Dear friends,

The leaves are changing, the air is getting cooler, and the Grand has had its first dusting of snow. That means it’s time for Coombs Outdoors’ fall programs to begin!

After a short break to focus on getting back to school, this week we welcome more than 60 participants back to the Coombs Clubhouse for afterschool activities. These 8-week fall programs allow us to stay connected with our participants and families between the busier summer and winter seasons, and help kids stay engaged, active, supported, and off of screens while parents are still at work.

After sprinting to the finish line of summer and Old Bill’s Fun Run season, we’re now ready to share lots of incredible memories and meaningful highlights of camp season. Once again we had a record summer of programs, with 300 participants adventuring through day camp activities, backpacking trips, and clubs for skills from rock climbing to ukulele. Read on for a recap of a warm and fuzzy summer season.

Thank you for making these programs possible for more and more local kids every season.

Happy fall,

Jenny Wolfrom Holladay

P.S. We are making significant progress on our capital campaign that will ensure our new building can be our forever home. If you are interested in a tour or pledging your support to the Coombs Clubhouse Campaign, please reach out to me at jenny@coombsoutdoors.org or stop by 85 W. Snow King Ave.

Summer Stats

300 total participants in summer programs
630 enrollment spots across offerings
3,820 camper days
156 elementary schoolers in summer day camp
15 campers in Ukulele Club with Grand Teton Music Festival
92 middle and high schoolers on backpacking trips throughout Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, the Wind River Range, and more
100+ elementary campers accessing swim lessons
48 middle schoolers in skills-based day programs for swimming, biking, climbing, and kayaking
60+ participants joining evening skills clubs for rock climbing, mountain biking, and trail running/hiking
14 high school interns working with 7 community partners
68 new participants in their very first Coombs program

Activate Summer Camp

This year’s Activate summer camp gave 156 elementary schoolers the chance to try new activities, make friends, and have fun in the sun. We have further strengthened our partnerships even more this year to provide more collaborative programming from rafting and rock climbing to art and music. With new things happening every day, it seems like Activate campers do it all!

Here are some favorite Activate activities from this summer:

paddleboarding & beach day at R Park
tubing in the river
eating snacks and popsicles
finding cool rocks, bugs, and flowers
swimming and climbing at the Rec Center
creating at the JH Children’s Museum
rafting with Snake River Fund & Dave Hansen
exploring summer at Snow King
learning how to fish
rock climbing with Exum Mountain Guides
arts and crafts with the National Museum of Wildlife Art and Tatt Craft Co.
making masks, slime, and friendship bracelets
skateboarding with Carving the Future
riding the tram at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
hiking and camping in Grand Teton National Park
overnights at Camp New Fork with Wilderness Adventures
ukulele club with Grand Teton Music Festival
and more!

Engage Summer Programs

Multi-day trips

This year we ran an even wider range of multi-day trips for our middle and high schoolers to offer new challenges, spectacular scenery, and unforgettable memories with friends. Most continued our backpacking tradition, but some also incorporated paddle trips on lakes and rivers. Destinations included Yellowstone National Park, the Wind River Range, and Grand Teton National Park. More than 90 participants joined these trips and consider them a meaningful opportunity to unplug, connect with each other, develop leadership skills, and practice overcoming challenges. Special shoutout to Wilderness Adventures for collaborating for our longer trips!

Skills Programs: Day camps and evening clubs

Our Engage summer programs for middle and high schoolers have evolved over the last few years with feedback from participants and their families, prioritizing opportunities for our older participants to pursue their interests, stay active and off of screens, challenge themselves, and build community. In addition to the backpacking trips we have been offering for years, last year we offered a few skills progression programs where participants could focus on activities like rock climbing, mountain biking, paddlesports, swimming, and hiking. These were so successful and popular that we fully incorporated them into our Engage camp structure this year, offering skills-based day camps every single week through the summer. On top of these programs, we offer biking, climbing, and trail running/hiking clubs in the evenings so participants can come after the camp or workday ends. Over 100 participants joined us for these day and evening skills programs this summer, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen the program next year.

Empower Summer Internships

This summer we had 14 high school participants working competitively paid internships at local organizations and businesses including REI, Stio, Teton Physical Therapy, Hole Food Rescue, Trout Unlimited, Snow King Mountain, and Coombs Outdoors. Both new and returning interns had great experiences exploring career opportunities, connecting with our community, and building professional skills. Thanks to all our interns and our partner employers for a successful summer!

Thank you for supporting us through the Coombs Cup Golf Challenge!

The 2025 Coombs Cup event was a huge success, and we are so grateful for everyone who joined us. We love this opportunity to connect with our community over some friendly competition! Thanks to the generosity of event attendees and sponsors, we raised significant funds to support our programming.

Summer Recap 2025