Our 95,000 gallon, wheelchair accessible pool with a ramp, is used daily during Summer Camp and throughout the year on our respite weekends. We have certified lifeguards on our staff to ensure the safety of our campers and pool time is always a great way to have fun and cool off on hot days!

As well as being used for daily swim sessions, it’s frequently integrated into our programming with activities such as an evening luau, “Camp Krem Olympic Trials”, boat races and more!

Thanks to the generosity of the Raab Foundation, HARTS, and others, we have just installed a solar thermal system. In summer, our pool will now be heated to 85 degrees, as recommended by the American Red Cross. This will make for more enjoyable swim sessions, especially for our older campers. We can expect to make better use of the pool in spring and fall as well.

To make our pool deck friendlier, we have installed more than 2,000 square feet of paving stones, with help from CalStone in Saratoga. This improvement will make sunbathing more enjoyable and reduce the amount of sand and weeds that enter the pool and our pumps. This improvement, plus many rainbow colored umbrellas, lounge chairs and water toys will make our swimming pool the center of our recreational activities.

In addition to water games and sports, we also provide swim lessons to campers wanting to improve their swimming abilities.

Our oldest and once “onlyest” building at camp was constructed in the early 1970’s and is named after the architect who designed our John Luchesse multipurpose building.

It once served as our dining hall, kitchen and multipurpose building. Its large deck faces east over the Boulder Creek valley and magnificent mountains beyond.

It now accommodates our vigorous arts and crafts program throughout the summer. In winter, its wood burning stove makes the place warm and inviting for weekend camping trips and visitors.

Thanks to the generosity of the Escher family, we now have a dedicated music pavilion in which our music therapy program meets several times a day. Our program was developed with the assistance of Professor Petra Kern, initiated by her student and now in the hands of other certified music therapists. We have done some gratifying research demonstrating the benefits of this program to our campers.

Bob Mason, one of our most wonderful neighbors began to plant fruit trees in a small meadow between our main buildings. We now have apples, persimmons, plums, peaches and nectarines. Figs and nuts will be next.

Our raised bed garden provides fruit and vegetables to our kitchen, and teaches interested campers about the cycle of life, from seedling, to blossom, to fruit, vegetable or seed. It is a foundational feature of our horticultural program.

Explore Different Senses
This soothing place in which a camper can explore stimuli to various senses, using lighting effects, color, sounds, music, scents, and a range of tactile stimuli in the gentle care of one of our senior counselors.

We have been delighted with our success, and campers typically become calm within minutes and are asleep shortly thereafter.

Importantly, we employ the same non-structured approach that marks our entire program, where the activity itself is entirely controlled by the camper himself/herself, rather than the counselor. Campers can focus on a single sense or choose a multisensory experience. This very factor of giving control to our camper is calming and reassuring. This non-structured approach enhances camper freedom and maximizes his or her comfort and pleasure, promotes relaxation and reduces anxiety and the need to shut out the outside world. Campers typically find the Space to be both comforting and fun.

Benefits of Sensory Space Time
The process allows our campers to focus their attention, form intentions and engage in satisfying activities, thereby improving communication and well-being. It does not rely on verbal communication and is therefore especially effective for campers with profound autism who are normally difficult or impossible to reach.

Our Space has other benefits at bed-time, as it also allows other campers to go to sleep undisturbed by the occasional anxious and agitated camper who would otherwise be disruptive.

Located in sheltered Bob’s Orchard between our garden and Arts and Crafts Building, it is equipped with carpets and pillows of different materials, soft toys, interesting visual effects, essential oil diffuser for aromatherapy, and a range of well-chosen soothing music.

From Robin Hood and Agincourt to Boulder Creek and Camp Krem, the great tradition of archery encourages eye-hand coordination and provides campers with a genuine sense of accomplishment and self-confidence.