Camp Tawonga Summer Programs
Camp Tawonga, 131 Steuart St #460, San Francisco, CA 95321
About
Camp Tawonga Summer Programs include activities such as sleeping under the stars, exploring quintessential camp activities, and developing leadership skills. Campers take part in garden activities, arts n crafts, hikes into Yosemite National Park, cooking meals, backpacking trips, day hikes, swimming in the Tuolumne River, and doing laps in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The program also offers pedal-boating, canoeing, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, a Challenge Course, organic gardening, cooking from scratch using seasonal ingredients, working with goats and chickens, making and tasting new creations, learning about sustainable food systems, concocting treats using milk and eggs, throwing pottery on the wheel, tie-dye, copper enameling, archery, ga-ga (Israeli dodgeball), basketball, soccer, dodgeball, capture the flag, silent disco, and happy hours.
• Ages: 7–16 years old
• Schedule: Yosemite-based programs include classic one to three week summer camp sessions.
Camp Tawonga Summer Programs have a Jewish camping focus and include Jewish holiday celebrations, Tot Shabbats, volunteer service outings, immersive monthly camp-style classes, hands-on family learning, weekend retreats in nature, and critical thinking about Jewish ritual. Programming is offered for children, families, and adults at a residential campsite next to Yosemite National Park and in the San Francisco Bay Area, with Adventure “Quests” offering wilderness explorations on the road, Family Camp weekends in May, August, September, October, and December, an innovative two-year B*Mitzvah program in the Bay Area, year-round “Down the Mountain” family programs in the Bay Area, and adult retreats for anyone 21+. The program operates in a screen-free environment and includes a Challenge Course with 17 elements, an expansive organic garden and Garden Kitchen, a farm with goats and chickens, Makom Shalom outdoor sanctuary, and a modern Health Center with clinic, exam spaces, recovery rooms, and isolation areas, with a medical doctor always on duty during the summer.
Camp Tawonga was established in 1925, and Camp Tawonga’s 100th year was 2025. Camp Tawonga has served as a leader in Jewish camping for 100 years and was first located in Lake Tahoe but moved to its current location on the Tuolumne River in 1964, and the property was purchased with help of original campers from the 1920s and is owned outright. The mission of Camp Tawonga Summer Programs states that immersing children in community building, Jewish values and nature helps them become their best selves, and that they use the experience of Tawonga to make the world a better place. One camper, Ayla, describes the cabins as rustic, notes that campers are always surrounded by trees, and shares that it feels refreshing to unplug and immerse in nature, calling Tawonga her happy place.
Last updated March 17, 2026.
• Ages: 7–16 years old
• Schedule: Yosemite-based programs include classic one to three week summer camp sessions.
Camp Tawonga Summer Programs have a Jewish camping focus and include Jewish holiday celebrations, Tot Shabbats, volunteer service outings, immersive monthly camp-style classes, hands-on family learning, weekend retreats in nature, and critical thinking about Jewish ritual. Programming is offered for children, families, and adults at a residential campsite next to Yosemite National Park and in the San Francisco Bay Area, with Adventure “Quests” offering wilderness explorations on the road, Family Camp weekends in May, August, September, October, and December, an innovative two-year B*Mitzvah program in the Bay Area, year-round “Down the Mountain” family programs in the Bay Area, and adult retreats for anyone 21+. The program operates in a screen-free environment and includes a Challenge Course with 17 elements, an expansive organic garden and Garden Kitchen, a farm with goats and chickens, Makom Shalom outdoor sanctuary, and a modern Health Center with clinic, exam spaces, recovery rooms, and isolation areas, with a medical doctor always on duty during the summer.
Camp Tawonga was established in 1925, and Camp Tawonga’s 100th year was 2025. Camp Tawonga has served as a leader in Jewish camping for 100 years and was first located in Lake Tahoe but moved to its current location on the Tuolumne River in 1964, and the property was purchased with help of original campers from the 1920s and is owned outright. The mission of Camp Tawonga Summer Programs states that immersing children in community building, Jewish values and nature helps them become their best selves, and that they use the experience of Tawonga to make the world a better place. One camper, Ayla, describes the cabins as rustic, notes that campers are always surrounded by trees, and shares that it feels refreshing to unplug and immerse in nature, calling Tawonga her happy place.
Last updated March 17, 2026.
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