Summer Camp 2023
Primitive Pursuits has offered Summer Camps to kids and teens in the Finger Lakes since 2003. Our talented leaders craft each week to bring growth, fun, and discovery through wilderness survival skills, nature mentoring, and community resilience-based activities.
Primitive Pursuits affirms that Black Lives Matter. We promise to do our best to, and to continue to learn how to, be a part of the work to eliminate structural racism and white supremacy in all of the spaces of our camp and the rest of our lives.
Primitive Pursuits is committed to the ongoing work of equity, diversity and inclusion. More importantly, we let all families know up front that Primitive Pursuits is a safe spacefor youth and bullying, harassment, or anything less than exuberant acceptance is not tolerated.
Primitive Pursuits is a non-profit 4-H program in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County.
Growing Wild
Ages 3-5
Half-day camp (Mon-Fri) | $265-$365 PER WEEK
($85 non-refundable deposit)
Nature is nurture. As mentors and friends, we help young people connect to profound discovery by engaging nature’s elements and navigating its wonders. Within a safe explorative space in the outdoors, imagination and fascination are set free through stories and adventures.
Growing Wild - Half Day Camp
Each day at Growing Wild children wander in nature, sing sun-filled songs, and share heart-felt stories. Each week features a different theme to guide our journey, and a variety of natural materials, such as clay, rock-paint, bark, and leaves to create works of art that reinforce learning. Our 4-H Acres forest playground includes a meandering stream, towering oaks, logs and hills to climb, trails and forts to explore, a fire circle and our beloved peace-making bench. At Growing Wild children grow in their comfort, confidence, and appreciation for the wonders of life.
Ages: 3-5
Fee: Sliding Scale $265-$365
Monday – Friday: 9:00AM-1:00PM
Drop off: 9:00AM-9:15AM
Pick up: 12:45PM-1:00PM
Weeks Offered: 10 (offerings 14)
Forest village camp
Ages 5-7
Day camp (Tues-Fri) | $350-$450 PER WEEK
($100 non-refundable deposit)
Welcome home to the Forest Village, where children learn to feel at home in the outdoors and meet new friends. Our Forest Village is an intimate space where younger campers get to know each other and their instructors, with an opportunity to return for more.
Forest Village - Day Camp
This focus on belonging and familiarity provides nurturing for younger campers trying out full day camps for their first time and for campers who may not be as familiar with wild nature.
The Forest Villagers play outside all day, trying out all the fun adventures we offer: hiding behind trees, building homes, playing imaginative games, discovering wildlife, telling stories and eating snacks around a fire – just to name a few! This is a time of laughter, song and nature wonder tailored specifically for our youngest full day campers. Come join the Village!
Ages: 5-7
Fee: Sliding Scale $350-450
Tuesday – Friday: 9:00AM-4:15PM
Drop off: 9:00AM-9:15AM
Pick up: 4:00PM-4:15PM
Weeks Offered: 10 (14 offerings)
Forest explorers
Ages 6-8
Day Camp (Tues-Fri) | $350-$450 PER WEEK
($100 non-refundable deposit)
The Adventure continues! Our brave band of Forest Explorers will venture into the forest to further explore the landscape and delight in nature’s gifts and mysteries. We will navigate the terrain, learning the names of plants and animals and playing exciting woodland games.
Forest Explorers - Day Camp
Forest Explorers spend time creating forest shelters, making cozy fires, harvesting and cooking wild edibles and crafting with the materials nature provides. This camp focuses on fostering curiosity and learning through skillful questioning, empowering challenges and centering each child’s experience of delight in nature and self-discovery.
Ages: 6-8
Fee: Sliding Scale $350-$450
Tuesday - Friday: 9:00AM-4:15PM
Drop off: 9:00AM-9:15AM
Pick up: 4:00PM-4:15PM
Weeks Offered: 10 (14 offerings)
Pathfinder Camps
Ages 8-10
Day camp (Tues-Fri) | $375-$475 PER WEEK
($100 non-refundable deposit)
Discover the power of wilderness skills and the company of friends with camps that explore unique skill sets each week. Pathfinder camps are designed to offer a more peer-based experience in which campers can further develop the skills and paths of their choosing.
