Travel & Packing
Recommended Flights
In an effort to help families coordinate having their child on the same flight to/from camp with other Sanborn campers from their home city, we recommend booking these flights from major cities:
If your city is not listed and you would like help finding a flight, please contact our Travel Coordinator, Jenny Peck by email at jenny@sanbornwesterncamps.com or phone 719-748-3341.
Flying to Camp
We will meet campers at both Colorado Springs Airport and Denver International Airport. Colorado Springs is a smaller airport and only 45 miles from camp. Direct flights from many cities are available to Denver (about 100 miles from camp).
At both airports our team of staff will meet campers at their gates, help collect their luggage and transport them to camp. Please ask your camper to look for a Sanborn staff member as he or she departs the airplane. Our staff members wear easily identifiable, bright orange shirts that say “Sanborn Western Camps” on the front.
For both Colorado Springs and Denver, flights must:
- Arrive between 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM on Opening Day
- Depart between 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM on Closing Day
- Flights booked outside the 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM window may incur an additional $100 fee due to extra transportation and staffing needs.
International campers from Europe and Asia are encouraged to fly to Colorado on the day before Opening Day. We will meet them at the airport, transport them to camp, and give them an opportunity to get a good night’s sleep before welcoming their cabin and tentmates on Opening Day.
If your child is flying, we will e-mail you by 8 p.m. MST on Opening Day to let you know he/she has arrived safely at camp.
If you have questions or are having difficulty arranging appropriate flights within our time window, please contact Jenny Peck in our office (719) 748-3341 or . If you need to make any change in your child’s travel plans within 2 weeks prior to their travel to camp, please contact Jenny Peck immediately.
Travel Plans
To submit your child’s travel information login to our online community and then follow our step-by-step guide (Getting Ready Guide p. 18). We need this information at least three weeks before your child’s travel date.
If you are flying with your child and would like for your child to ride the bus to camp, please call Jenny Peck to determine where to meet camp staff at the airport.
Each camper’s travel documents will be collected by staff members upon arrival at camp.
For travel home, we will make sure that each camper has some money for needs in the airport (this may be money brought to camp or from his/her camper account). We will return cell phones to those campers who brought them so they can be charged and ready for the trip.
Please do not download your child’s boarding passes for his/her return flight. We will take care of these at the airport.
We recommend that you check with your airline prior to departure regarding unaccompanied minor fees and requirements. Please be available by phone on the day your camper is flying.
Be aware that airlines will not allow an unaccompanied minor to fly on the last flight of the day or on connecting flights. We recommend that the Unaccompanied Minor Fee be paid roundtrip at your originating airport to assure a speedy return check-in for your child.
When arranging unaccompanied minor travel with the airline, please list one of the following camp representatives as the person designated to pick your camper up in Colorado:
Denver: Taylor Indrebo 2000 Old Stage Road Florissant, CO 80816 PH: (303) 656-1963
Colorado Springs: Carly Liebich 2000 Old Stage Road Florissant, CO 80816 PH: (208) 863-7897
Please use the tags provided by camp for all baggage checked or carried on the plane. Our experience is that baggage with camp tags is more easily identifiable at the airports. Please check with your airline for current baggage policies and fees.
The charge for the trip from Colorado Springs airport ($35.00 each way) or Denver airport ($75.00 each way) will be made to the camper’s spending account.
Luggage & Shipping
With the additional costs for luggage carried by airlines, it may be more convenient for you to ship your child’s belongings to camp ahead of time. We are considered a “business” and receive FedEX and UPS on a regular basis.
Sanborn has partnered with ShipCamps to receive discounted shipping prices. ShipCamps will pick up your camper’s luggage at your door for delivery to camp. You can pre-pay for shipping costs without having to worry about the exact luggage weight. Estimated shipping costs with ShipCamps are $99-$135 per bag, each way.
The physical shipping address is:
Sanborn Western Camps
Camper Name
High Trails or Big Spring
2000 Old Stage Road
Florissant, CO 80816
Phone: 719-748-3341
Shipping Recommendations
- Ship luggage at least 10 days before camp begins to assure timely arrival. Camp receives no Saturday deliveries.
- Please try to keep box weight to 50 pounds or less to avoid additional shipping charges and to make it easier for camp staff to transport your child’s luggage to their assigned tent or cabin.
- Trunks and duffle bags should be in a cardboard box to minimize damage and avoid additional charges. Check with the shipper to confirm any restrictions or extra fees that can be avoided by a simple change in the way these items are packaged. If you are shipping via ShipCamps, a box is not required.
- No packing peanuts, please.
Shipped Luggage Return
Unless we are notified, we will send your child’s luggage back at the end of camp (1-2 days plus shipping time) and will make every effort to use the same carrier that you used to send these items. Please be aware that these charges can be significant.
We will insure shipped items for $900 unless you request a higher amount. We also ship lost and found items with camper’s name back to the camper as soon as possible by the best available method. Shipping fees and insurance will be charged to the camper account.
Driving to Camp
From Colorado Springs take US Highway 24 west through Florissant (34 miles). Turn left at the top of the hill onto County Road 46, less than one mile west of Florissant. (The “Wagon Tongue/Slater Creek” directional sign indicates the turn). Follow County Road 46 for about 2.5 miles to the camp road. Bear left at our signs and proceed on our road for two more miles to the main entrance marked by flags and a covered wagon. Follow the signs to the right for Big Spring Ranch and to the left for High Trails Ranch.
Please note that many GPS systems provide inaccurate directions to Sanborn. If your GPS routes you to “Calle de la Lluvia” off of County Road 1, do NOT take that route as you will end up in an area with no cell phone service and no camp. If you have questions, please call camp prior to leaving Florissant: 719-748-3341.
On departure, if your child is being picked up by someone other than a parent, we will need this person’s name, address and phone number.
Most campers are picked up on Closing Day between 8am-11am. If you need to pick up a camper much before or slightly after that pick-up window, please call 719-748-3341 and speak to a director so we will know when you intend to arrive.