Day Camps

2026
Day Camps

Summer Adventures Await!

Let your kids entering first through eighth grades connect with nature at a 2026 DuPage forest preserve summer camp. Many camps focus on nature’s relationship with science, technology, engineering, and math. (Look for ones marked STEM.)

With time for team-building, exploration, and play, kids might not realize they’re firing up new neurons as they’re making new friends!

Registration is now open for DuPage residents and opens March 2 at 9 a.m for nonresidents.

Scroll down and click on an individual camp to reach the "Register here" link to sign up in ActiveNet, or call 630-933-7248.

Questions? Call 630-933-7247.

To ensure that every child can experience camp, qualifying DuPage families are eligible for a 50% discount for one session per child per calendar year. To apply by mail or fax, download our financial assistance application in English (PDF) or Spanish (PDF).

day camp faqs

volunteer-visitor-engagement-farm-hands-camp-900-600

Entering Grades 1 & 2

Learn about Illinois rocks, make your own rock and fossil collection, and explore how people use rocks and minerals every day.

Dates:

June 15 – 19
July 6 – 10
July 20 – 24
Aug. 10 – 14

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook

Capacity: 15 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Learn why things are sticky, squishy, and slimy through fun science experiments and grossly cool investigations.

Dates:

June 8 – 12
June 22 – 26
July 13 – 17
Aug. 3 – 7

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook

Capacity: 15 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Entering Grades 3 & 4

Be an ecologist for the week and learn about endangered animals (turtles, owls, and bees – oh my!) that live in our preserves. Go on daily outdoor adventures, and make your own field notebook.

Dates:

June 15 – 19
July 6 – 10
July 20 – 24
Aug. 10 – 14

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook

Capacity: 15 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Learn conservation and stewardship through nature play, hiking, fishing, crafts, and outdoor games.

Dates:

June 22 – June 26
July 13 – 17

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Location: Herrick Lake in Wheaton

Capacity: 20 campers

Fees:

$275 DuPage Resident
$320 Nonresident

Join forces with nature’s superpowers — earth, wind, fire, gravity, and water – to discover your own superpowers. Design and build your own elemental experiments, too, including egg-drops and simulated earthquakes.

Dates:

June 8 – 12
June 22 – 26
July 13 – 17
Aug. 3 – 7

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook

Capacity: 15 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Discover the past and explore nature through games, traditional chores, hands-on crafts, and delicious cooking. Gain an understanding, too, of early Illinois life and the natural world.

Dates:

June 15 – 19
July 6 – 10
July 20 – 24
Aug. 3 – 7

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: St. James Farm in Warrenville

Capacity: 16 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Entering Grades 5 & 6

Develop the skills needed to identify, locate, and catch different kinds of fish at this ranger-led camp. Learn ethical angling, and practice fishing techniques on ponds, rivers, and lakes using different types of rods, reels, and tackle.

Dates: Aug. 3 – 7

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: Blackwell in Warrenville

Capacity: 10 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Get hands-on experiences with horses and the daily activities of a working barn with supervised lead-line rides (a staff member walks and leads the horse as the camper rides), stable chores, horse-related games and crafts, and Friday Family Day.

Dates:

June 1 – 5
June 15 – 19
July 6 – 10
July 20 – 24
Aug. 3 – 7

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Location: Danada Equestrian Center in Wheaton

Capacity: 16 campers

Fees:

$275 DuPage Resident
$320 Nonresident

Learn about paddling safety, equipment, strokes, navigation, rescues, and handling a kayak on lakes at this ranger-led camp. Then develop and practice your techniques while playing games and completing challenges on and off the water.

Dates:

July 6 – 10

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: Hidden Lake in Downers Grove

Capacity: 10 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Travel back in time to the town of Fullersburg in the mid-19th century through art, fishing, artifact exploration, history hikes, and other fun.

Dates:

June 9 – 30
July 7 – 28

Time: Tuesdays • 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Location: Fullersburg Woods and Graue Mill in Oak Brook

Capacity: 15 campers

Fees:

$140 DuPage Resident
$160 Nonresident

Explore and connect with nature while learning outdoor skills, including archery, paddling, fishing, navigation, and
teambuilding.

Dates:

June 8 – 12
June 15 – 19
July 20 – 24
July 27 – 31

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Location: Herrick Lake in Wheaton

Capacity: 20 campers

Fees:

$275 DuPage Resident
$320 Nonresident

Experience how kids lived in the 1890s with games, crafts, and chores. Make new friends while caring for the animals, playing in the woods, and learning old-fashioned string games.

Dates:

June 8 – 12
June 22 – 26
July 13 – 17
July 27 – 31

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago

Capacity: 30 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Entering Grades 7 & 8

Calling all bird nerds to this week of daily bird walks and activities such as bird care, games, and crafts, all to help you hone your birding skills. There may be an outing at a nearby preserve one morning.

Dates:

June 15 – 19
July 13 – 17

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: DuPage Wildlife Education Center in Glen Ellyn

Capacity: 12 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Dates:

Aug. 3 – 7

Time: Monday – Friday • 1 – 4 p.m.

Location: Blackwell in Warrenville

Capacity: 10 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Learn what it takes to be a wildlife keeper as you go behind the scenes to help prepare food, clean, and care for different animals. (Note that food prep involves handling and chopping whole prey such as mice, rats, fish, and quail.)

Dates:

June 22 – 26
July 27 – July 31

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – Noon

Location: DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center in Glen Ellyn

Capacity: 12 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Dates:

July 6 – 10

Time: Monday – Friday • 1 – 4 p.m.

Location: Hidden Lake in Downers Grove

Capacity: 10 campers

Fees:

$175 DuPage Resident
$200 Nonresident

Enjoy all the fun of Horse Sense — horse-related games, crafts, stable chores, and Friday Family Day — plus the wonders and challenges of a single daily small-group riding lesson with Western tack led by one of our instructors.

Dates:

June 8 – 12
June 22 – 26
July 13 – 17
July 27 – 31

Time: Monday – Friday • 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Location: Danada Equestrian Center in Wheaton

Capacity: 12 campers

Fees:

$440 DuPage Resident
$500 Nonresident