Steve & Kate's Camp
The Grauer School, 1500 S El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024
About
Steve & Kate's Camp gives campers the chance to choose their own activities and plan their own days. Throughout the day, campers spend their time designing, building, creating, playing, eating, and clowning on their own schedule. All camp hours from 8am to 6pm, snacks and lunch, and any activities that interest the child are included in the all-inclusive rates.
• Ages: 4–13 years old
• Schedule: Long camp hours, 8am–6pm, all included in the camp fee
Way back in 1980 in Mill Valley, California, Steve and Kate started the camp after seeing kids’ independence slipping away, and the camp has followed the same self-directed approach since 1980. The organization is staffed with people who share a talent for connecting with kids, and its current vision is carried out by VPs Kevin and Mike, who together have 55 years of experience at Steve & Kate’s, including 47 years working alongside the founders. Mike started as a counselor at Steve & Kate’s in 1998 and has been there ever since, and Kevin is a former Steve & Kate’s camper who now works in operations.
The camp’s mission is to let campers choose their own activities and plan their own days so they are absorbed in designing, building, creating, playing, eating, and clowning on their own schedule, and the camp has operated this way since 1980. All campers must be fully toilet trained, able to speak up for their needs, and able to get through the camp day without a nap. The summer camp program is for children entering PreK through 7th grade, and the camp generally accepts children aged 4 to 13 years old, with some states having slightly higher minimum ages. The camp age limit is 13, but if a camper turns 14 while attending summer camp, they may finish out the summer, and Steve & Kate's Camp offers mentorship programs for children aged 14 and 15, with availability varying by location. The camp runs summer day camps and holiday camps for kids ages 4–12, and no paperwork is required for age verification during registration.
Parents can buy any number of days to use whenever and wherever they would like throughout the summer, or they can buy a Summer Pass for unlimited use. Drop-off and pick-up can occur whenever parents want within camp hours. Parents receive automatic full refunds for any unused purchased Day Passes at the end of the summer, and if a Summer Pass is underused, the difference compared with the daily rate is automatically refunded. There are no additional fees, since the all-inclusive rates cover hours, snacks, lunch, and activities, and parents can attend camp any time and get automatic refunds for any unused passes. Steve & Kate's Camp operates at more than 90 locations from Manhattan to Manhattan Beach, with another section also stating more than 70 locations. Campers at Steve & Kate’s historically did tie-dyeing but no longer do so.
Steve & Kate's Camp has been described by Andrew Stanton, Director of WALL-E, Finding Nemo, and Finding Dory, as a place where “kids find their thumbprint,” and he notes that his one complaint is wondering where the camp was when he was a kid. Apple’s Hot News has said that “If kids ruled the world, it might look something like Steve and Kate’s Camp.” Variety magazine has noted that Steve and Kate’s Camp did not set out to cater to the children of people at Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic, but that many attend given the camp’s philosophy. The Washington Post has described Steve & Kate’s Camp as offering a blend of traditional camp experience with a modern, tech-savvy touch, with a laid-back aura and Silicon Valley-inspired approaches to programming and payment. The Chicago Tribune has written that “Working parents’ worries dissipate as they contemplate Steve & Kate’s model.”
Last updated April 30, 2026.
• Ages: 4–13 years old
• Schedule: Long camp hours, 8am–6pm, all included in the camp fee
Way back in 1980 in Mill Valley, California, Steve and Kate started the camp after seeing kids’ independence slipping away, and the camp has followed the same self-directed approach since 1980. The organization is staffed with people who share a talent for connecting with kids, and its current vision is carried out by VPs Kevin and Mike, who together have 55 years of experience at Steve & Kate’s, including 47 years working alongside the founders. Mike started as a counselor at Steve & Kate’s in 1998 and has been there ever since, and Kevin is a former Steve & Kate’s camper who now works in operations.
The camp’s mission is to let campers choose their own activities and plan their own days so they are absorbed in designing, building, creating, playing, eating, and clowning on their own schedule, and the camp has operated this way since 1980. All campers must be fully toilet trained, able to speak up for their needs, and able to get through the camp day without a nap. The summer camp program is for children entering PreK through 7th grade, and the camp generally accepts children aged 4 to 13 years old, with some states having slightly higher minimum ages. The camp age limit is 13, but if a camper turns 14 while attending summer camp, they may finish out the summer, and Steve & Kate's Camp offers mentorship programs for children aged 14 and 15, with availability varying by location. The camp runs summer day camps and holiday camps for kids ages 4–12, and no paperwork is required for age verification during registration.
Parents can buy any number of days to use whenever and wherever they would like throughout the summer, or they can buy a Summer Pass for unlimited use. Drop-off and pick-up can occur whenever parents want within camp hours. Parents receive automatic full refunds for any unused purchased Day Passes at the end of the summer, and if a Summer Pass is underused, the difference compared with the daily rate is automatically refunded. There are no additional fees, since the all-inclusive rates cover hours, snacks, lunch, and activities, and parents can attend camp any time and get automatic refunds for any unused passes. Steve & Kate's Camp operates at more than 90 locations from Manhattan to Manhattan Beach, with another section also stating more than 70 locations. Campers at Steve & Kate’s historically did tie-dyeing but no longer do so.
Steve & Kate's Camp has been described by Andrew Stanton, Director of WALL-E, Finding Nemo, and Finding Dory, as a place where “kids find their thumbprint,” and he notes that his one complaint is wondering where the camp was when he was a kid. Apple’s Hot News has said that “If kids ruled the world, it might look something like Steve and Kate’s Camp.” Variety magazine has noted that Steve and Kate’s Camp did not set out to cater to the children of people at Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic, but that many attend given the camp’s philosophy. The Washington Post has described Steve & Kate’s Camp as offering a blend of traditional camp experience with a modern, tech-savvy touch, with a laid-back aura and Silicon Valley-inspired approaches to programming and payment. The Chicago Tribune has written that “Working parents’ worries dissipate as they contemplate Steve & Kate’s model.”
Last updated April 30, 2026.