Mountain Camp

What Mountain Camp does

Mountain Camp, LLC is a privately held, family-owned operator of traditional co-ed residential summer camps headquartered in Moraga, California, with its flagship facility on a 26-acre site on Ice House Lake in the Eldorado National Forest (operated under a U.S.D.A. Forest Service Special Use Permit). Founded in 1966 by Stanford University Athletic Director Chuck Taylor and relocated to its current site in 1986, the company serves more than 1,800 campers per summer across nine seasonal sessions (one-week at $2,800 and two-week at $5,350) for children entering 2nd through 12th grade, plus a Counselor-in-Training leadership track for older teens. Mountain Camp runs a deliberately low-technology, non-competitive program with over 30 activities (sailing, ropes course, archery, mountain biking, arts, outdoor trips), small cabin communities of 8-14 campers with 2-3 counselors, and a 4:1 camper-to-staff ratio.

Revenue is generated through per-session tuition (deposits of $1,000 for one-week or $1,500 for two-week sessions, with balance billed before arrival), supplemented by bus transportation ($125 each way from Bay Area pickup points), a free Sacramento Airport shuttle, a camp store selling branded merchandise, optional CampTuition Insurance referrals, and scholarship-funded enrollments (1-2% of campers via partners S.M.A.R.T., R.O.C.K., and Global Camps Africa). Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer: families enroll online through the CampInTouch platform, the camp's primary marketing relies on word-of-mouth, the website, Facebook and Instagram, a content blog, the Campanion parent photo app, a Refer-A-Friend program, and free in-person tours. The company also operates sibling sub-brands — Mountain Camp Woodside (day and overnight), Mountain Camp Marin (day camp), and Farm Camp (Plantation, CA) — under the broader Whipple-family stewardship.

Operationally, the business is run year-round from the Moraga winter office by owners Scott and Sally Whipple and Executive Director Don Whipple, with seasonal leadership from Summer Director Andy Hancock, Program Directors Adam Yardley and Madeline McClelland, Camp Directors Kamren Johnson and Dave Brown, Waterfront Director Camo Philcox, and Food Service Director Lua Pabon. Mountain Camp holds American Camp Association accreditation (300+ standards), is a member of the Western Association of Independent Camps, and completed a 2015-2019 longitudinal outcomes study with Stanford University's Graduate School of Education and Challenge Success measuring social-emotional learning impact.

Name

Mountain Camp

Legal name

Mountain Camp, LLC

Website

https://mountaincamp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Mountain Camp, LLC is a family-owned operator of traditional co-ed residential summer camps serving 1,800+ children ages 7-17 annually at its flagship Ice House Lake site in the Eldorado National Forest near Lake Tahoe, with sibling day-camp sub-brands in Northern California. Revenue is generated through per-session tuition, transportation, and camp-store sales on a direct-to-consumer model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's overnight summer camp services

NAICS

Recreational and Vacation Camps (except Campgrounds) (721214), Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Activity Enrichment Camps (Academic + Arts + Sports) (EDAMALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Life Skills & SEL Camps (Confidence, Executive Function, Social Skills) (EDAMALAO), Adventure Base Camps (Trek/Climb/Expedition Camps) (THAGAOAG), Mountain & Wilderness Lodges (THAAAHAE)

Keywords

• Overnight summer camp
• Children resident camp
• Sleepaway camp programs
• Youth outdoor education
• Summer camp activities

Headquarters

HQ city

Lafayette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Summer Camp Tuition: Mountain Camp generates revenue through one-time tuition fees charged per session. One-week sessions cost $2800 and two-week sessions cost $5350. Deposits of $1000 (one-week) or $1500 (two-week) are required at enrollment. Additional revenue streams include camp store sales and optional CampTuition Insurance referrals through third-party providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Mountain Camp operates a co-ed residential summer camp for children entering 2nd through 12th grade on a 26-acre lakefront site at Ice House Lake in California's Eldorado National Forest. Sessions are sold in one-week ($2,800) and two-week ($5,350) formats featuring 30+ non-competitive activities including sailing, kayaking, archery, ropes course, mountain biking, and arts, with a deliberate no-electronics/digital-detox camper environment. The program includes the Counselor-in-Training (CIT) leadership track for 10th-12th graders and on-site camp store sales.

