Frequently Asked Questions

Big Spring Ranch for Boys and High Trails Ranch for Girls are located on 6000 private acres in the heart of the Colorado Rockies, 35 miles west of Colorado Springs.

We do not have a parent visiting day. All visitors to camp must be pre-planned and must check in at the camp office when they arrive. Visitors are not allowed to move freely around the camp grounds, and must be accompanied by a camp staff member at all times. Staff are trained to immediately report the presence of any strangers or unknown vehicles on the camp property.

The average age of our counselors is 21 and each must have a minimum of two years of college or travel/work experience. Many are returning staff or were once campers at Sanborn Western Camps; others are referred by friends or camp families. All staff members go through a rigorous application process which includes multiple references, a personal interview, and a fingerprint based background check. Decisions are made on the basis of experience and interest in working with children and skill and experience in outdoor activities. All staff must be certified in Red Cross and First Aid and many staff members have Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness First Responder, Lifeguard Training and other advanced certifications.

Sanborn staff are provided with many tools for building positive behavior during our 10-day staff training. These include communication and active listening, the art of questioning and framing, patience, creativity, creating an emotional bank account, teaching and modeling respect, resilience and responsibility, growth mindset, problem solving, mindfulness, emotional coaching, and skills deficit tutoring. In the rare cases where we need help with a poor behavior situation, we work with the child’s parents to determine best strategies. In the very rare situations where the camper’s continued behavior is deemed disruptive or harmful to the best interests of other campers or to the camp community, we will ask parents to remove the child from camp.

Colorado is famous for blue skies and plenty of sun. At an elevation of 8,500 feet, the camps’ average daytime temperature in the summer is about 80 degrees F. Evenings are cool, usually 50-55 degrees F. Occasionally, we have an afternoon rain shower. Many of our trips into the high country camp above or near timberline and these temperatures can drop to below freezing, even in July! It is best to be prepared for all types of weather and is important to refer to our Outfit List when packing.

Soon after arriving at camp, campers at Big Spring and High Trails fill out a trip sign-up sheet with the guidance of their counselors and program leaders. These trips include all-day and overnight adventures as well as mountain experiences 3-5 days in length. Each camper’s individual trip choices are placed on a calendar by the Program Director. Campers then choose daily activities on a weekly basis for the times they do not have trips. During the term, there are also a number of all-camp activities, especially in the evenings, as well as trips and activities which each living unit participates in together.

Counselors carry cell phones which allow them to communicate with the main office from most locations. Trip leaders for longer, more remote trips carry Garmin inReach Satellite communicators. Trip leaders are trained in our emergency communication protocols.

Campers and staff are transported to off-camp trips in 15 passenger vans and mini-vans/SUVs. Drivers are staff members who are at least 21 and have been through our classroom and behind-the-wheel driver safety training. We check MVRs for all drivers.

Campers and staff are required to wear seatbelts when in moving vehicles and to follow all safety protocols explained by the drivers. Car seats are provided for younger campers as required by Colorado law.

About a third of our campers arrive by car with parents, other family members, or friends. Other campers fly into the Colorado Springs Airport or Denver International Airport. Staff members meet children at both airports, help them collect their luggage, and take them to chartered buses or vans for the trip to camp. Upon arrival at camp, these campers are greeted by staff members and their luggage is delivered to their living units. The fun begins right away!

Yes. Although each camp has its own complete facilities and staff and most programs are separate, the camps get together once a week for an all-camp event: Gymkhana, Carnival, Country Fair, Olympics, etc. Older campers from the two camps often have additional opportunities to meet for activities and 8th, 9th, and 10th graders are offered a coed service based leadership trip.

No. Campers and staff of several faiths and beliefs attend Sanborn. Each week we have a “Sunday Rocks” service which is non-sectarian and celebrates camp values like friendship or appreciation of beauty. We sing camp songs and watch the sun set. Before each meal we sing a grace.

The two-week Sanborn Junior program is available to children who have completed the second through fourth grades. The month-long program at Big Spring and High Trails is appropriate for young people who have completed the third through tenth grades. Sanborn Junior campers follow an established schedule which gives them the opportunity to experience many outdoor activities. They participate in most activities as a group and stay with their own counselors.

