Give your child the gift of Wildlife Search & Rescue which is excellent for exploratory learners, although not recommended for autism spectrum students unless attending a prior camp (Sampler, Survival, or Wild Cooking & Herbology) as the itinerary diverges daily based on wildlife “finds” and other learning opportunities.
Wildlife Search & Rescue is or original day camp theme and will celebrate its 30th summer this year as we continue our mission to provide real connections to nature for a new generation of young people who face greater and greater separation through screens and virtual realities. Enjoy the the fields and forests of Lake Sammamish State Park where the animals hide in their dens during the day before coming out at night to roam the natural corridors and neighborhoods of the area.
Yes, we’ve found resident bear dens, investigated cougar scratching posts, meditated on osprey diving for salmon, watched bobcats hunting rabbits, heard coyotes yipping when catching prey, discovered owls dropping countless pellets, experienced herons and hawks fledging their young from dozens of nests, river otters and beavers going in and out of the creek, weasels hunting rodents … and those are just the big animals.
Campers will also discover what it is like to be a bird or other animal by using sensory awareness skills to interpret what is happening all around that most people are oblivious to. Campers will learn to understand and use the language of the birds and will practice interpreting bird language through a series of experiments. Campers will work together to safely move through the woods; make plaster casts of their favorite animal tracks; craft tracking sticks; and investigate trails, lays, larders, and other signs of life.
Each day, we will explore field and forest for wildlife tracks and sign. Every find is a lesson to gain better understanding of who made the sign; why it made the sign; where it made the sign; when it made the sign; and what it was doing when it made the sign. The camp is full of exciting, interactive, challenging and cooperative games as campers work in teams to develop skills of leadership, cooperation, patience, orienteering, dexterity, and fun. Our staff, some of whom are Search & Rescue volunteers, will even show campers how to navigate through unfamiliar terrain and find people who get lost.
Camp Itinerary
Itineraries are subject to some amount of change based upon location, weather, instructor preference, and natural resource availability. 3-4 pm cool-down time includes group options of berry picking, archery or creek wading when at Hans Jensen, swimming when at Sunset Beach, relaxed games at main camp.
Monday: Awareness, Navigation and the Art & Science of Tracking
Morning Session: Awareness Skills, Wildlife Safety, Arts of Tracking
Afternoon Session: Animal Forms, Order of Survival, Lostproofing
Tuesday: Bones, Skulls, Hides, and Teamwork
Morning Session: Wildlife Journals, Animal Families, Hides & Skulls
Afternoon Session: Teamwork, Hand Signals, Scouting Expedition
Wednesday: Birds, Insects, and Amphibians
Morning Session: Language of the Birds, Animal Tracks & Sign
Afternoon Session: Insects & Spiders, Reptiles & Amphibians
Thursday: Trailing, Scats, and Casts
Morning Session: Trailing Animals, Scatology, Scent Marks, Browses, Lays
Afternoon Session: Plaster Casts, Beaver Dens & Dams
Friday: Human Tracking, Animal Rescue, and Celebration
Morning Session: Secret Spot, Animal Rescue & Medicine
Afternoon Session: Human Search & Rescue Tracking;
2026 Schedule for Wildlife Search & Rescue and related camps at Lake Sammamish
- Related Camp: June 29 – July 3, 2026 at Lake Sammamish State Park – Hans Jensen Group Camp: Wilderness Skills Sampler day camp for ages 7-14 with no prerequisite, includes a day of wildlife tracking and birding.
- Related Overnight Camp: July 20-24, 2026 Out-of-this-World Wilderness Camp near Mt. Rainier includes a day of tracking animals in the wilderness and runs from Sunday 4pm – Friday 4pm for ages 11-16 who have attended at least one of our overnight camps in the past, or two of our day camps or family workshops prior to this week.
- July 27-31, 2026 Lake Sammamish State Park – Sunset Beach: Wildlife Search & Rescue day camp for ages 7-14 with no prerequisite, and this theme is best for flexible learners, as lessons often follow where the birds and animals lead; runs simultaneously with the Advanced Conservation & Field Science day camp for ages 9-16 who have attended two other Wolf Camp weeks.
- August 3-7, 2026 Lake Sammamish State Park – Hans Jensen Group Camp: Wild Cooking & Herbology day camp for ages 7-14 with no prerequisite, runs simultaneously with the Advanced Animal Tracking day camp for ages 9-15 with prerequisite of Wildlife Search & Rescue day camp or the family wildlife tracking workshop, or two other day camps or family workshop themes, or any overnight camp in prior weeks or years. (Advanced Animal Tracking overnight camp for ages 10-16 also runs simultaneously, with same prerequisite as advanced day camp.)
- August 17-21, 2026 Lake Sammamish State Park – Hans Jensen Group Camp: Wildlife Search & Rescue day camp for ages 7-14 with no prerequisite, runs simultaneously with the Advanced Wilderness Survival day camp for ages 9-15 who have attended Wilderness Survival Craft or the family survival workshop, or two other day camps or family workshop themes, or any overnight camp in prior weeks or years.
- August 24-28, 2026 Lake Sammamish State Park – Sunset Beach: Double Advanced Day Camps on Wildlife, Survival, and Ethnobotany for ages 9-15 with varying prerequisites. This week’s Double Advanced Animal Tracking – Birding, Bugging, Bobbing, Bearing & Beyond camp requires graduation from our Wildlife Search & Rescue day camp, and a minimum of at least 3 total weeks since campers began with us. Step up and help us survey the wild bugs, birds, bobcats, bears and other secrets beyond the borders of Lake Sammamish State Park. Camp will run with 4-8 participants in a group.
We were voted Best Wild Day Camp in the last ParentMap Golden Teddy Awards!
