Junior Guides Raft Camp is excited to offer scholarships for our 2026 season where campers will raft rivers, build lasting friendships and learn water safety. A generous Memorial Fund is enabling us to offer additional scholarships this year for Otters (ages 10-16), Ospreys (ages 15-18) as well as Ducks this year (ages 6-9)! The Scholarship application will be live on February 1st and close on March 1st. Awardees will be notified by March 15th. One scholarship per family. Any scholarship monies remaining will be awarded on a rolling basis, until funds are depleted.
Overnight camping is optional and not included in the scholarship program. That said, most families love adding camping and meals at our beautiful riverside base camp, Earthtrek. This option turns the week into a true family camp experience—not just something for the kids. While campers spend their days on the river, parents can enjoy their own adventures or downtime, then reconnect with their child each morning and evening back at camp. It’s a wonderful balance of independence and together time.
Earthtrek overnight camping fees haven’t been finalized yet, but typically run around $150 per adult, per session, which includes all breakfasts, dinners, and tent camping. To help keep this option accessible, Earthtrek has generously offered 3 free parent spots per session in exchange for work. These Earthtrek Assistants will pitch in for about 12 hours during the session, helping with meal service and cleanup (yes—dishes!), general camp tidying, trash hauling, and bathroom care. For any inquiries email Lolo, Scholarship Director, at lolomojo1@gmail.com
Otters & Ducks (ages 6-16)
Our traditional 3-day river rafting programs offers highly qualified guides, boats, gear, shuttles for put-in and take-out, two daily snacks, a riverside lunch buffet, a private link to photos and a camp gift. Kids learn to negotiate class II and III rapids on the upper and lower sections of the South Fork American River. River programs typically run from 9:00 AM - 4:00 for younger campers, and 6:00 PM for the older kids. After rafting, families can partake in our evening activities including skit night, a dance party and a themed team challenge course.
Camps that are eligible for Otters&Duck scholarship applicants include the following 8 sessions: June 14-16, June 21-23, June 28-30, July 12-14, July 19-21, July 25-28 (parent-participation camp), August 2-4, and August 9-11. Scholarships awarded are a tuition credit of $400 for Otters & Ducks; and since the tuition cost this year is $550, the parent contribution will be $150 for the experience.
Ospreys: (ages 15-18)
This is an advanced 6 day course for more experienced young paddlers who will run class III and IV sections of multiple rivers! Osprey camp will run from June 22-27 and the camp accepts up to 16 attendees. One scholarship is available for an Osprey offsetting a significant portion of the total program expenses including camping, transportation, food, logistics and rafting equipment. We anticipate a tuition of $1,500, while the scholarship reduces the family contribution to just $500, regardless of the final cost of Osprey's camp.
Some characteristics of a good scholarship applicant include, but are not limited to:
- A desire to develop leadership skills through river experiences and teamwork.
- Openness to personal growth and character development through new challenges.
- Enthusiasm for building confidence and resilience by navigating river environments.
- Ability to get along well with others and be a team player.
- An athletic foundation in sports such as skiing, surfing or organized sports.
- Willingness to explore rapidly moving cold water and dynamic swimming situations.
- While strong swimming is not a required skill, campers will be spending time floating and swimming in the river and should be comfortable with that.
JrKayaker: (ages 10+)
JrKayaker Camp is for beginner to intermediate paddlers who learn basic maneuvering skills and navigation. Instruction and location along the South Fork is tailored to each camper's abilities. We offer highly qualified instructors who will maintain small group sizes with a student to instructor ratio of 3:1! The location is out of Earthtrek camp and all logistics associated with this program are the same as described for our traditional Otter and Ducks programs. JrKayaker camp will happen concurrently with our traditional raft camps on the following sessions: June 14-16, June 28-30, July 12-14, July 19-21.
We recognize that some of the camper questions below may not be applicable to our young Ducks (ages 6-9) so just answer in a way that makes sense for you. Additionally, we will award scholarships to both experienced and inexperienced paddlers so, not to worry if you're new to rafting or Junior Guides. Thank you and we look forward to reading your application!