Camp Cardinal

Camp Cardinal offers sports, swimming, arts and crafts, rock climbing on select days, classic camp games, P.E. games, and team building activities. Mornings are spent with classic camp and P.E. games and team building activities, and early afternoons focus on learning the basics of a different sport each day through fun imaginative games. In the afternoons, campers choose between sports, arts and crafts, swimming, and rock climbing on select days, with only 25 campers allowed in the pool each day and all campers having the opportunity to swim at least twice throughout the week.

• Ages: 5–12 years old
• Schedule: Weekly sessions from June 8–12, June 15–19, June 22–26, June 29–July 3, July 6–10, July 13–17, July 20–24, July 27–31, and August 3–7

Classic Camp Cardinal is an in-person sports camp returning in summer 2025 and focuses on fundamentals, basics, teamwork, and fun rather than advanced sport training. Camp Cardinal is described as the best option for kids who are at least 5 years old. Stanford Recreation and Wellness has committed to providing a welcoming, inclusive, and inspiring space for the students, staff, faculty, and affiliates of Stanford University since 2006, and this mission also appears as the stated mission for the program.

Counselor in Training Camp is for youth entering 8th grade through youth entering 10th grade in the fall and introduces a curriculum on leadership, communication, responsibility, teamwork, problem solving, and decision making. Mornings in C.I.T. Camp focus on core skills and values of a leader with a different theme each week, and in the afternoons C.I.T.s have campers’ choice time with options of sports, arts and crafts, swimming, and rock climbing on select days. C.I.T.s gain experience planning and leading activities and working with youth campers and co-workers, and C.I.T.s will leave with tools to excel as positive mentors and role-models.

Stanford University will no longer require a COVID-19 vaccination to attend camp but strongly recommends vaccination and bi-valent boosters for all summer participants. The Stanford Redwood City Recreation and Wellness Center includes a rooftop pool with six lanes designed for lap swim and depths ranging from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 feet, and the pool closes 15 minutes prior to facility closure.

Last updated April 2, 2026.