most of a camp fee for qualifying families, CSMA offers aid on all its programs, and Spartans Sports Camp offers need-based scholarships. CSMA's monthly Family Concert Series is free to attend as well.

How do I find a camp near my neighborhood? Mountain View's camps cluster downtown on Castro Street, along Old Middlefield Way, near Rengstorff and Grant Road, and out at Shoreline. You can browse Mountain View camps and classes in one place, with locations and age ranges listed for each.

A Mountain View summer, done well, is a patchwork: a week that smells like hay and sunscreen, a week of sawdust and stage paint, a week of chlorine and grass, an afternoon knot that holds a sailboat to its dock. Curiosity, fresh air, friendship, creativity, and community fill a Mountain View summer, and the city's camps offer all of them within a few miles of home. When you are ready to plan, you can browse Mountain View summer camps by age and date and register in a few clicks on Enrichment.kids, the family-run directory. However your patchwork comes together, the right weeks are out there.