154 camps found • Ages 3–18 • Prices from $7/week
Oakland's summer camp scene reflects the city's creative, community-driven character. The market spans an unusually wide range — from the well-resourced programs clustered around Rockridge and Montclair to community-focused, sliding-scale programs in Fruitvale and East Oakland. Families who dig into Oakland's camp ecosystem often discover that the city punches well above its weight for quality and variety.
Lake Merritt is Oakland's central camp anchor. The Rotary Nature Center at Lake Merritt runs nature education programs that introduce kids to the lake's wildlife and urban ecology — genuinely unique in the Bay Area context. Feather River and other paddling programs use the lake for kayak and canoe instruction. The Oakland Museum of California runs summer programs adjacent to the lake, leaning into art, history, and California identity.
The Oakland Zoo in Knowland Park hosts one of the most popular summer camp programs in the East Bay. Zoo camps blend wildlife education with hands-on science and run from late June through August. These programs book out fast — typically by March — and serve ages 4–12.
In the hills, Redwood Regional Park and Joaquin Miller Park serve as the backdrop for several outdoor adventure and wilderness skills camps. These programs are popular with Montclair and Piedmont-adjacent families, though Piedmont itself is a separate municipality. Rock climbing instruction through organizations like Touchstone Climbing also runs summer camps accessible from Oakland.
The Temescal neighborhood has become a hub for arts and maker-oriented camps, with several small-batch programs in ceramics, printmaking, and digital media that are hard to find elsewhere in the Bay Area. For STEM-focused families, a number of coding and robotics programs operate in the Uptown and Grand Lake areas.
Oakland Unified School District runs summer learning programs at select sites with subsidized pricing. Oakland Parks and Recreation offers sports and recreation camps at neighborhood parks — a strong entry point for families on a tight budget. Financial aid is more widely available across Oakland's camp ecosystem than in most Bay Area cities, reflecting the community's commitment to accessibility.
Last updated: 2026-05-03
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We are a community space, we offer summer camps, after school programs, a variety of drop in youth programs and in-store gaming! .
4920 Telegraph Avenue Suite B
Summer camp for girls and gender-expansive youth grades 1-7. Media literacy, financial literacy, performing arts, health, STEM, sports, and weekly field trips.
510 16th St, Oakland, CA 94612
Backpacking, kayaking, rock climbing, camping, and leadership activities led by trained outdoor educators
119 Filbert Street, Oakland, CA, 94607
Learn about before and after school programs at Park Day School. We offer a robust program where students can engage in optional after school enrichment programs or free play.
360 42nd St, Oakland, CA 94609
Hands-on visual arts, music, movement, and mindfulness with growth-mindset projects, creative risk-taking, exploration, and community-building
3500 Mountain Blvd, Oakland, CA, 94619
Storytelling, Mandarin, brush painting, Chinese cooking, choral and instrumental music, martial arts and lion dance
100 Lake Avenue, Piedmont, CA, 94611
Active learning and experiential education for children, teens, and adults in the San Francisco Bay Area. We provide outdoor nature camps, PreK-6 tutoring, PreK-12 English and ESL tutoring, and more!
Joaquin Miller Playground Joaquin Miller Rd
Focuses on advanced sailing skills and more challenging sailboats for students who have completed Basic Sailing Camp.
568 Bellevue Avenue
Dungeons & Dragons quests, Magic: The Gathering play, board games, crafting dice towers, painting miniatures
4920 Telegraph Ave, Suite B, Oakland, CA, 94609
We are a community space, we offer summer camps, after school programs, a variety of drop in youth programs and in-store gaming! .
4920 Telegraph Avenue Suite B
Based at Joaquin Miller Elementary, this camp offers engaging programming including crafts, play, and themed weeks for children in grades TK-6.
5525 Ascot Dr.
Located at Joaquin Miller Elementary, this camp for grades TK-6 features themed weeks, skits, crafts, and choice periods to explore individual interests.
5525 Ascot Dr.
Located at Joaquin Miller Elementary, this camp for grades TK-6 features themed weeks, skits, crafts, and choice periods to explore individual interests.
