Welcome Staff Members

Thank you for your interest in becoming a staff member at Mountain Camp Woodside. Summer 2025 applications are available here.  Please reach out to our Program Director Mike, [email protected], with any questions.

Not ready to apply? Leave your email HERE to get our email updates.

 

Positions are available for experienced, responsible and enthusiastic young leaders who want to work with children in a positive, outdoor environment. Position descriptions and details can be found here. Skills such as certified lifeguards, guitar and mountain biking are highly desirable. Some specific positions such as videographer, photographer and musician will be asked to submit videos or examples of their work.

Typically, We hire about 10% of the staff through international placement agencies, bringing in qualified instructors and counselors from Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. International staff bring a wonderful diversity of culture and experience to camp.

We hire Day Counselors from the local Bay Area, including places such as Menlo Park, Redwood City, Belmont, San Jose, and San Francisco.

Our Purpose

To inspire a community where friendships, creativity, experiential learning, healthy life choices, values, and character are nurtured through recreational challenges.

Campers

We welcome an average of 150+ day campers and 50+ resident campers each session, about 50/50 boys and girls. Campers range in age from 5-15 years old (Kindergarten-9th grade).

The majority of our campers come from communities around the Bay Area. We get a small percentage of campers from around the United States and about 1% from other countries.

Program

Our program is designed to balance independence, choice, challenge, and community. We strive to provide an environment where kids grow by feeling comfortable enough to step outside their comfort zones and try new things. Our staff is the most important component in creating an amazing camp experience for our campers.

Camp is divided into four (4) smaller camps: Cubs (K-1st Grade), Blazers (2nd-3rd grade), Trackers (3rd-5th grade), and Alpiners (5th+). Within these smaller camps, campers are divided into groups by gender and age. Campers start off each day in their group and eat lunch together. For the rest of the day, campers choose their own activities. After the Day Campers leave, the Resident Campers go into their dorm groups. The camp comes together for Evening Program and finishes the night in dorm groups.

All counselors are assigned a group each week. Counselors also typically lead activities for 3-4 periods per day. Each period is an hour long. Resident Counselors have a dorm group as well.

Basic Requirements

Resident Counselors must be 19 years old or have completed at least a year of college or equivalent. Day Counselors must be 18 or have graduated high school or 16 for our Junior Counselors. All counselors are responsible for being CPR and First Aid certified before they arrive at camp.

All Resident applicants are expected to be able to work from the beginning of staff training until the end of pack-up (June 2nd-August 4th). For Day Staff Applicants, we have more flexibility.  We prefer applicants that can work a majority of the summer, but do hire counselors for partial summers.

Training and Support

Mountain Camp Woodside provides a week-long Staff Training before the summer sessions begin. This week is spent orienting counselors to all aspects of camp and the job, including working with campers, leading activities, traditions, skits and songs, rules and regulations and emergency procedures.

We are committed to helping counselors excel at their jobs. Ongoing support for counselors is provided throughout the summer in many forms. Directors and Lead Counselors are available at all hours for mentoring, advice and support. Counselors receive 2-3 “Check-In’s” during the summer for reflection and feedback on their job performance.

At Mountain Camp Woodside, we have a camper/staff ratio of approximately 4:1 for Resident Camp and 7:1 for day camp.

Check out our Staff Positions page for descriptions of the positions available for the upcoming summer.