September 2024
Winter break can be joyful, and it can also be looooong. When school breaks don’t align with your time off work, winter break camps can be a perfect solution.
The only problem? Most camps don’t operate during winter break. So we scoured the Triangle to find these standout camps that are here to help you and your kiddos thrive during the long winter (break)!
Check out these winter camp options in the Triangle, and remember:
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1. Piedmont Wildlife Center
Website | Traditional Camps | Wake County Track Out Camps
Piedmont Wildlife Center is a non-profit environmental organization that offers traditional winter camp and winter track out camps from multiple locations in the Triangle region. They emphasize immersive outdoor education.
Durham County Location
| Location: | South Durham, also convenient to Chapel Hill 364 Leigh Farm Road Durham, NC |
| Ages: | 5 – 12 Teens aged 13-17 may serve as counselors-in-training (CITs) during these camps after graduating CIT training. |
| Hours: | 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM Plus optional aftercare from 3:00 – 5:30 PM |
Piedmont Wildlife Center has flexible winter break coverage for many dates in December, and you can register for them day-by-day under their program “Wild for a Day” (WFAD). Each day, campers go into the forest to develop and practice naturalist skills, explore the park, meet wildlife, and play outdoor games. Camp is held outdoors at the 82-acre Leigh Farm Park. Learn more about WFAD camps at: https://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/fallwintercamps.
Wake County Location
| Location: | Northwest Raleigh, at Umstead State Park 8801 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, NC |
| Ages: | 7 – 12 Teens aged 13-17 may serve as counselors-in-training (CITs) during these camps after graduating CIT training. |
| Hours: | 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM Plus optional aftercare from 3:00 – 5:30 PM |
Piedmont Wildlife Center has Wake County covered this fall and winter with track out camps, a special winter break program called “Forest Builders,” and several one-day “Wild for a Day” camps—like those offered at the Durham County location. Each week of track out camp and winter break camp has a fun theme that emphasizes getting out into nature. Camp is held outdoors in Umstead State Park, the Triangle’s largest state park with creeks, trails, and lakes. Themes for each week are listed at https://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/wake-track-out.
2. Nature Explorers NC
| Location: | North Chapel Hill, convenient also to Hillsborough and Durham, at Johnston Mill Nature Preserve 2713 Mt Sinai Rd, Chapel Hill, NC |
| Ages: | 5 – 12 |
| Hours: | 8:45 AM – 5:15 PM |
Nature Explorers NC offers its Forest Camp experience for the week of New Year’s, during traditional winter break. Forest Camp is a week of outdoor activities, games, art, and more in a small group size. Camp is held rain or shine in Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, a 296-acre preserve with plenty of trails and creeks. Find more details about the Nature Explorers NC Forest Camp offering at https://www.natureexplorersnc.org/camps.
3. Schoolhouse of Wonder
Website | Durham County Camps | Wake County Camps
The Schoolhouse of Wonder is a non-profit based in Durham with a mission to create “kind, curious, and confident kids through nature-based outdoor adventures,” operating in the Triangle since 1989. They already had locations throughout the Triangle in Durham, Wake, and Orange counties, plus they are adding 5 additional locations throughout the region.
Durham County Location
| Location: | South Durham, also convenient to Chapel Hill 364 Leigh Farm Road Durham, NC |
| Ages: | 5 – 12 |
| Hours: | 8:15 AM – 5:30 PM (through October) 8:15 AM – 5:15 PM (November – February) |
Schoolhouse of Wonder’s Durham location at West Point on the Eno River has the most dates aligned with traditional winter break. Their camp catalog allows filtering to a specific school’s calendar, or jump straight to dates for traditional calendars.
Schoolhouse of Wonder offers 4 dates of camp during the week of New Year’s under their “Discovery Day” program. Each date can be reserved individually to customize your coverage for winter break. During each Discovery Day, students spend the day in nature at West Point on the Eno, a 404-acre natural and historic park along a 2-mile stretch of the Eno River. Activities include games, exploration, stories, songs, fort building, and more. All the camp info for the Durham location is at https://schoolhouseofwonder.org/durham-county/camps/intersession-school-break-camps/.
Wake County Locations
| Location: | North Cary, at Umstead State Park 2100 North Harrison Avenue, Cary NC Note: Both the “Loblolly” and “Whispering Pine” camp locations use this address. Details on the Locations page. |
| Ages: | 5 – 12 |
| Hours: | 8:15 AM – 5:30 PM (through October) 8:15 AM – 5:15 PM (November – February) |
In addition to options similar to the Durham County Location, Schoolhouse of Wonder’s Wake County locations at Umstead State Park offer a full catalog of track out camps. Like “Discovery Days”, track out camps get kids outdoors and active, but are reserved by the week. Each week is designed to cover one of Wake County’s four track calendars. Jump to the camp options for each track at https://schoolhouseofwonder.org/wake-county/camps/track-out-camps-and-discovery-days/.
4. Kidzu Children’s Museum
| Temporary Location: | Chapel Hill, near University Place Mall. Temporarily within the Preschool wing of Binkley Baptist Church 1712 Willow Dr., Chapel Hill, NC Note: The main location for Kidzu Children’s Museum is within University Place Mall and temporarily closed for renovation. |
| Ages: | 4 – 8 |
| Hours: | 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM |
Kidzu Children’s Museum provides creative exploration, fun-filled tinkering, and a cognitively-engaging daily play space for young kids. Kidzu also offers several camp options for school’s out camp and summer camp.
The museum recently announced its fall and winter camp schedule at a temporary location at a preschool near its main location in University Place Mall. Dates available for winter break camp include December 27th and 30th, plus January 2nd and 3rd. The full calendar of camps and themes for each camp is at https://www.kidzuchildrensmuseum.org/schools-out-camp/.
Kidzu Children’s Museum is operating camp at a temporary location for fall and winter of 2024/25, because they experienced a water main break in August while the museum was closed. You can read more and donate to their recovery effort at https://www.kidzuchildrensmuseum.org/. Kidzu is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, so donations are tax deductible.
5. Warrior Tech
| Locations: | Morrisville, off Aviation Parkway 220 Dominion Dr., Suite G, Morrisville NC Northeast Raleigh, off Route 1 6451 Triangle Plantation Dr #107, Raleigh, NC |
| Ages: | 5+ |
| Hours: | 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM With the option of 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM by adding before care and after care |
Warrior Tech provides school’s out camp at two spacious and fully equipped indoor Ninja courses. The courses and camp programming are designed to keep kids active and entertained throughout the day. Camp can be reserved by the day or the week. In addition to fully covering the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s (except the holidays themselves), Warrior Tech also offers track out camp weeks to accommodate Wake County’s track out schedules. See full camp details at https://www.warriortechnc.com/camps.
6. Camp MusArt
| Location: | Apex, near downtown 616 W Chatham St, Apex, NC |
| Ages: | 5 – 11 (grades K-5th) |
| Hours: | 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM With the option of 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM by maxing out before care and after care |
Camp MusArt has been operating day camp for young school-age kids with a focus on music, art, and creative activities since 2009. The camp offers a full calendar of track out camps for Wake County’s four tracks, plus several single days when traditional calendars are also off school. Check out all the dates available for track-out and single-day registration at https://www.campmusart.com/camps.
Camp photo credits: 1. Piedmont Wildlife Center; 2. Nature Explorers NC; 3. Schoolhouse of Wonder; 4. Kidzu Children’s Museum.
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