Tracking & Backpacking for Girls in Point Reyes
Point Reyes National Seashore, 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
About
Summer is the time to immerse yourself in the outdoors. This 3 day, 2 night trip is a great introduction to backpacking. We hope to inspire a lifelong love of camping, empowering the youth to go outside with confidence in their knowledge of hazards, safety, and preparation.
Our backpacking trips are unique because of the nature connection curriculum and the wilderness skills expertise our instructors offer. We approach backpacking through a lens of curiosity, care, awareness, and a deep love of the natural world. Our adventures are really about the journey not just the destination. We track and trail paths of animals, learn about edible plants, find the best places to sleep through guidance from the landscape, and keep it simple with an ethic of leaving each place better than we found it. We form friendships with each other and our environment.
In addition to our core curriculum these trips may include:
- Backpacking and camping skills
- Wilderness safety
- Nature awareness skills
- Scout games and practices
- Wild edible and medicinal plant ID and use
- Animal tracking
- Bird language
- Fire by friction & fire tending
- Orienteering with map and compass
- Aid-less navigation and ‘lost-proofing’
- Solo time and opportunity for artistic expression
• Ages: Girls ages 10-13 • Location: Point Reyes National Seashore, CA • Schedule: July 14th-July 16th, 2026 • Price: Rate A: $765, Rate B: $651, Rate C: $549
Tracking & Backpacking for Girls is part of Vilda, which is dedicated to facilitating meaningful connections with the natural world. Vilda started in Fairfax, California in 2008 and has been running programs since then, now serving over 1000 kids a year in Marin, Sonoma, and Tahoe. The organization is a 501c(3) non-profit and provides nature education, youth programs, homeschool programs, and summer camps in several Bay Area communities and in Tahoe and Truckee. The program is led by Vilda’s founder, Mia Andler, and uses a badge system for the attainment of skills badges.
One parent of a 7-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl describes the camp as a unique and positive nature experience of exploring and learning, speaking highly of the counselors. Another parent of two 7-year-old girls reports seeing changes in how their children notice nature, and a parent of a 9-year-old boy asserts that Vilda is their son’s favorite camp.
Vilda states that families in the Bay Area have differing abilities to pay and that it wants its programs to serve as many children as possible regardless of financial situation. Scholarships are available.