5525 Ascot Dr.
Art projects, STEAM design challenges, musical theater, and volleyball led by faculty and student mentors
5000 MacArthur Boulevard, #25, Oakland, CA, 94613
Oakland School offers a Bay Area summer camp for children ages 5-12, beginning June 22. It features a wide array of activities in arts, dance, language, math, outdoor exploration, and STEM.
Training for aspiring camp instructors to develop leadership skills and learn fundamentals of teaching boating safety.
568 Bellevue Avenue
Performance 2-person JY-15 sailing on the Oakland Estuary to build team skills and confidence.
Jack London Aquatic Center
Theater rehearsals, song and dance, aerial circus skills, crafts, group games, and field trips
3840 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA, 94619
Summer musical theater camp in Oakland. Kids create and perform in original musicals with singing, dancing, acting, and set design.
A creative LEGO building camp designed to spark imagination and interest in engineering.
40 Dulwich Rd
Theatrical performance camps designed for younger children, exploring popular themes like Moana, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid.
3840 MacArthur Blvd
Painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and mixed‑media projects guided by teaching artists in creative sessions
1221 Broadway LL-49, Oakland, CA, 94612
Community-based summer day camp at Mosswood Recreation Center. Sports, crafts, games, and enrichment activities for Oakland youth.
3612 Webster St, Oakland, CA 94609
Singing, dancing, acting, improv, and themed art projects with a Friday performance and pizza
4660 Harbord Drive, Oakland, CA, 94618
A one-week outdoor adventure camp for 2nd-7th graders focusing on mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, and paddling (SUP/kayaking) in authentic local settings.
Oakland, CA 94612
A one-week outdoor adventure camp for 2nd-7th graders focusing on mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, and paddling (SUP/kayaking) in authentic local settings.
Oakland, CA 94612
Multi-sport summer day camp in Oakland featuring soccer, basketball, flag football, dodgeball, and team sports for kids ages 5-14. Affordable sports programming for East Bay families with trained coaches. Weekly sessions, outdoor activities, recreation and athletics focus.
12000 Campus Dr
Daily ballet technique and pointe classes, repertoire, choreography, rehearsals, and end‑of‑week informal performance
2501 Industrial Pkwy W, Hayward, CA, 94545
Explore art, history, and nature at Oakland Cemetery’s 2025 summer camps. Fun crafts, games, lessons, and experiments await kids ages 6-11 at our affordable Atlanta day camps, offered for Winter Break, Spring Break, Summer Break, and Fall Break. Sign up now!
Oakland Feather River Camp provides a diverse Bay Area summer experience for children aged 5-12, featuring activities in arts, dance, language, music, outdoor adventure, STEM, and theater.
Showing 30 of 154 camps
Oakland summer camps range from free (OUSD learning programs, city park programs for qualifying families) to $600/week for specialty arts or science camps. The average private day camp runs $300–$450/week — generally lower than SF or Palo Alto. Many providers offer financial aid; ask directly or look for the badge on KidPlanr.
Oakland's camp scene skews more arts-forward and community-rooted than Silicon Valley cities. You'll find more ceramics, printmaking, theater, and community-focused outdoor programs. The Oakland Zoo camp, Lake Merritt-based nature programs, and Redwood Regional Park wilderness camps are genuinely unique to Oakland.
Yes — Rockridge and Temescal have some of the highest camp density in Oakland. Several arts programs, a strong YMCA presence, and private school summer programs cluster in this corridor. The Rockridge BART station makes drop-off convenient for families commuting from other East Bay cities.
More Oakland camps offer financial aid than in most Bay Area cities. YMCA East Bay, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland Zoo camps, and many independent providers have scholarship programs. Start applications in January — most financial aid decisions are made by March.
Most Oakland camps open registration in January or February. The Oakland Zoo camp and Oakland Museum programs open in late January and fill quickly. City recreation programs often open in March. Check KidPlanr for registration links and camp-specific opening dates.
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