Programs for 7-12-year-olds start this Saturday and Sunday
By Lee Juillerat for Ashland.news
Mt. Ashland begins a new summer program, Youth Adventure Days, this weekend.
The program targets youth who are 7- to 12-years-old and, according to officials, gives them “the opportunity to make friends and explore all Mt. Ashland has to offer during the summer.”
Activities include hiking, games, guided nature walks, arts and crafts, wildlife and plant identification, disc golf, cornhole toss, leatherwork and crafts, leave-no-trace education, exploration and adventure. Three-hour sessions are being offered both mornings and afternoons. Advance registration is required.
Along with this Saturday and Sunday, June 17 and 18, other Adventure Days are scheduled July 1 and 2, July 15 and 16, Aug. 5 and 6, and Aug. 19 and 20. Each session must have at least four participants. Sessions without enough pre-registered participants are subject to cancellation. The morning sessions will run from 9 a.m. to noon with the afternoon sessions from 1 to 4 p.m. Registrations can be done online at mtashland.com//?keyword=adventuredays2023.
Parents are encouraged to stay at or around the ski area-lodge to hikes, join other activities and visit the lodge.
Required items for youth participants include sunscreen, water battle, daypack, a warm/water resistant (the weather on Mt. Ashland can change quickly), clothing that can get dirty, sneakers or strapped athletic sandals (no flip flops), snacks and emergency medicines, such as an inhaler or epi pen.
Recommended items include hats, sunglasses, change of clothes in case of an accident, bug spray, bathing suit and towel, especially for water-based activities.
Participants are asked not to carry cell phones or toys from home.
Check-in will be done at the lodge for morning and full-day sessions by 8:45 a.m. Pick-up times are noon for morning-only sessions and 4 p.m. for afternoon and full-day session participants. Full-day participants are required to bring a lunch or make arrangements to obtain food at the lodge.
The Mt. Ashland Ski Area lodge and café are open weekends through Labor Day. Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. while Sunday hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“The wildflowers will be blooming and the lodge is the perfect place for a family afternoon, drinks at sunset, or for doing a little remote work,” Mt. Ashland officials said in a news release. “There is no better place to get out of the heat and take in the amazing views from the tallest mountain in the Siskiyou Range. Trails are opening up and we’ve got plenty of hikes that start at the lodge. Plus, our retail shop is stocked for your summer.”
Along with youth programs, Mt. Ashland is a venue for several running activities, including this Saturday’s Mt. Ashland Hill Climb, a 13-mile run that begins in downtown Ashland and finishes at Mt. Ashland’s summit. Other events include the June 24 Mt. Ashland Trail, a run or hike that will begin and end at the lodge. Participants can complete one or two loops, each 3.9 miles. Set for July 8 is the Siskiyou Outback Trail Festival with four different distances: 15, 50 and 100 kilometers and 50-miles.
For information on summer activities, visit the Mt. Ashland website at mt.ashland.com.
Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at 337lee337@charter.net.
