Portland Summer Camps 2026: From Forest School to Tech Intensives

Portland summer camps are as eclectic as the city itself. You'll find forest schools that meet in the Cascades, tech intensives on the PSU campus, circus arts programs, and sailing camps on the Willamette. Picking the right one requires knowing the landscape.

Camp Fire Columbia

Oregon's oldest and largest youth development organization. Multiple camp programs in the Cascades and Columbia River Gorge area. Overnight and day options, strong environmental education component. Financial assistance widely available.

Ages: 5–18 | Cost: $350–$1,200/week depending on program

"Portland camps feel different — they're community-made rather than corporate-produced. That authenticity is worth paying attention to."

Oregon Museum of Science (OMSI) Summer Camps

Week-long science camps at Portland's premier science museum. Themes rotate annually — 2026 offerings include rocketry, biotechnology, marine science, and programming. The robotics camps consistently sell out within days of registration opening.

Ages: 5–15 | Cost: $400–$600/week | Register early

Forest Discovery Center Nature Camps

Located in the Tualatin Valley, Forest Discovery Center runs what may be Oregon's best forest education programs. Kids spend 80% of each day outside — tree identification, stream science, wildlife tracking. Legitimately transformative.

Portland Circus Arts Youth Programs

Portland has a serious circus arts community, and the youth programs at Circus Project and Saraswati's Snake are accessible, physically demanding, and joyful in a way that's hard to find elsewhere.

POW! Science Enrichment Portland

Weekend and summer programs in chemistry, physics, and biology for Portland-area kids. The curriculum is hands-on and genuinely challenging. The instructors are working scientists teaching part-time.

Browse our Portland summer camp listings for current registration windows.