Backpacking

Picture yourself leaning against your backpack. Your tent is setup.  Your sleeping bag is laid out. This is home for the next two nights. You feel that sense of accomplishment that comes with carrying everything you need to survive for multiple days in the wilderness. Maybe you are camping at Michigan Lakes at treeline as you look up at Static and Richtofen peaks. Or you are at the Battle Mountain campground in the shadow of Longs Peak. Wherever home is tonight, it will be spent under the stars with your friends. 

For many campers, backpacking is one of the most rewarding activities at camp. Campers learn teamwork as they share the load. They learn perseverance as they challenge themselves along the trail. They build a small community on each trip that works together towards the common good. The conversations that happen in the backcountry are the ones you remember for a lifetime.

"He who stays in the valley will never experience the view from the mountaintop."
Trigger Bill

Our backpacking counselors are versed in what to bring and how to pack for a backpacking summer camp experience. They will guide you in packing essentials like food, tents and rain gear. Cheley Camps provides the packs, the tents, and the stoves. You will supply the muscle and the grit to successfully complete the trip. 

"Backpacking was my favorite activity at camp. It taught me how to get out of my comfort zone. It was thrilling and so rewarding to say ‘I did it’!"
Tyler, Cheley camper

Backpackers go out in groups of 8-10 for two to five days backpacking at summer camp. You learn how to take care of your equipment and receive instruction in Colorado backcountry camping and survival skills. You experience incredible scenery and invigorating activity from sun-up to sundown. Best of all, you develop an appreciation for what it means to live with just the basics. Spending time in the wilderness is tremendously freeing. And each of the Colorado backpacking campers at Cheley return to camp feeling an unforgettable sense of accomplishment and a new level of independence.

View some of our Rocky Mountain backpacking destinations below:
Battle Mountain
Boulder Brook
Never Summers Range
Indian Peaks
Sandbeach Lake
Parika Lake
Michigan Lake
Fourth of July
Red Deer Lake
Thunder Lake