Wachusett Meadow Nature Camp Programs & Pricing
Explore Camp at Wachusett Meadow
Experience a variety of habitats and wildlife found at Wachusett Meadow in Princeton. Explore the outdoors, perform hands-on activities, observe wildlife, play games, make crafts, and more.
2025 Camp Pricing
Prices shown represent a range based on a sliding scale. A sliding scale pricing structure makes camp affordable for families by removing financial barriers and expanding access to camp for families in an easy, dependable, and confidential process. Tiered pricing is based on availability. Please note: All camp families registering at Tiers 4 or 5 must have an active membership for the duration of the camp session. View the sliding scale tier levels
Half-day Nature Camp
Tuesday–Thursday • 9:00 am–1:00 pm
Sessions: June 17-19, June 24-26, July 8-10, July 15-17
Preschool Naturalists • Ages 3.5-5
Explore Wachusett Meadow's ponds, fields, and forests. Have fun outdoors as you play games, make crafts, go on hikes, and spot wildlife. Use real scientific tools, like magnifying glasses and ponding equipment to study plants, worms, and insects up close. Play in our backyard and make new friends! See available sessions
Sliding Scale Price Range: $40-$202
Full-day Nature Camp
Monday–Friday • 9:00 am–3:30 pm
Weekly Sessions: June 16-August 15 (no camp on June 19 or July 4)
Discover the animals and plants that call Wachusett Meadow home. Find out who lives in our ponds, fields, and forests. Camp groups will participate in longer hikes and more advanced activities like canoeing and all-day hikes as they age up.
Pathfinders • Ages 4.5-6
Bond with new friends while you walk along the sanctuary’s trails, make crafts, play nature-themed games, and listen to stories.
Sliding Scale Price Range: $91-$455
Explorers • Ages 5-7
Explore Wachusett Meadow’s many habitats and wildlife as you look under logs, go ponding in the wetlands, build shelters in the woods, and play nature-themed games like Camouflage and Hawk and Mouse. Make creative crafts, sing camp songs, and go on picnics.
Sliding Scale Price Range: $91-$455
Naturalists • Ages 7-9
Discover new nature facts about the wildlife at Wachusett Meadow and in your neighborhood. Climb a glacial boulder, meet a 250-year-old tree, and canoe our Wildlife Pond. Learn about the sanctuary’s field, woodland, and wetland habitats and the wildlife that call them home. Hike the Brook Trail and eat lunch by the stream.
Sliding Scale Price Range: $91-$455
Adventurers • Ages 9-12
Explore the longest trails and farthest reaches of Wachusett Meadow. Hike the Brook Trail, canoe our Wildlife Pond, and summit Brown Hill for an awesome view. Investigate what’s living in the sanctuary’s fields, forests, ponds, and streams. Learn about the impacts of climate change and actions you can take to make a positive impact on the planet.
Sliding Scale Price Range: $91-$455
Specialty & Leadership Camps
Monday–Friday • 9:00 am–3:30 pm
One-week sessions (see below for dates)
Experience the best of nature camp with a focus on a particular topic.
Discoverers • Ages 9-12 • July 14-18 and August 4-8
Discover the biodiversity at Wachusett Meadow as you learn about community science. Hike along the Brook Trail and parts of the Midstate Trail. Enjoy Wildlife Pond from a canoe. Stay after dark on Thursday evening for dinner around the campfire, nighttime games, stargazing, and other nocturnal fun. Camper pickup on Thursday is at 9:30 pm. See available sessions
Sliding Scale Price Range: $102-$508
Trailblazers • Ages 11-14 • July 21-25
Experience all the fun of camp while hiking the longest trails on the sanctuary as well as some of our connecting conservation land. Campers can expect to be out all day with lunch and snacks on the trail. Average hiking distance each day will be 6–8 miles. Learn about the many organizations that protect the land around us and how they work to steward open spaces throughout central Massachusetts. Get the details
Sliding Scale Price Range: $91-$455
Nature Photography • Ages 11-15 • August 11-15
Learn to capture the natural word through digital photography! Campers will go beyond just taking snapshots, and gain skills to create thoughtfully composed, artistic images. Hike and explore Wachusett Meadow trails for inspiration and create a nature journal full of photos taken during the week. Family and friends are invited to attend a slide show presentation of camper images on the last day of camp. Simple point and shoot cameras will be provided, or campers can bring their own. Cell phone use for photography is not permitted. Get the details
Sliding Scale Price Range: $102-$508
Ecologists • Ages 12–17 • July 28-August 1
Learn about the biodiversity of Princeton and beyond! Explore Wachusett Meadow's trails including our newest Fieldstone Farm trail, canoe on Wildlife Pond, hike to the summit of Little Wachusett and Mount Wachusett and hike the Midstate Trail through Four Corners. On Thursday, stay beyond the regular day of camp, eat dinner by the campfire, gaze at the moon, and enjoy a night activity with your new-found friends. Camper pickup on Thursday is at 9:30 pm. Get the details
Sliding Scale Price Range: $102-$508
Environmental Leadership • Ages 11–14 • July 7-11
Jump-start your climate activism skills in this environmental leadership camp. Learn how to identify areas that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, locate resources to address those vulnerabilities, and become an advocate for climate justice. Visit Harvard Forest (Petersham, MA) and Rattle Root Farm (Princeton, MA) to learn about their sustainability practices. Participate in a service project around the sanctuary and see what climate action looks like at Mass Audubon. Set your own goals to take on a climate action project in your community. Get the details
Sliding Scale Price Range: $102-$508
Counselors-in-Training (CIT) • Ages 14-17 • Weekly, June 24-August 15
Gain leadership skills, hands-on training, and develop a lesson plan, which you will present at camp. All CITs must register for a training day (June 23) and register for two additional weeks. A third week may be available at the Camp Directors discretion. Registration fee covers training day plus a two-week commitment during the summer. See available sessions
Sliding Scale Price Range: $180
Extended-Day Options
Registration is required for extended day programming; you may add this option at checkout when you register your child for camp or call later to add to your camper's session. Daily rates are available upon request.
Before Camp Program
8:00–9:00 am • Ages 3.5–14
Weekly Sliding Scale Price Range: $10-$50
Campers will spend the morning engaged in quiet games or crafts. Children should arrive having already eaten breakfast.
After Camp Program
3:30–5:00 pm • All ages
Weekly Sliding Scale Price Range: $15-$75
Campers go on an extra hike, make a craft, play a game, visit the sheep, or spend time reading.
How to Register
Online registration opens January 15, 2025, at 6:00 am. To make sure you’re prepared, please read our registration instructions ahead of time.
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