FAQs
A typical cabin consists of 13-17 similarly-aged campers.
Most definitely. We have vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options at every meal. We serve meals kosher style, and many campers who keep kosher at home choose to eat vegetarian at camp. Picky eaters? Sunbutter (sunflower butter) and jelly is always available. Sunflower butter is just like peanut butter, but made of sunflower seeds instead of peanuts! Our switch to sunbutter keeps all who are allergic to peanuts safe and at ease!
Shwayder has a ropes course, horseback riding and archery. We also offer arts & crafts, music and so much more! Our activities are tailored for each age group. For a complete list of activities click here.
Our staff is provided training in child development, communication, diversity and emergency procedures. All staff members participate in an intensive week-long training program prior to the summer. In addition, every employee is First Aid and CPR certified. Our speciality areas also have their own appropriate training: archery instructors are USAArchery certified, the American Association of Horsemanship Safety certifies our wranglers and our ropes instructors receive professional training.
We take pride in the size of our community. Shwayder is small enough to know everybody! Typically, each session has 150 campers, 60 staff and 20 staff-in-training
Here’s our packing guideline to get you started. Don’t forget to bring your rain gear and water bottle!
We get this question all the time. This page lists our session dates and fees.
Chalutzim (Pioneers) are going into 2nd grade, Alephs are going into 3rd & 4th grades, Bets are starting 5th & 6th grades, Gimels are beginning 7th & 8th grades and Daleds are going into 9th & 10th grades.
Yes you may! We receive and send incoming and outgoing mail every day of the week. In addition, CampMinder offers a CampStamp service that allows you to send emails to your child that we then print and deliver. Campers are not allowed access to the phone or computers. You are welcome to call camp, 303-567-2722, and chat with your camper’s Unit Head during the session as well.
The best question so far! Here is a link to our registration page.
Shabbat at Shwayder is full of rich and important traditions. Friday nights at camp are very special. Everybody dresses up in something white for services, dinner and dancing. This is many campers’ favorite part of the week. Saturdays are very laid-back and give campers the opportunity to choose the activities they want to participate in. Our camp-wide Havdallah service concludes the week in a beautiful, communal manner.
If your family is based in Colorado, we check campers in at Temple Emanuel and bus them up to camp. Likewise, you can pick them up from Emanuel at the end of the session. If your child is coming in from out of state, we provide transportation to and from the airport.
We understand that seeing photos of your child during their time at camp is important, and we want to share the Shwayder experience through our photographs taken daily. You can view photos on our “Waldo” Gallery, https://waldophotos.com/ and also download the app “Waldo” which uses facial recognition to send you photos of your kids at camp. You can also access them through the shwayder.com homepage, click on CampMinder Login. We do our best to upload photos everyday, but we are sometimes limited by bandwidth in the mountains. Please be patient with us as we know this is a priority to our parents.
During check-in, our medical staff will collect any of your child’s medication. It will be administered to each camper personally by our medical staff at the appropriate time of day.
If your camper is ill/injured, the Camp Nurse will assess the situation then inform the Camp Director and parent will be notified via a phone call to keep them posted. A minor scrape/cut will be logged but a parent will not be notified. We will document all injuries/illnesses in the Infirmary
Shwayder Camp is nestled in a beautiful valley alongside Mount Evans at 10,200 feet. It is ten miles south from Idaho Springs, and about an 45 minutes away from Denver.
Unfortunately, we will not have a Visitor’s Day this summer 2022. We hope to do so again in the future.
We do! We actively work towards giving everyone an opportunity to experience a summer at Shwayder. Please contact us for more information at 303-388-4013.
We have several campers that sign up for multiple sessions each summer. Although campers experience the same activities between sessions, each session has a distinct personality.
Shwayder has a screen free policy and no electronics are permitted.
We want every camper to have a positive experience. Our staff social worker will help with the adjustment process and talk with each camper individually when necessary. Each child reacts differently to being away from home, but we are prepared to help campers enjoy their summer.