Venture with Friends into the Outdoors this Summer!
The Colorado Mountain Ranch Children's Summer Camp is the place for children and their guides to be outdoors! It's got traditional Camp Spirit and community with staff in residence and day camp for kids. Founded in 1947, the Ranch continues to keep and train its own horses and share its magic with all those who enter its gates. Covid precautions are in place to keep the summer as safe as possible.
Colorado Mountain Ranch features views of the snow-capped peaks of the Continental Divide from its ridge of wildflower meadows and forests at 8500' elevation, ten miles above Boulder, Colorado. The Walker Family established the children's summer camp and horse ranch in 1947 on the property bordering the historic gold-mining town of Gold Hill.
About Colorado Mountain Ranch Summer Camp
It's 2023! See yourself in the outdoors - living, learning, and working in the Colorado Rockies this summer. You will make a meaningful forward movement in your life's quest to better yourself and others. Camp will change your life as you open to many joys - of children and working hard, nature and all its wonders, adventure, friends, and outdoor fun.
Mountain Playground! Located in the mountains 1/2 way between Boulder and the Continental Divide, the Ranch itself features horse and nature trails, wildflower meadows, evergreen and Aspen forests, old gold mines, and views of snow-capped peaks. The Ranch itself borders the Roosevelt and Arapaho National Forests; the Indian Peaks Wilderness and Rocky Mountain National Park are within a 30-60 minute drive.
Connections. The Colorado Mountain Ranch staff team comes together to share common interests in children, staying active in the outdoors, and making a positive impact on the world. Each summer a unique congenial community builds. Friendships begin and last a lifetime! CMR is a place to make connections - with peers, children, the outdoors, the mountains, nature, your true self...
Build Skills along with the Campers. Group Counselors and Activity Instructors lead and participate along with the campers. There are many Camp Activities - from Western Horseback Riding to High-country Exploring, Gymnastics and Trampolines to Native American Indian Lore, from Dramatics to Mountainboarding (envision snowboarding on wheels) and Teambuilding. From Nature Immersion to Horse Care and Arts & Crafts. The list goes on and on.
Innovation. Usually about half of the staff members are new to the Ranch every summer, equalizing the balance of returning and new. Each year, staff members bring in fresh ideas for improving organizational aspects, adding activities and doing projects to make it all go, too! Yoga. Earth Sustainability. Organic Gardening. Baby kid goats. Sharing your own Stories in the Emerald Cave. Novel ideas for large themed events. You share it, we'll listen!
Variety. On weekdays, CMR serves a general population, ages 7 to 17 in our Day Camp programs. On evenings and weekends, we meet, plan, share, spruce up the place, put on a Family Camp Day, and sometimes attend to weddings and group events.
Paid Internships. Design an internship with your professor for us to consider. There are so many fields of study which lend well to positive growth via a Camp working experience - all realms of Education, Photography, Media Management, Parks and Recreation, Psychology, Sociology, Ecology, Equine studies, Communications, Culinary, Hotel and Institutional Management...
Covid Safety. Staff members need to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Tradition. For generations, Colorado Mountain Ranch campers have sung “You’re the Best in All the World!” to celebrate Camp Spirit and the winning Place, People, and Programs! About 40 residential staff members open their home in the mountains to up to 150 campers each week. The Colorado Mountain Ranch is independent and family-owned and operated by the same fun and friendly Camping Family since its founding in 1947.
The Employee Experience
So many Colorado Mountain Ranch campers and staff members reflect on their summers at the Ranch as the best summers of their lives. A close-knit community grows. Friendships often last forever! Get paid for enjoying the benefits of a residential summer camp with peers!
The residential staff community lives and works together, giving each member of the team the chance to build connections with each other and the natural surroundings. Staff members being in residence on-site for children's day camp programs allows them to identify with the beauty and magic of the place that is the Ranch. As the core of the experience develops, the core staff group reaches out to include the campers in the growing feeling of a cooperative upbeat community. Living in Camp gives the staff time to meet, share, and plan to enrich the program and give individual support for each child and group.
Each group of children has a counselor and each activity has a specialized instructor or instructional team working together to provide every child with experiences to build skills physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. Staff members serve as coaches to help children build confidence to strive toward taking risks and trying as hard and long as it takes toward success.
The Walker Family loves kids and staff members alike. We all aim to listen to each other with respect. Occasions abound for positive interactions and loads of fun, both on and off the job!
Ideal Candidate
All new applicants must be available to commit from May 18 - August 13, 2023. The arrival date of May 18 is NON-NEGOTIABLE for new staff members.
All those hired to work with the horses must arrive May 16 to begin Wrangler Orientation.
