Venture with Friends into the Outdoors this Summer!
The Colorado Mountain Ranch Children's Summer Camp is a 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 keeps and trains its own horses and shares its magic with all those who enter its gates. Click here to see for yourself what makes CMR "the best in all the world!"
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 up from 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
Elevate your summer vibes in 2025! Are you enthusiastic and upbeat? Do you have a warm personality and are you a good listener? Try to see yourself in the mountains - living, learning, and laughing with kids 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 borders the Roosevelt and Arapaho National Forests. The Indian Peaks Wilderness and Rocky Mountain National Park are all only a 30 minute and a 60 minute drive away, respectively.
Connections. The Colorado Mountain Ranch staff team comes together to share common interests in children, stay active in the outdoors, and make a positive impact on the world. Each season a unique congenial community develops throughout the summer. Friendships begin and so often 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 Indigenous Arts & Crafts, from Dramatics to Mountainboarding (envision snowboarding on wheels), from Nature Immersion to Horse Care, Outdoor Living Skills, and Archery… The list goes on and on.
Creativity and 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. 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 the 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. To give everyone an exciting introduction to overnight camp, many of the older campers spend the night on Thursdays!
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 working experience at Camp. Interning could enhance all realms of Education, Photography, Media Management, Parks and Recreation, Psychology, Sociology, Ecology, Equine studies, Communications, Culinary, Hotel and Institutional Management...
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 about 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. Camp friendships often last forever! Get paid for enjoying the benefits of a residential summer camp experience, but with working 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 in residence on-site for the children's day camp programs are able to identify with the beauty and magic of the place.
When Camp time begins after almost two weeks of Staff Orientation, the core staff group reaches out to include the campers in the growing web 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. Living together and sharing good food at mealtimes keeps the team strong and ready to recreate during time off.
Each group of children has a counselor and each activity has a specialized instructor or instructional team working together to provide every child the chance to build skills physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. Staff members serve as coaches to support children as they take risks, bounce back, and build confidence as they hone their skills, keep trying, and so often succeed!
The Walker Family loves kids and staff members alike. Administrators, staff members, and campers all aim to listen and respond to each other with respect. Occasions abound for positive interactions and loads of fun, both on and off the job!
Ideal Candidate
Is a summer at the Colorado Mountain Ranch a good fit for you?
Qualities of the ideal candidate for the CMR staff team:
- 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 an Indigenous philosophy of respect for self, others, nature, and stewardship of the Earth.
Your Availability: All new applicants must be available to commit from May 15 - August 10, 2023. The arrival date of May 15 is NON-NEGOTIABLE for new staff members.
All those hired to work with the horses must arrive May 11 to begin Wrangler Orientation.
The general orientation for all new staff is May 15-26, followed by eleven weeks of children's programs, May 27 - August 8. You also have an option to plan ahead to take a week away for any reason - to explore Colorado, travel, visit family & friends, or rest up and rejuvenate.
Over 18 and legal to work:
- Candidates must be at least 18 years of age.
- Candidates must be U.S. citizens or documented as legally eligible to work in the US. Internationals may only apply through Camp America
Room and Board
Room and Board
Refuel anytime with snacks and fresh fruit always available. Enjoy the camaraderie of good hearty home-made meals together, along with bunkhouse style mountain cabin living with your own backyard of mountain pine and aspen forests. No extra meal expense or rent to pay!
Employee Perks
IT'S THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME!
Opportunity. To build your resume in soft skills desired by future employers. To make good friends and to create, contribute and serve in a cooperative, active, supportive, outdoor mountain community while playing with children.
Gain experience and competence in: Communication, critical thinking, creativity, patience, flexibility, collaboration, empathy respect, integrity, work ethic, staying fit, problem solving, persistence, self-discipline, leadership, and initiative...
Location. Rocky Mountains, beautiful trails and surroundings, vistas, pine and aspen forests, wildflower meadows. ½ hour drive down to Boulder, ½ hour drive up to trailheads into the Wilderness for hiking up and over the Continental Divide.
Small community: At-home family feel. Tradition and open-minded innovation. Personal attention to staff (YOU!) and children.
Connection. Unplugged connection with nature & face-to-face with children and Camp staff friends. (Cell service and Wifi are usually (but not always) available for your use during off-times. There are Camp computers, internet, and phone landlines for your use when it's important, too.)
Friends. Live & work with peers with similar interests - staying active, outdoors, children, meaningful endeavors.
Day Camp (not a 24/7 overnight camp). Staff members have 6/7 evenings and weekends without child care responsibilities.
Varied work responsibilities: Variation can keep things exciting throughout each weekday and for Saturday events and projects.
Time Off Together. All Staff members are in residence and mostly have time off with the whole community of staff friends at the same time on 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 and college program references. You'll also have the option to take a week away to explore Colorado, travel, visit family & friends, or rest up and rejuvenate.
Move into Your Future: Camp experience 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
Staff members from outside the Denver/Boulder area 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 to the main Lodge for meals is less than a minute. Between activity areas there is a maximum of about a 3-minute walk over dirt trails. From the Camp property, there are undeveloped National Forest hiking trails, and it's 30-minute drive into Boulder to the east and a 30-minute drive to the wilderness trailheads to the west. Some staff members bring their own vehicles and are usually generous with ride-shares. Public transportation systems in Boulder and Denver are good.
For Fun
Outdoors. 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. A quarter-mile down the road there is the historic mining town of Gold Hill which once housed 10,000 people during the Colorado Gold Rush. Today 200 rugged folks compose a small mountain community proud of their original general store, cafe, restaurant, pub, and music venue.
Good Location. From our mountain location just west of Gold Hill, it's only 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. From Boulder, the drive is only another half-hour to Denver and the excitement and cultural offerings of the big city. Tubing on Boulder Creek, ice cream and movies in town, and concerts at Red Rocks near Morrison are staff favorites.
Staff Time-off Options. Generally, each summer a staff committee organizes optional staff outings for climbing 14,000' peaks, river rafting, a Rockies baseball game. Other favorite destinations include Boulder for tubing on the creek, ice cream, or movies. Sometimes times off for staff coincide with concerts at Red Rocks’ natural outdoor amphitheatre, about 40 minutes from Boulder.
How to Apply
Please look over our website and the Join Our Team page before you apply to get a feel for the Camp culture and to help you decide if you think you would be a good fit for our team. Let's explore together to see if working with us might be good for all of us!
To connect right away, email with your resume, interests, and/or questions, or call just to talk:
Jojo Morrison at (303) 717-3596, JoJo@coloradomountainranch.com
OR Lynn Walker at (303) 442-4557, Lynn@coloradomountainranch.com
HOW TO APPLY
- Click here to create an account with login details
- Be SURE to select ‘STAFF’ as your user type when registering
- Once logged in, Click on your name
- Click on Staff Application 2025 and start entering your details!
- When you are done submit the application
- Expect an email response soon notifying you that we have received your application. If you do not hear from us within 24 hours, please call or email: Rosie Walker at 720-438-8111, walkerrose10@gmail.com
Contact Info
- Jojo Morrison or Lynn Walker
- Jojo@coloradomouontainranch.com or Lynn@coloradomountainranch.com
- 303-717-3596 or 303-442-4557
Contact Info
- Jojo Morrison or Lynn Walker
- Jojo@coloradomouontainranch.com or Lynn@coloradomountainranch.com
- 303-717-3596 or 303-442-4557
- coloradomountainranch.com
