(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)
Whether it’s doing Sunday Parkways or just riding to the store or a friend’s house, biking is a huge part of summer for many Portland families. So are summer camps. Fortunately you can combine the two and enroll the kid in your life in one of several bike-focused camps.
Bike summer camps are also a great opportunity for kids to learn new biking skills and gain the confidence they’ll need to become capable everyday riders.
We’ve tracked down a few bike camps from around the region. If you know of others, please drop us a line and we’ll add them to the list.
Shred Academy (Lumberyard Bike Park)
Portland
Ages 4 to 14
10 sessions from June to September
$350 for full-day session, $195 for half-day session
Kids loooove the Lumberyard. Where else can you ride fun whoops, turns, trails and jumps in an indoor environment? Add in some expert instruction and your kid will surprise you with how much of a shredder they are! The Lumberyard has teamed up with CLIF Kid this year (which means you can expect yummy and power-packed snacks) to offer full and half-day camps throughout the summer in their 70,000 square foot space on SE 82nd Ave. Even if your little one is still on a balance bike (a.k.a. run bike), the folks at the Lumberyard are ready for you.
— Learn more at LumberyardMTB.com.
Bicycle Adventure Summer Camp (Washington County Bicycle Transportation Coalition)
Hillsboro and Tigard
Ages 9 to 11 and 12 to 14
$295 for one week
The non-profit bike advocacy group WashCoBTC offers four, one-week camps starting in late July. The camps run 9:00 am to 3:00 pm with one of the weeks offering extended hours of 7:30 am to 5:30 pm (for an additional cost). Here’s more from the camp website:
Prepared and knowledgeable riders feel more confident in the saddle and their parents feel more secure as their children ride down the road and off to school and their adventures.
At this fun and informative weeklong day camp your child will enjoy the outdoors with new friends while learning about the joys and safe riding practices under the instruction of two trained instructors who are experienced cyclists themselves.
At this camp your child will learn safe riding skills and age appropriate rules of the road; map reading and route planning; basic bike safety check and basic maintenance skills; group riding skills; and most importantly, how much fun it is to ride with friends (and family!) to new places and have new experiences.
— Learn more at WashCoBTC.org.
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(Photo: Cascade Mountain School)
Farm to Table Bike Camp (Cascade Mountain School)
Hood River and Trout Lake
Ages 12 to 18
July 26-31 and August 9-12
$750 for six days
This camp is not in the Portland region, but it looked so fantastic I decided to include it anyways. The Cascade Mountain School takes a hands-on approach to science-based outdoor education (inspired by STEM curriculum) geared toward middle and high-school students. They offer over a dozen camps, and two of them have a strong bicycling component: the Middle School Farm to Table Bike Camp and the Farm to Table Bike Program with French-American School.
If you’re ready to get your kids up close and personal with Oregon country, farms, fields, geology and ecology while using a bicycle to see it all — this could be the camp for you!
Learn more at CascadeMountainSchool.org.
(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)
Bike Camps (Community Cycling Center)
Portland
Grades 1 through 8
June through August
$290 per week
The CCC’s camps are so popular in Portland they’re almost like a rite of passage. They offer different camps for kids from 1st through 8th grade and each one teaches essential riding and bike repair skills. A daily ride through the streets will give your kid practice in real-world conditions. And of course there’s a big emphasis on fun and making new friends.
Unfortunately many of the camps are already sold out, but there are still some dates available.
— Learn more at CommunityCyclingCenter.org.
Make sure you grab a spot at one of these great camps. Check them out and register today. And if we missed anything, let us know and we’ll add it to the list.
Thanks, Jonathan! There are still 50+ spots remaining in Community Cycling Center’s Bike Camps, so it’s not too late to sign up. We offer camps in both NE (at our Alberta Street bike shop) and SE Portland at Sellwood Cycle Repair.
Does anyone know where someone can teach my kid to bike, looking for a bike camp which teaches kids how to bike.
Portland Parks and Rec has a mountain biking camp for 13-17 year olds. Participants learn skills and ride at a different locale each day (including Powell Butte, Cascade Locks, and Sandy Ridge). They also provide loaner bikes.