camp

Adventure Sports Unlimited (ASU) is an aquatics center that teaches people the fun to play in water. We bring people together, teach them to the best of their abilities, outfit them with gear to fit their potential, arrange adventures to use their new skills, and eat well. It seems only appropriate that when you have a bunch of adventure enthusiasts together at an exotic aquatic environment, after a day of SCUBA diving, that a bit of seafood foraging will result in a wonderful gourmet meal to toast the day.

The essence of our plot is unrelenting fun and through this joy we will impart superior skills and safety. The ASU facility has a tropically heated training pool with hot tub, retail shop to serve your swimming and dive needs, classroom, and loaded it with water toys for people to play with. For 38 years,we have been successfully teaching the joys of being in water through the recreational sport of SCUBA for all ages and Adventure Sports Swim School.  Additionally we offer outstanding travel adventures. Find your next adventure through Adventure Sports Unlimited. Family Offerings  Seafood Foraging  &  Kelp Pickling

Adventure Sports Swim School  Learning to swim is a new and exciting experience for children. For the past 35 years Adventure Sports has taught over 25,000 children to swim in a positive, warm environment. Our instructors strive to develop a trusting special relationship with each child, encouraging them in a gentle, but firm manner to exceed their limits as their abilities grow. We maintain a high quality and individual accomplishment through small group lessons. We want your potential swimmers to have confidence in the water. In the end, this means technique, safety, and bright, happy smiles for everyone.

Our Jr. Trainer program is for children ages 9-16 (as young as 7 if they participate with a parent) who are serious in their interest of animal care and training. This allows people to experience what it’s really like to work with sea lions, not just an interaction program like other places may offer (although it’s still fun and exciting!).

Jr. Trainers receive personalized attention designed to give them a feel for what it’s like to actually care for, work with, and train sea lions. They learn animal care, feeding, husbandry skills, and much more!

General Information:

Includes a sea lion kiss with a photo for you to keep
Available year round, 7 days a week (multiple days do not have to be consecutive)
May be scheduled for 1-5 days at a time.
Hours are 8:30am to 3:00pm
Scheduled on a first come, first served basis, with no more than 2 participants at a time for personal attention. (Summer is the busiest time, so early reservations suggested)
$50.00 non-refundable deposit required to reserve dates ($100 deposit required for summer months of June – August)
Balance of fee due by first day

Our traditional Camp Gateway has been postponed until summer 2021 due to the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency’s shelter in place order. We look forward to serving the larger summer camp community in 2021. Until then, Camp Gateway wishes everyone a healthy and safe summer!
This summer we’ll be offering TWO programs for Gateway families, with a variety of fun and engaging options, including academic support and enrichment classes!
Virtual Camp: Weekday mornings from June 22 – July 17
Join our incredible faculty — including Alli, Brandt, David, Emily, Lynn, Melanie, and Michael — for week-long programs ranging from Silly Song Sing-Alongs (Grades 1/2) to Comics, Cartoons, and Characters (Grades 3/4) to New Wave Board Games (Grades 5/6) to Improv 101 (Grades 7/8). We’re offering 19 different classes so there’s sure to be something for everyone.

Virtual camp will be FREE for families already enrolled in the 2020-21 school year. Yes, that’s right, it will be free! For families that aren’t yet enrolled, the flat-rate weekly price will be $50/week per child. Choose up to 3 classes a day for this low, low price!  We know that many families are trying to figure out what to do this summer and we’re excited to offer this support to our families.

Virtual Camp will run weekdays from 9:00am-12:00noon. Check out the full schedule and course descriptions here.
Ultimate Recess Camp 
One week sessions:
June 22, June 29, July 6, and July 13
1:30-4:30pm. Cost is $150 per week
Exclusively for Gateway families.

Ultimate Recess Summer Camp will run outside on our nine-acre campus, with spaces for toys and games, art, active play, and hanging out. We are following the county’s newest shelter-in-place order that allows summer camps to operate with specific health guidelines.

Click here to register for camp.

Overview of our Ultimate Recess Camp Policies

Before entering camp each day, campers and staff will go through a health check, including taking temperatures.
All staff and campers over 12 years old will be required to wear face coverings.
All campers will be assigned a stable Cohort Group with a dedicated counselor and Homebase.
Each Cohort Group will have dedicated materials, equipment, and have exclusive access to its own restroom facility for the week.
Cohort Groups will not exceed 12 campers and will remain a minimum of 100′ apart whenever possible.

Click here for more details about Camp Gateway’s Ultimate Recess Camp Policies.

Our Critter Camp provides fun learning experiences in different week-long sessions for 1st – 3rd graders and 4th – 6th graders, held Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Campers meet guest speakers from animal welfare professions and get to know a wide variety of animals.

There are behind the scenes shelter tours and animal-themed arts and crafts projects, including art that helps showcase pets waiting to be adopted. Campers will learn about animal shelter design and create their own dream Shelter. Through engaging activities, children learn about being responsible stewards, both for animals and the world around them.

SCCAS’ summer camp fosters understanding, respect and empathy toward all living beings. All proceeds from this program benefit our county’s only Open Admission Shelter, serving animals in need in our community.

Please contact Erika Anderson erika.anderson@santacruzcounty.us (831) 454-7229 with any questions!

June 15-19 –  children entering 1st through 3rd grades

June 22-26 – children entering 1st through 3rd grades

July 6-10  –  children entering 4th through 6th grades

July 13-17 – children entering 4th through 6th grades