Overall Staff Orientation is May 18-29 followed by eleven weeks of children's programs, May 30 - August 11. You'll have the option to plan ahead to take a week away to explore, travel, visit family&friends, or rest up and rejuvenate.
- Must be at least 18 years of age.
- Must be a U.S. citizen or documented as legally eligible to work in the US. Internationals may apply through Camp America
Qualities we look for:
- positive attitude
- enthusiasm
- genuine interest in children
- flexibility and adaptability to changing priorities
- self-motivation
- focused listening skills
- appropriate communications
- personable
- physical energy and stamina
- mentally alert
- good judgment
- reliability
- safety-minded
- honest
- sincere
- satisfaction in working hard for rewards beyond financial gain
- willing to help with daily support crews, general maintenance, and work projects to keep the Ranch in shape
- open to a Native American philosophy of respect for self, others, nature, and stewardship of the Earth.
Room and Board
Enjoy good hearty home-made meals and bunkhouse style mountain cabin living with the Rockies as your own backyard! These are benefits that make your salary dollars more valuable.
Employee Perks
IT'S THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME!
Opportunity. To make good friends and to create, contribute and serve in a cooperative, active, supportive, outdoor mountain community while playing with children.
Location. Rocky Mountains, beautiful trails and surroundings, vistas, pine and aspen forests, wildflowers. ½ hour drive down to Boulder, ½ hour drive up to trailheads to hike up to and over the Continental Divide.
Small community: At-home family feel. Tradition and open-minded innovation. Personal attention to staff and children.
Connection. Unplugged connection with nature & face-to-face with children and Camp staff friends. (Cell service and Wifi are intermittently available for your use during off-times. There are Camp computers, internet, and phone landlines for your use when important, too.)
Friends. Live & work with peers with similar interests - staying active, outdoors, children, meaningful endeavors.
Day Camp (not overnight camp). Staff members have evenings and weekends without child care responsibilities.
Varied work responsibilities: Variation keeps things exciting throughout each weekday and for Saturday events and projects.
Time Off Together. All Staff members are in residence and have time off with the whole community of staff friends at the same time on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights, plus Sundays all day and night.
Extra Perks: Staff members receive laundry service, leadership training, instructional training in all activities, future personnel references. You'll also have the option to take a week away to explore, travel, visit family & friends, or rest up and rejuvenate.
Gain experience and competence in: Communication, critical thinking, creativity, patience, flexibility, collaboration, empathy respect, integrity, work ethic, problem solving, persistence, self-discipline, leadership, and initiative.
Move into Your Future: Camp work provides a stepping stone into a rewarding future as you build a foundation for success in your upcoming life’s journeys - friends, family, career, and personal satisfaction.
Getting Here and Getting Around
Those joining our staff receive a travel stipend. On arrival and departure days, we provide transportation to and from the Denver Airport, bus and train stations. On-site housing is in cabins clustered around the main Lodge in the center of the Camp property. The walk between activity areas is a maximum of 5 minutes over dirt trails. Public transportation systems in Boulder and Denver are good. Some staff members bring their own vehicles and are usually generous with ride-shares.
For Fun
Our area is honeycombed with trails to explore and patchworked with National Forest lands right nearby. A camping area with an amazing 360-degree vista of the high peaks and deep valleys is just a mile up from the main Ranch. The historic mining town of Gold Hill once housed 10,000 people during the Colorado Gold Rush. Today 200 rugged folk compose a small mountain community proud of their original general store, cafe, restaurant, and music venue.
From our mountain location to the west it's just a one-half hour drive to the trailheads which lead up and over the alpine country of the Continental Divide, Roosevelt National Forest, the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, and Rocky Mountain National Park. To the east, it's just a one-half hour drive into the beautiful college town of Boulder. Tubing on Boulder Creek is a staff favorite. From there, the drive is only another half-hour to the excitement and cultural offerings of the big city of Denver.
Generally each summer, a staff committee organizes staff outings for river rafting, a Rockies baseball game, and a show at Boulder's Dinner Theatre.
How to Apply
Please look over our website and the Join Our Team page before you apply to get a feel for us and to help you decide if you think you would be a good fit for our team.
HOW TO APPLY
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To connect right away, call or email Lynn Walker - (303)442-4557, lynn@coloradomountainranch.com - with your resume, interests, and/or questions. Let's explore together to see if working with us may be a good fit!
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Click here to create an account with login details
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Be SURE to select ‘Staff’ as your user type when registering
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Once logged in, Click on your name
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Click on Staff Application 2023 - start entering your details!
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When you are done submit the application
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Expect an email response soon notifying you that we have received your application; if you do not hear from us please call: 303.442.4557