Daily Camp Schedule
Suggested arrival time is 8:45-9:00 am, and best departure time is right around 4:00 pm.
8:30-9:00 Check-Ins & Morning Care
9:00-9:30 Songs, Stories, Stretches & Late Check-Ins
9:30-12:00 Morning Lessons with snack break at 10:45
12:00-1:00 Lunch, Games, Archery or Swimming Option
1:00-3:00 Afternoon Lessons with water break at 2:00
3:00-4:00 Camp Crafts, Creek Time, Berry Picking & Early Check-Outs
4:00-4:30 Aftercare & Final Pick-Ups (all-staff meeting starts at 4:30)
Camp Leaders
Kim or Chris Chisholm will be on site all week directing staff instructors at our hallmark 6-1 average student-teacher ratio that’s so critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences. Read our FAQ’s for more details and check out camp testimonials dating all the way back to 1997.
Day Camp Tuition at Lake Sammamish
• Tuition is $595 per week for campers returning from previous years. Discounts of $10 available per additional child and camp weeks. Day camps are not subject to sales tax, and we cover the state 1.5% B&O tax and other fees.
• Tuition is $695 for a camper’s first-ever week with us and then $595 per additional day camp week. Discounts of $10 available per additional child. Tuition includes all expenses except you’ll need to pack lunch and appropriate outdoor wear, and also includes organic t-shirt at your first camp with us, then at subsequent camps a choice of recommended field guides, orienteering compass, firesteel and other outdoor essentials depending on number of camps attended, age and availability.
• Sliding scale financial aid scholarships available via the Conservation College – Max Davis Scholarship. Just submit answers to their 8 simple questions and cc our email address to ensure receipt.
Registration Process
STEP 1 – If this is a camper’s first year with us, reserve the first week with a $200 deposit, plus $100 per additional week; returning day campers reserve spots with $100 deposits per week; via one of the following methods:
• Zelle using our email address with that extra “e” on skye plus try to add a note including camper name/age, camp start date/theme, plus your CONTACT INFORMATION (phone number is fine if system doesn’t allow sharing email) if we don’t already have your info since Zelle doesn’t automatically share that with us, or follow up right away with an email;
• Or use Venmo to @Chris-Chisholm-13 or • CashApp to $wolfschool but again, try to add your contact information, camper name, program theme and dates, or follow up via email;
• Or use Credit Card or Apple Pay by clicking here and follow up with an email;
• Or call us between 9am-9pm at 425-248-0253 ex 1 with a credit card to register over the phone;
• Or use PayPal system appearing below….
STEP 2 – If this is your camper’s first year with us, complete our once-in-a-lifetime Registration Form within one week of making your deposit. In case you’re having trouble downloading or making a copy of our Google Doc , please email us for a Word or PDF version of the registration form, and again, complete within one week to maintain your reservation. If your camper has attended Wolf Camp in the past, a new registration form is not needed.
STEP 3 – Pay balance during your summer camp weeks. We’ll email you an invoice this spring with camp prep info and balance payment options. All payments are non-refundable unless we refuse your registration. However, if you cancel (at any time for any reason is fine) we will save your payments as credit for you to use in future years, or you can choose to have us move the funds into our scholarship account if you prefer. The best practice is to make the minimum deposits to register, and then wait to pay the remaining balances during summer, but you are also welcome to pay your balance in advance if you prefer.
Or email us to be put on our list for this program in the future. We always keep your information absolutely private, and will never share it.
Refund Policy: Payments are not refundable unless we don’t accept your application. If you cancel for any reason, you may receive a full credit good through the following calendar year on appropriate and available programs listed on our schedule, although an additional deposit may be needed to secure your spot in the future program. If a program you sign up for is canceled and not rescheduled at a time you can attend, you may receive a full refund except in cases of natural (weather, geologic, wildfire, etc) disasters, grid failures, epidemics, government shutdowns, conflicts or curfews, or other unforeseen emergencies making it unsafe for staff and/or attendees to reach or use program locations, in which case all payments made will be held by us without expiration date for your future use in appropriate/available programs of your choice. Reasons include the expenditure of funds (property rentals, advertising, materials, admin staff time, etc.) long before programs take place, i.e. deposits make it feasible for Wolf Camp to schedule programs in the first place, but our mutually understood agreement is that Wolf Camp will run the program at the safest available time in the future. Finally, no refund, nor credit, is given if a participant is a no-show without prior notice, or asked to leave a program for inappropriateness as determined by our kids, youth and adult agreements for participation.
Day Camp Preparation: Agreements, Packing List, Health Protocols and FAQ’s
Day Camp Agreements for Participation
Hygiene protocols will remain the same as last year as long as there’s still little evidence of Covid/Cold/Flu transmission in the outdoors with room to spread out. To start each day, campers must pass our health screening. If there are reports of group participants who came in contact with an infection, we may provide n95 masks to wear when less than 3-6 feet from others. As before the pandemic, we require hand sanitizing when sharing tools and materials, before entering toilets, and we train campers with proper hand washing after campers exit toilet facilities with doors left open between uses to ensure ventilation.
Full vaccinations are strongly encouraged – we follow the scientific consensus – with tetanus shot (usually given as part of the normal Tdap vaccine series) considered the most important in the field of outdoor education. Otherwise, we know that due to our 100% outdoor setting, combined with health screenings, contact tracing, supervised hand washing, bathroom ventilation, mask use when exposure has been reported in a group, and individual/family style tenting at overnight camps, the risk of disease transmission has been negligible at Wolf Camp, so other vaccination records are not required.
Read our FAQ’s for more details, check out camp testimonials dating all the way back to 1997, and register asap to give yourself or a loved one the gift of camp! Or email us to be put on our our list for this program in the future. We always keep your information absolutely private, and will never share it.