Cedar Run Summer Nature Camps

Cedar Run Summer Nature Camps offers week-long nature camps where campers walk in the woods, dig in the dirt, wade in the water, and take part in hands-on experiences and experiments. Campers join visits with native wildlife, creative play, games, crafts, and meeting one of the Education Ambassadors. Activities also include jumping right into the swamp, playing in the stream next to the swamp, looking for frogs around the edge of the swamp and stream, and taking a Mud Monster Line-Up Photo.

• Ages: 3–13 years old
• Schedule: Week-long nature camps running June 22–August 14, 2026
• Price: Full Day Camp — $315 per week; Half Day Camp — $225 per week; Discovery by the Day — $65 per day, $315 per week; STEAM Camps — $325 per week; Jersey Devil Adventure — $365 per week; Earth Avengers — $365 per week; Aftercare — $10 per day, $40 per week; one-time $25.00 Child Safe Training and registration fee for volunteers 14–17; $45.00 Child Safe training, background check, and registration fee for volunteers 18 and over; Members with a Family Membership and above get $25 off per week registration; Register by April 15th and get $15 off per week registration with code SAVE15.

Cedar Run Summer Nature Camps has First Aid certified counselors, and campers who carry an epinephrine auto-injector can have it kept with these counselors to be available at any time during an emergency. Camp runs rain or shine, with indoor activities during thunder and lightning. Every Friday is Swamp Day, when campers can get very muddy in the swamp, while Fledgling campers go to a smaller, messy stream close to the Nature Center instead of the swamp. Campers bring a healthy packed snack and lunch from home, eat snack at about 10:30am and lunch at 12pm at the outdoor Pavilion, and Cedar Run can accommodate dietary restrictions even though there are no designated nut-free tables. Clothes for Swamp Day are expected to get ruined, including shoes, so old clothes or an old bathing suit and old lace-up sneakers or close-toed water shoes are recommended, while galoshes, rainboots, and crocs are not recommended because they tend to get lost in the swamp; campers also bring a towel and a change of clothes and shoes.

In 1951, Jim and Betty Woodford bought a 185-acre parcel of land in Medford Township, and by 1957 they founded Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge, which has been a vital force on matters related to wildlife and habitat for nearly 70 years. Cedar Run operates a state- and federally-licensed Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital and engages in habitat preservation and nature and STEM-based education programs for more than 20,000 students and Scouts yearly. Cedar Run serves as a community resource on the importance of protecting and enhancing healthy ecosystems for all, and as a trusted resource to a wide and varied community in central and southern New Jersey on wildlife, habitat, and environmental protection-related questions and issues. Through generous friends and grants from organizations, many camp spots are available for Summer 2026, and Summer Camp Scholarship and Sponsorship spots are available for Summer 2026. Members with a Family Membership and above get $25 off per week registration and early access during Member Preview Week, Jan 12th–18th, and sessions are available for ages 3 through 8th grade, with ages 14 and up able to contact Cedar Run about volunteering as a Counselor in Training (CIT). The Wildlife Housing Area allows visitors to see hawks, owls, foxes, and many other resident wildlife that cannot be returned to the wild due to their injuries.

Last updated July 6, 2026.