Sacramento Adventure Playground Camps
Maple Neighborhood Center, 3301 37th Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95824
About
Sacramento Adventure Playground Camps offers Spring Camp, Summer Camp programs, Holiday Play Camps, and themed weeks such as Adventure Spring Camp Bot’s of Fun, Play Camp, Fort Building I, Fort Building II, Critter Camp, Minecraft Camp, Minions: The Rise of Play, Fort Camp III, Build It Camp, Investigators Academy, and Wacky Science vs Art of Mess. Camp days include enrichment activities with science, engineering, and art (STEAM) behind them, group physical play, art time, and free play, along with features like a weekday campfire and marshmallow roast during Standard Time, Pizza Fridays, and snow cones at each camp. The program also offers homeschool programming and Community Days.
• Ages: 6–15 years old
• Schedule: Five-day camps run Monday–Friday, with most Summer Camps meeting 9:00 AM–12:00 PM and Adventure Spring Camp Bot’s of Fun meeting 11:00 AM–2:00 PM; Holiday Play Camps run selected dates in November, December, and January from 9:00 AM–2:15 PM with additional free public play time 2:15–6:30 PM.
• Price: Standard five-day camps are $195, five-day Fort Camps are $200, Play Camp is $105, Holiday Play Camps are $10 per day, and optional add-ons include bridge care, Monday care, Spring Camp Monday After Care, and early drop-off at listed per-day rates, with no online fees when paying in person or by mail.
Typical daily camp schedules (subject to change) include two enrichment blocks of 40 and 35 minutes, 30 minutes of group physical play, 20 minutes of art, and 45 minutes of free play. Campers are asked to bring their own water bottle with refills available, and for any extended stay, additional snacks and/or lunches are encouraged. Campers are divided into age groups and remain with that group for the entire camp, excluding Play Camps, and drop-off and pick-up windows are set around the camp start and end times, with After Care available and free care Tuesday–Friday from 2:15 PM–6:30 PM through the standard free public play program.
Sacramento Adventure Playground Camps is powered by Fairytale Town and operates in a junkyard atmosphere and European style adventure playground that functions as a makers’ laboratory or tinkerers’ workshop using common and simple materials such as cardboard and hot glue. The site includes a dedicated 5 & Under Area that is regularly open during public play hours, a Mud Play Area added in March, and six themed forts built by Summer Campers. The program is openly promoted as “risky play” and is described as statistically safer than more traditional USA camp programs, and it also runs a free after-school youth development program for ages 6 to 15 where participation is free with parent registration.
The mission of Sacramento Adventure Playground Camps emphasizes keeping learning simple and fun, with STEAM-based enrichment at an understandable kid level, a goal of having kids exercising without realizing it, and a focus on play, supported by research that shows play enhances social and academic abilities. Fairytale Town’s board of directors established a vision in 2011 to “Inspire, educate and strengthen communities through play,” and in 2015 committed to implementing an adventure playground at Maple Neighborhood Center in 2016, following Pop-Up Adventure Play Days held there since spring 2015. The site supervisor is Steve Caudle, Play Manager, and the media contact is Lisa Keyson, Director of Advancement at Fairytale Town.
Sacramento Adventure Playground is part of a broader community effort that includes the Sacramento Play Coalition, an outgrowth of the Sacramento Play Summit produced with the Sacramento Public Library, which has focused on Pop-Up Adventure Play Days. La Familia Counseling Center may offer a free mid-day Monday–Thursday Summer Lunch Program/Camp and traditionally gives lunches to aftercare kids as a separate agency on the same campus, and Free Community Days take place on the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of the month from October through May and include children under 5. Donations for the Playground can be made through Fairytale Town’s website.
Last updated March 11, 2026.
• Ages: 6–15 years old
• Schedule: Five-day camps run Monday–Friday, with most Summer Camps meeting 9:00 AM–12:00 PM and Adventure Spring Camp Bot’s of Fun meeting 11:00 AM–2:00 PM; Holiday Play Camps run selected dates in November, December, and January from 9:00 AM–2:15 PM with additional free public play time 2:15–6:30 PM.
• Price: Standard five-day camps are $195, five-day Fort Camps are $200, Play Camp is $105, Holiday Play Camps are $10 per day, and optional add-ons include bridge care, Monday care, Spring Camp Monday After Care, and early drop-off at listed per-day rates, with no online fees when paying in person or by mail.
Typical daily camp schedules (subject to change) include two enrichment blocks of 40 and 35 minutes, 30 minutes of group physical play, 20 minutes of art, and 45 minutes of free play. Campers are asked to bring their own water bottle with refills available, and for any extended stay, additional snacks and/or lunches are encouraged. Campers are divided into age groups and remain with that group for the entire camp, excluding Play Camps, and drop-off and pick-up windows are set around the camp start and end times, with After Care available and free care Tuesday–Friday from 2:15 PM–6:30 PM through the standard free public play program.
Sacramento Adventure Playground Camps is powered by Fairytale Town and operates in a junkyard atmosphere and European style adventure playground that functions as a makers’ laboratory or tinkerers’ workshop using common and simple materials such as cardboard and hot glue. The site includes a dedicated 5 & Under Area that is regularly open during public play hours, a Mud Play Area added in March, and six themed forts built by Summer Campers. The program is openly promoted as “risky play” and is described as statistically safer than more traditional USA camp programs, and it also runs a free after-school youth development program for ages 6 to 15 where participation is free with parent registration.
The mission of Sacramento Adventure Playground Camps emphasizes keeping learning simple and fun, with STEAM-based enrichment at an understandable kid level, a goal of having kids exercising without realizing it, and a focus on play, supported by research that shows play enhances social and academic abilities. Fairytale Town’s board of directors established a vision in 2011 to “Inspire, educate and strengthen communities through play,” and in 2015 committed to implementing an adventure playground at Maple Neighborhood Center in 2016, following Pop-Up Adventure Play Days held there since spring 2015. The site supervisor is Steve Caudle, Play Manager, and the media contact is Lisa Keyson, Director of Advancement at Fairytale Town.
Sacramento Adventure Playground is part of a broader community effort that includes the Sacramento Play Coalition, an outgrowth of the Sacramento Play Summit produced with the Sacramento Public Library, which has focused on Pop-Up Adventure Play Days. La Familia Counseling Center may offer a free mid-day Monday–Thursday Summer Lunch Program/Camp and traditionally gives lunches to aftercare kids as a separate agency on the same campus, and Free Community Days take place on the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of the month from October through May and include children under 5. Donations for the Playground can be made through Fairytale Town’s website.
Last updated March 11, 2026.
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