Keystone Science School — Local services in Four Corners States

We chose KSS because I know it from my childhood, having attended a school program back 30 years ago. That’s why we were so sad to find out the KSS camping program is simply not appropriate for inexperienced or quieter kids. We sent our son to a half-week session with Keystone, hoping to instill a love of the outdoors. But we were wrong in assuming it was a good program for kids new to backpacking. He was almost entirely on his own, with very little attention. On the first day he couldn’t find where his sleeping bag was packed, and he slept each night in his tent without one. He also lost a battery from his headlamp, and had no light. Without a light he couldn’t go the bathroom after dark and he had accident.

You know what doesn’t instill a love of the outdoors? Being wet, cold, scared, and embarrassed, in a tent at 9000ft, with caretakers who don’t notice. The counselors never checked how the kids were set up or if they were warm or comfortable or safe. It was upsetting to find out the morning we picked him up how little support he got. The staff only turned defensive and blamed him when we brought it to their attention. I left as a very sad parent, feeling that I’d failed my child.

Keystone, on the other hand, still doesn’t quite see the problem and says “there is nothing more we could have done.” Even worse, the staff went so far as to lie to our family, claiming he unpacked and repacked his sleeping bag in front of them during a gear check. But the first thing our son said at pickup was “Dad, why didn’t you pack a sleeping bag?!” I unzipped the bottom compartment of his bag and showed him it was there it was the whole time, untouched. Clearly, the staff never saw it, and later lied to cover their rears. They don’t want to acknowledge anything went wrong and insist nothing will change in the future. Unfortunately, all we can do is share our story to help parents avoid the same mistake. Pick another camp with better outdoors prep.

We expect camping to be challenging and imperfect, but did not expect it to extend into neglect. In my younger days I worked as a backpacking counselor in the Rockies, and was a certified Wilderness 1st Responder, and cannot imagine overlooking all the basics. We were lucky in that our child only has a few bad camping nights to remember, and not something worse.

Next summer we’re going to try one of the better camps: Cheley,...

I searched and researched camp options in CO for a long time! I came upon keystone and really wanted my girls (9 and almost 13) to experience overnight camp and all the joys outside and nature has to offer. The counselors were literally amazing humans! They were empathetic compassionate and Inclusive! I remember going to a faith based camp when I was younger and it was an awful experience but this camp was just so amazing! All of the campers were kind to my girls and although I was worried how they might do in the outdoors, doing activities they have never done, the counselors were there to ensure they had what they needed and made this an experience they will remember for a lifetime. I accidentally packed the wrong type of backpacking bag but they made sure they had an appropriate one. They did so many awesome activities in just 5 days, my girls were singing camp songs the entire way home, and had so many cool stories! My youngest cried when it was time to go home because she had so much fun and they're already talking about how ready they are to go back! It's an amazing place with an energetic amazing staff!!!!!! I wish I could send them more than just one week they'd probably go the whole summer if...

We had a 9 year old participate in the overnight camp. She really enjoyed it, and the councilors seemed motivated and enthusiastic which is an important aspect to have.

The negative: It was a white-water rafting week, and we've been on enough rafting trips to know there is a wide range of difficulty levels especially in early summer. We called before booking to confirm this was not a class 3/4 rafting, and were told, no "it is really just a float trip". Well it turns out that this float was probably at least a class 3, and our kid's raft got stuck in a pour over where the councilor had to dive across the raft to keep kids in it and had a big bruise. Then we hear from friends that the week before a raft full of 8 year old girls flipped in the river, and that councilor was wearing crutches due to the flipped raft. This was not a "float trip", and arguably not appropriate for 4 young kids in a raft.

Would we go back again? Yes because the kids had fun and councilors seemed good and otherwise the camp seemed organized. But we would not go during a an early summer week with rafting as I don't think the section they picked was age appropriate at that...