Pathfinder - Day Camps
You might carve a stick to help forage for food. You might learn to shoot a bow and arrow or practice the art of invisibility as you explore the hidden trails within the forest. You might write and act in an original forest production...Together we will laugh, explore, and ignite the adventurer within!
Pathfinder Titles Include: Pathfinder Camp, Raven's Camp, and Adventure Academy.
Ages: 8-10
Fee: Sliding Scale $375-$475
Tuesday - Friday: 8:45AM-4:30PM
Drop off: 8:45AM-9:00AM
Pick up: 4:15PM-4:30PM
Advanced Camps
Ages 9-12
Day camp (Tues-Fri) | 385-$485 PER WEEK
($100 non-refundable deposit)
Advanced Camps provide campers an opportunity to push their skills to the next level. We offer a wide variety of Advanced Camps to choose from.
Advanced Day Camps
Advanced Camps provide campers an opportunity to push their skills to the next level. Some Advanced Camps offer overnight options where campers can gain confidence and self-reliance under the guidance of skilled wilderness instructors.
Ages: 9-12
Fee: Sliding Scale $385-$485
Tuesday - Friday: 8:45AM-4:30PM
Drop off: 8:45AM-9:00AM
Pick up: 4:15PM-4:30PM
Advanced Camps Include: Forest Engineers, Forest Sports, Luna's Fire, Enchanted Forest, and more!
Specialty Camps
Ages 11-14
Day camps with varied hours and pricing
($100 non-refundable deposit)
Specialty Day (and evening!) Camps take older and returning campers to the next level. Camps include more intensive skills and unique opportunities with mentors and peers.
Specialty Camps
Specialty Day Camps take older and returning campers to the next level. These camps include more intensive skills like bow making and hide-tanning. Specialty Camps are offered for one week only and have direct registration description cards on this overview page.
See individual camp offerings for timing, days and pricing.
Night Owls
Ages 11-14
Evening Camp | July 18 - 21 | 385-$485
($100 non-refundable deposit)
The stars are lining up for a few lucky campers looking for nighttime adventure and camaraderie around the campfire. Camp runs from 4:30pm-10pm!
Luna's Rising
Ages 13-15
Day camp | August 1 - 4 | 385-$485
($100 non-refundable deposit)
Deep in the forest under the light of the moon a group of young women are connected by the hum of the earth and their hearts beating as one.
Gender Creative Camp
Ages 11-15
Day Camp | July 4 - 7 | 385-$485
($100 non-refundable deposit)
This camp is for youth identifying as transgender, gender-nonconforming, questioning, or non-binary (TGQN) and is led, in part, by adult mentors who also identify as LGBTQIA+.
Gifts of the deer
Ages 13-16
Day camp | August 7 - 11 | 385-$485
($100 non-refundable deposit)
Campers to experience the art of crafting with the natural materials provided by our native White-Tailed deer and deepen their understanding of this majestic being.
Color Foragers
Ages 11-14
Day Camp | August 22 - 25 | 385-$485
($100 non-refundable deposit)
The forest is full of color! As Color Foragers we will harvest the brightest hues of the forest. This camp centers natural dyeing with wild plants and developing related skills.
Nature Mystics
Ages 11-14
Day Camp | August 1 - 4 | 385-$485
($100 non-refundable deposit)
Tucked along the banks of the stream lies an oasis for the mystic at heart. Here we’ll create a camp designed for aesthetics and quiet minds to explore...
Finger Lakes National Forest
Ages 9-12
Day Camp | July 25 - 28 | 385-$485
($100 non-refundable deposit)
Travel into the wildness of the Finger Lakes National Forest to celebrate the peak of summer and feast on berries! Practice natural navigation and leave no trace principles...
River Scouts (Traveling)
Ages 11-14
Day Camp | July 25 - 28 | 385-$485
($100 non-refundable deposit)
Become the eyes and ears of the river. Practice creek camouflage. Become the bayou. And cool off among secret headwaters of area streams, gorges and waterfalls.
Registration Portal Links
Go directly to our registration portal and view camps by week or age.
