Steve & Kate's Camp - Highlands Ranch Summer Camp
Platte River Academy, 4085 Lark Sparrow St, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
About
Steve & Kate's Camp – Highlands Ranch Summer Camp offers activities such as coding, sewing, baking, making, sports, filming, lounging, and stop-motion animation. Campers can use hand-sewing and machine sewing, work with robotics, explore 3D worlds with an interactive virtual reality experience, try interactive art apps, and use 3D pens. The program also includes games and traditions such as Find Chuckie, Friday Pie-Day, tabletop games, building marble mazes and forts, water tag, inflatable slip n’ slides, a giant sprinkler, and Sports & Rec.
• Ages: 5–12 years old
• Schedule: Camp runs June 1–July 31, with camp hours from 8:00am to 6:00pm and closure on July 3
Weekly specials at this camp include a Reptile Show, a Denver Museum of Nature & Science program, LEGO Engineering, a Magic Show, Team HERO, and an Escape Room. The camp features a Media Lab with film, coding, robotics, virtual reality, and interactive art apps, a Tinker Lab with arts and crafts, custom maker packs, and 3D pens, and a Gameroom & Lounge with sensory objects and a stocked bookshelf. The program follows a model where campers choose which activities they do, whom they do them with, and for how long, and it includes decades-old traditions like Find Chuckie and Friday Pie-Day.
Steve & Kate’s Camp was founded in 1980. The Highlands Ranch camp lists Ty as the Director. The mission statement explains that the camp operates on the idea that kids spend the year in rigid structure and that, in summer, the camp gives them freedom to expand and evolve by making their own choices about activities and how they spend their time.
The program offers summer day camps for kids aged 4–12, with a camp age limit of 13 and conditions for those turning 13 or 14 during camp, and it notes mentorship programs for children aged 14 and 15, with availability that may vary by location. All campers must be fully toilet trained, able to speak up for their needs, and able to get through the camp day without a nap. Families can buy any number of days and send their child to camp on any day they choose, drop off and pick up at any time within camp hours, and use long camp hours that are included in the camp fee. The program states that there are no additional fees and that all-inclusive rates cover camp hours, snacks, lunch, and activities, with meals and snacks included.
The camp offers automatic refunds for unused days at summer’s end, automatic full refunds for unused purchased Day Passes, and a Summer Pass option with an automatic refund of the difference if not enough days are used. Registered families receive a virtual camp orientation before summer with information on what to bring and not bring, and additional state-required paperwork must be submitted for every child before their first day of camp. Colorado camps follow all local water restrictions and conservation requirements, and the program notes partnerships with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for educational programs, Hero Kids Sports for games and activities, and host schools for adherence to local water restrictions and conservation requirements.
Testimonials describe children at Steve & Kate’s as blossoming and discovering a freedom of identity, and one states, “Kids find their thumbprint at Steve & Kate's.” Apple’s Hot News wrote, “If kids ruled the world, it might look something like Steve and Kate’s Camp.” Variety magazine notes that many children of people working at Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic attend, and The Washington Post describes the camp as combining a traditional camp experience with a modern, tech-savvy touch and innovative approaches to programming and payment. The Chicago Tribune states that “Working parents’ worries dissipate as they contemplate Steve & Kate’s model.”
Last updated April 30, 2026.
• Ages: 5–12 years old
• Schedule: Camp runs June 1–July 31, with camp hours from 8:00am to 6:00pm and closure on July 3
Weekly specials at this camp include a Reptile Show, a Denver Museum of Nature & Science program, LEGO Engineering, a Magic Show, Team HERO, and an Escape Room. The camp features a Media Lab with film, coding, robotics, virtual reality, and interactive art apps, a Tinker Lab with arts and crafts, custom maker packs, and 3D pens, and a Gameroom & Lounge with sensory objects and a stocked bookshelf. The program follows a model where campers choose which activities they do, whom they do them with, and for how long, and it includes decades-old traditions like Find Chuckie and Friday Pie-Day.
Steve & Kate’s Camp was founded in 1980. The Highlands Ranch camp lists Ty as the Director. The mission statement explains that the camp operates on the idea that kids spend the year in rigid structure and that, in summer, the camp gives them freedom to expand and evolve by making their own choices about activities and how they spend their time.
The program offers summer day camps for kids aged 4–12, with a camp age limit of 13 and conditions for those turning 13 or 14 during camp, and it notes mentorship programs for children aged 14 and 15, with availability that may vary by location. All campers must be fully toilet trained, able to speak up for their needs, and able to get through the camp day without a nap. Families can buy any number of days and send their child to camp on any day they choose, drop off and pick up at any time within camp hours, and use long camp hours that are included in the camp fee. The program states that there are no additional fees and that all-inclusive rates cover camp hours, snacks, lunch, and activities, with meals and snacks included.
The camp offers automatic refunds for unused days at summer’s end, automatic full refunds for unused purchased Day Passes, and a Summer Pass option with an automatic refund of the difference if not enough days are used. Registered families receive a virtual camp orientation before summer with information on what to bring and not bring, and additional state-required paperwork must be submitted for every child before their first day of camp. Colorado camps follow all local water restrictions and conservation requirements, and the program notes partnerships with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for educational programs, Hero Kids Sports for games and activities, and host schools for adherence to local water restrictions and conservation requirements.
Testimonials describe children at Steve & Kate’s as blossoming and discovering a freedom of identity, and one states, “Kids find their thumbprint at Steve & Kate's.” Apple’s Hot News wrote, “If kids ruled the world, it might look something like Steve and Kate’s Camp.” Variety magazine notes that many children of people working at Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic attend, and The Washington Post describes the camp as combining a traditional camp experience with a modern, tech-savvy touch and innovative approaches to programming and payment. The Chicago Tribune states that “Working parents’ worries dissipate as they contemplate Steve & Kate’s model.”
Last updated April 30, 2026.