Product overview

Mountain Camp is a traditional co-ed summer sleepaway camp providing outdoor residential camping experiences for children entering 2nd-12th grade. The core product is the overnight camp program at Ice House Lake near Lake Tahoe, featuring over 30 activities designed to build independence, social skills, and outdoor competencies. The camp operates as a unified program with optional add-ons including the Counselor-in-Training (C.I.T.) leadership program for older campers, an on-site camp store, and a scholarship fund. Mountain Camp also encompasses affiliated day and overnight camp programs under the Mountain Camp Woodside, Mountain Camp Marin, and Farm Camp sub-brands. Communication and enrollment are facilitated through CampInTouch (account management) and Campanion (photo sharing), while the C.I.T. program uses SparkHire for video interviews.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mountain Camp Overnight Summer Camp Co-ed overnight summer resident camp for children entering 2nd-12th grades on Ice House Lake in Eldorado National Forest, featuring a minimal-technology, non-competitive program with 30+ activities including sailing, kayaking, archery, ropes course, and mountain biking. Sessions run as one-week ($2,800) or two-week ($5,350) options.
• Counselor-in-Training (C.I.T.) Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 60% camper return rate
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stanford University Graduate School of Education / Challenge SuccesscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Mountain Camp partnered with Stanford University Graduate School of Education and Challenge Success for a 4-year research study (2015-2019) to measure the impact of camp experience on child development, specifically social-emotional learning outcomes.
• S.M.A.R.T.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with S.M.A.R.T. (presumably a scholarship or youth development organization) to provide camp scholarships for deserving children who could not otherwise afford to attend. Donations to Mountain Camp Scholarship Fund support this initiative.
• Real Options for City Kids (R.O.C.K.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with R.O.C.K. (San Francisco-based non-profit) to provide camp opportunities for deserving city kids. R.O.C.K. has received national recognition for this program. Over 70 deserving children have attended camp through scholarship partnerships.
• Global Camps AfricaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Global Camps Africa to support their programs. Executive Director Don Whipple serves on the Board of Directors for Global Camps Africa, indicating a bidirectional partnership.
• American Camp Association (ACA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACA provides accreditation standards and program quality frameworks. Mountain Camp is ACA-accredited and participates in their scholarship fund program. Executive Director Don Whipple serves on the ACA Advisory Committee on Program Quality Assessment.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Camp Walden: Traditional co-ed overnight summer camp located in the California Gold Country, serving similar Bay Area and Northern California families with comparable multi-activity programming and premium pricing.
• Camp Towanda: Premier co-ed overnight summer camp in Honesdale, PA, operating on a similarly traditional multi-activity model with strong family-brand positioning, comparable tuition levels, and high camper return rates.
• Camp Champions: Premier Texas-based co-ed overnight summer camp with traditional multi-activity programming and similarly premium positioning, drawing an analogous affluent family demographic with high year-over-year retention.
• Camp Pinnacle: Co-ed overnight summer camp in North Carolina with traditional multi-activity programming, comparable in scale and premium family demographic to Mountain Camp.
• Camp Seafarer: Long-established co-ed overnight summer camp offering traditional multi-activity programming with strong waterfront emphasis; comparable in scale, premium pricing, and multi-generational brand loyalty.

Regional players

• Camp Cedar: Northern California-based traditional overnight summer camp serving the Bay Area market with comparable programming and family demographic.
• Camp Ramah in California: Jewish overnight summer camp serving Northern California and Bay Area families with traditional multi-activity programming; comparable scale, geographic market, and demographic.
• Camp JCA Shalom: Jewish overnight summer camp in Mendocino County, California, serving many of the same Bay Area families with comparable overnight programming and ACA accreditation.

Broad incumbents

• Camp Wicosuta: Long-established New Hampshire girls' overnight summer camp with traditional multi-activity programming and similar premium pricing strategy; comparable in scale and family-brand heritage.

Others

• American Camp Association: Industry accreditation body whose 300+ standards Mountain Camp meets; useful as ecosystem reference for understanding competitive positioning within ACA-accredited peer camps.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mtncamp
• Instagraminstagram.com/mountaincamp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mountain-camp

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mountain Camp