Camp Cruz was originally created in 2010 to give underserved youth and families from Santa Cruz County opportunities to connect with nature. Camp Cruz is the base camp for Growing Up Wild, a bilingual outdoor education program for local underserved youth. Since 2010 we have provided outdoor education programs consistently. If you wish to learn more about our nonprofit outdoor education program, please go to www.growingupwild.org.
It took the Cruz family years to transform it into a glampground. WorkIng to build the camp without significant capital, we relied on bartering and volunteerism as much as possible. One of the first things we built was a sweat lodge that volunteers could enjoy at the end of work days. Camp Cruz withstood many tests over the years. For example, in 2008 it survived a close encounter with a wildfire which sadly, burnt several neighboring homes. Interestingly enough, firefighters said that all the tree work and clearing that was done to build Camp Cruz had done undoubtedly saved it from burning in the wildfire. Our commitment to serve the community inspired us to host a fundraiser concert for one of our neighbors who lost his home in the fire.
We opened up Camp Cruz as a glampground available for rental in 2013. It has been a fun way to share our space with people while raising funds to support our nature-based youth program. What makes Camp Cruz so special for guests is that we only take one group at a time no matter how small a group. Guests are pleasantly surprised to find that they get to have use of the whole camp to themselves. If you wish to book a stay at Camp Cruz, please visit our Airbnb listing or email us.
It took the Cruz family years to transform it into a glampground. WorkIng to build the camp without significant capital, we relied on bartering and volunteerism as much as possible. One of the first things we built was a sweat lodge that volunteers could enjoy at the end of work days. Camp Cruz withstood many tests over the years. For example, in 2008 it survived a close encounter with a wildfire which sadly, burnt several neighboring homes. Interestingly enough, firefighters said that all the tree work and clearing that was done to build Camp Cruz had done undoubtedly saved it from burning in the wildfire. Our commitment to serve the community inspired us to host a fundraiser concert for one of our neighbors who lost his home in the fire.
We opened up Camp Cruz as a glampground available for rental in 2013. It has been a fun way to share our space with people while raising funds to support our nature-based youth program. What makes Camp Cruz so special for guests is that we only take one group at a time no matter how small a group. Guests are pleasantly surprised to find that they get to have use of the whole camp to themselves. If you wish to book a stay at Camp Cruz, please visit our Airbnb listing or email us.
