Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp
Tahoe National Forest, 38782 Highway 49, Sattley, CA 96124
About
Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp offers activities such as archery, arts and crafts, performing arts, hip hop, volleyball, disc golf, and camp fire and evening programs. Campers take part in outdoor and adventure options including swimming in a pool and lake, hiking, backpacking, a challenge ropes course, rock climbing, shelter building, gold panning, mountain biking, mountain boarding, lake kayaking, paddle boarding, horseback riding, and whitewater rafting. The camp also offers a leadership training program for eligible returning campers.
• Ages: 8–17 years old
• Schedule: Sessions of two weeks or longer
Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp offers specialized program tracks in mountain biking, rock climbing, and outdoor living skills, and it has no Wi‑Fi. Enrollment is limited to 120 campers. The camp runs a leadership training program for returning campers who have attended at least one summer previously, are at least 14 years old, and are coming for a session of two weeks or longer. The camp picks up and/or drops off campers at the Reno airport.
The mission of Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp is to help boys and girls grow better connections with people, better connections with nature, and better connections with their potential by helping them take another step toward a happy, healthy adulthood through the development of critical life skills. Lisa and Scott Shaffer and the High Sierra Camp staff are described in a parent testimonial as doing an excellent job creating a magical summer for kids of all ages. Another parent notes that Lisa and Scott manage the camp and staff and provide close supervision and a supportive, enthusiastic staff for their son with Down syndrome.
Parent testimonials describe campers returning home asking to stay longer in future summers and talking about activities such as rock climbing, mountain boarding, crafts, hip hop, and hikes. Parents report that their children met other kids from all over the world, slept in a tipi, cooled off in mountain lakes, and kept in touch with new friends through social media. Several parents describe the camp as a great experience for first-time overnight campers and mention that their children want to return each year. One parent refers to the camp as “Electronics Rehab” because it is an experience without phones, iPads, or computers.
Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp is recommended by Outside Magazine and the LA Times. Outside Magazine named Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp as one of its five favorite camps in the U.S., and Newsweek put the camp on its list of the nation’s best camps.
Last updated March 14, 2026.
• Ages: 8–17 years old
• Schedule: Sessions of two weeks or longer
Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp offers specialized program tracks in mountain biking, rock climbing, and outdoor living skills, and it has no Wi‑Fi. Enrollment is limited to 120 campers. The camp runs a leadership training program for returning campers who have attended at least one summer previously, are at least 14 years old, and are coming for a session of two weeks or longer. The camp picks up and/or drops off campers at the Reno airport.
The mission of Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp is to help boys and girls grow better connections with people, better connections with nature, and better connections with their potential by helping them take another step toward a happy, healthy adulthood through the development of critical life skills. Lisa and Scott Shaffer and the High Sierra Camp staff are described in a parent testimonial as doing an excellent job creating a magical summer for kids of all ages. Another parent notes that Lisa and Scott manage the camp and staff and provide close supervision and a supportive, enthusiastic staff for their son with Down syndrome.
Parent testimonials describe campers returning home asking to stay longer in future summers and talking about activities such as rock climbing, mountain boarding, crafts, hip hop, and hikes. Parents report that their children met other kids from all over the world, slept in a tipi, cooled off in mountain lakes, and kept in touch with new friends through social media. Several parents describe the camp as a great experience for first-time overnight campers and mention that their children want to return each year. One parent refers to the camp as “Electronics Rehab” because it is an experience without phones, iPads, or computers.
Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp is recommended by Outside Magazine and the LA Times. Outside Magazine named Shaffer's High Sierra Summer Camp as one of its five favorite camps in the U.S., and Newsweek put the camp on its list of the nation’s best camps.
Last updated March 14, 2026.
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