Campers at High Trails and Big Spring have a great deal of choice in trips and activities. With the guidance of counselors, each chooses an individual schedule. Many of our off-the-ranch trips, like mountain climbs and overnight horse trips, are not available to Sanborn Junior campers. These trips are available to third and fourth grade campers at High Trails and Big Spring and provide age-appropriate levels of challenge.

Each camp has a modern and well-equipped health center with a registered nurse on duty. We work closely with physicians in Woodland Park and Colorado Springs. It is a 30-minute drive to Pikes Peak Regional Hospital and there is an EMS service based in Florissant.

If you talk to anyone who has been to camp, they will tell you that our food is excellent. Our cooks, who have been with us for years, prepare well-balanced meals from fresh ingredients. Our bakery produces homemade breads, cookies, and other delicious desserts daily. We provide a vegetarian option at each meal and are able to make accommodations for most food allergies. Please contact a director if you would like access to our menus.

Consistent with our goals of promoting self-reliance, strong social connections and appreciation of the natural world, we limit the use of electronic devices at Big Spring and High Trails.

Campers should not bring cell phones, laptop computers, airpods, tablets or video games for use at camp. When campers carry any of these items for travel to and from camp, we will collect and store the items during the session and return them for the flight home.

Although we do allow music players to be brought to camp, their use is very limited and loss or damage is always a risk. Camp cannot be responsible for lost or damaged electronics. If your child brings an iPod or similar device, please be sure it is loaded only with music and all videos, games, etc. have been removed before coming to camp. If your child’s phone is his/her primary camera, please send your child with a separate camera for use during camp.

We ask for your support and cooperation in order to maximize the camp experience for your camper and the entire camp community.

The American Camp Association is an organization of professionals who join together to enhance the value and quality of the camp experience for the children who attend our programs. The ACA is the only national camp accreditation authority, and camps must maintain a high level of safety, program quality, and youth development practices to meet the 300 standards established by the ACA. Each accredited camp is visited by a team of trained camp professionals to assure that the standards are being implemented. Sanborn Western Camps has been accredited by the ACA for more than 60 years.

In addition, Sanborn Western Camps are licensed by the Child Care Division of the Colorado Department of Human Services. Colorado is one of the few states which has a rigorous licensure process for resident camps, including visits by State Licensing Inspectors.

We have highly developed emergency plans for adverse weather conditions that may impact us in the Colorado Rockies. We monitor the weather closely and adjust our program as needed. Our location protects us from extreme heat—our daytime temperature rarely exceeds 80 degrees F. We train our staff and campers on how to stay safe during occasional thunder-lightning storms and extremely rare severe wind events.

We also have Search and Rescue plans based on FEMA protocols if a camper or staff member should become lost, and we have an excellent relationship with our county Search and Rescue team—several members of our year-round staff serve on this team. With our 1-4 staff to camper ratio, these situations are highly unlikely. Parents will be notified in a timely manner if their camper is missing.

We have active shooter plans which are shared with staff and campers although we have never had an incident of this nature, as well as communicable disease protocols and plans.

Wildfires pose our biggest natural disaster risk and we have evacuated from camp twice in our 76 year history. In both cases, we were away for 2-3 days and then were able to return to camp.

Part of the success of our evacuations has been that our campers and staff are very well prepared and informed about what it will look like if we need to leave the property.

Along with drills, on-site sirens, and relationships with all of our local and regional emergency responders, campers will place one complete outfit (shirt/shorts/underwear/socks) into the living unit “ready bag” which will be grabbed in the case of an evacuation from camp. Staff members have lists of additional items (backpacks, sleeping bags, dopp kits, etc.) which campers will also pack prior to departure.

We have multiple evacuation sites available to us, but our primary site is the Manitou Springs High School campus west of Colorado Springs. We have access to fantastic trails, great local parks, Garden of the Gods, Red Rock Open Space, multiple playing fields and other school facilities. There are separate sleeping areas for Big Spring and High Trails campers, shower facilities and excellent meeting spaces. During the evacuation, food will be prepared by our cooks in the Manitou Springs food service facility. Our nursing staff pack and bring all of the camper medications and medical supplies to support the community while we are away.

While we are off-site, we will communicate regularly with parents via email and on our social media platforms. We send updates and post photos on the daily activities our campers and staff are engaged in, and also keep families informed on any pertinent fire information we are receiving from our local officials. We do not give campers their cell phones and continue to operate our “Manitou Camp” as we do when we are in Florissant.