Calleva
Madeira School (Calleva McLean – VA Summer Camps & Aerial Course), 8328 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22102
About
Calleva offers a wide range of outdoor activities where participants can paddle, climb, bike, farm, camp, and take part in horseback riding lessons and horse days camp. The program includes summer camp, a full service kayak school with kayak trips and training programs such as Cheat Training, Fall Training, Creeking Clinic, Steep Creek Training, Yough Training, Surf Academy, Open Practice, Pool Rolling, and kayak Mexico, as well as rafting, paddle sport lessons and excursions, and opportunities to paddle or float down the South Branch of the Potomac River. Calleva also offers rock climbing, challenge course and team building experiences, wilderness trainings, nature immersion experiences like forest free play groups and Farm and Forest Cubs, equestrian programs such as Saddle Club, Pony Picnics, tiny tots, and horseback riding lessons, plus farming and farm-to-table experiences, farm-to-table operations, weekly Pizza Nights, campout experiences, canoe and kayak rentals, and day camp experiences.
• Ages: 3–17 years old
Calleva was dreamed up in 1997 and was originally founded as a small summer camp, and for nearly three decades it has built a reputation for excellence while the last 30 years have taken the team to a wide world of adventure. Its mission is to get all people outdoors, providing safe, educational, and challenging experiences that promote personal growth, group cooperation, and leadership skills. Calleva’s unique brand of outdoor adventure is expressed through summer camp, a full service kayaking school, outdoor educational experiences, community building, and small-scale sustainable farming, and it is nationally known as an innovative force in outdoor adventure and education with dynamic and mobile programming that introduces participants to parks, trails, rivers, and rocks in the region. The program emphasizes device-free summer adventure, states that EVERYONE is Welcome at Calleva, turns nature into a hands-on classroom for real-world learning, and identifies kindness as the most important leadership quality.
The leadership team includes founders Nick Markoff, Alex Markoff, and Matt Markoff. Staff at Calleva include Olympic kayakers, top tier wilderness professionals, seasoned educators, high energy camp leaders, committed conservationists, and creative trades people and artists. Closed-toe shoes are required at Calleva camp.
Calleva also runs Markoff's Haunted Forest, described as an iconic and terrifying fall event that draws fans from all over the Mid-Atlantic, along with Lights On Night at MHF and Markoff's Christmas Farm. Additional offerings include Calleva River School evening and weekend classes, weekend paddlesports events, school and group programs on an aerial course, and group program options. Explorers Virginia programs have a new 2025 location at Camp Fraser in Great Falls, Virginia.
Calleva is involved in community partnerships and projects, including support for the Alice Ferguson Foundation's conservation efforts through volunteers and resources for annual cleanups in the C&O Canal National Historic Park. It has supported outdoor adventure activities, campout experiences, and Eagle Scout projects with the Boy Scouts of America, and provides outdoor adventure experiences such as rock climbing for City Kids Wilderness Project. Calleva has partnered with Diversify Whitewater to facilitate weekend paddlesports events, worked with the Fairfax County NAACP's Fairfax Chapter on a joint project called Connecting the Community with Nature, and collaborated with Girl Scout leaders to create experiences aligned with scouting values. Every summer, Calleva works with Horizons of MoCo to create day camp experiences, has partnered with Soul Trak Outdoors to expand access to kayaking, and has supported Team River Runner by providing equipment, instruction, and other support for local programs. Calleva also offers kayaking experiences in support of Wilderness Kids Alexandria and has provided a challenge course experience as a kick-off to the Wilderness Leadership & Learning WILL-Lead program.
Last updated January 19, 2026.
• Ages: 3–17 years old
Calleva was dreamed up in 1997 and was originally founded as a small summer camp, and for nearly three decades it has built a reputation for excellence while the last 30 years have taken the team to a wide world of adventure. Its mission is to get all people outdoors, providing safe, educational, and challenging experiences that promote personal growth, group cooperation, and leadership skills. Calleva’s unique brand of outdoor adventure is expressed through summer camp, a full service kayaking school, outdoor educational experiences, community building, and small-scale sustainable farming, and it is nationally known as an innovative force in outdoor adventure and education with dynamic and mobile programming that introduces participants to parks, trails, rivers, and rocks in the region. The program emphasizes device-free summer adventure, states that EVERYONE is Welcome at Calleva, turns nature into a hands-on classroom for real-world learning, and identifies kindness as the most important leadership quality.
The leadership team includes founders Nick Markoff, Alex Markoff, and Matt Markoff. Staff at Calleva include Olympic kayakers, top tier wilderness professionals, seasoned educators, high energy camp leaders, committed conservationists, and creative trades people and artists. Closed-toe shoes are required at Calleva camp.
Calleva also runs Markoff's Haunted Forest, described as an iconic and terrifying fall event that draws fans from all over the Mid-Atlantic, along with Lights On Night at MHF and Markoff's Christmas Farm. Additional offerings include Calleva River School evening and weekend classes, weekend paddlesports events, school and group programs on an aerial course, and group program options. Explorers Virginia programs have a new 2025 location at Camp Fraser in Great Falls, Virginia.
Calleva is involved in community partnerships and projects, including support for the Alice Ferguson Foundation's conservation efforts through volunteers and resources for annual cleanups in the C&O Canal National Historic Park. It has supported outdoor adventure activities, campout experiences, and Eagle Scout projects with the Boy Scouts of America, and provides outdoor adventure experiences such as rock climbing for City Kids Wilderness Project. Calleva has partnered with Diversify Whitewater to facilitate weekend paddlesports events, worked with the Fairfax County NAACP's Fairfax Chapter on a joint project called Connecting the Community with Nature, and collaborated with Girl Scout leaders to create experiences aligned with scouting values. Every summer, Calleva works with Horizons of MoCo to create day camp experiences, has partnered with Soul Trak Outdoors to expand access to kayaking, and has supported Team River Runner by providing equipment, instruction, and other support for local programs. Calleva also offers kayaking experiences in support of Wilderness Kids Alexandria and has provided a challenge course experience as a kick-off to the Wilderness Leadership & Learning WILL-Lead program.
Last updated January 19, 2026.
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