campamento del verano de la bahia

by Ingrid Spetz

Bay Camp, Bay Camp, Bay Camp — I’ve been eating, dreaming and breathing Bay Camp for what feels like an eternity now. And it is finally here! On Sunday, we opened with Camp Kick-off Family Day, and it was wonderful to bring a group of families out to see and experience the threshold to San Pablo Bay.

​We began our activities at the water’s edge with a marsh treasure hunt and looked through spotting scopes at San Francisco in the distance, framed by the Richmond Bridge. Then, we all boarded the camp bus and headed across farmland to the Ralph Benson Center at the Baylands, where a barbecue, face painting, cycling and other fun activities awaited us.

It was a hot day, but there was a nice breeze coming off the bay and it was well below the 108 degrees that the people inland were experiencing. I greatly enjoyed getting to know some of the camp families and it was such a delight to introduce people to this treasure in our backyard.

This 5+-mile stretch of trail system has been open daily to the public for over a year now and already the landscape has begun to transform. I am looking forward to the day when these children at Bay Camp will bring their children here and say, “I remember when…”

I feel so honored to be a part of facilitating that legacy of experience.

Bay Camp is a bilingual day camp for children ages 7 to 12. To learn more, click here.

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Ingrid Spetz is Sonoma Land Trust's outings manager.