Following a temporary lapse in the school district’s summer programming due to ongoing construction, the City of Gunnison’s Parks and Rec Department plans to fill in the gaps.
Summer Experience, the Gunnison Watershed School District’s six-week program for Gunnison and Crested Butte kindergarten, elementary and middle school students, will not run this summer. Superintendent Leslie Nichols cited ongoing renovation and site work on the school campuses for the 2025 cancellation, according to a Jan. 13 email sent to parents.
The program previously hosted students in morning sessions throughout June and July at a cost of $25 per student for the six-week course. As parents scrambled to find other child care options, City of Gunnison Recreation Supervisor Ginny Baylor began brainstorming, hoping to create a substitute that mirrors Summer Experience’s half-day programs.
Parks and Rec teamed up with local organizations this month to find ways to match the district’s low-cost summer camp model. Despite financial aid from Gunnison County and scholarships from the Gunnison Rotary Club, it is still likely parents will face higher summer camp costs than previous years.
“We needed to find a way to allow access and eliminate barriers,” Baylor said. “For some families who are used to the school’s programming, this will be a chunk of change, and that certainly weighs heavily on me. But we’ve figured out a way to drive the cost down as much as possible, and I hope it is accessible for everyone in our community.”
This month, Gunnison County agreed to cover half of staffing costs, reducing the anticipated student fees by nearly half, Baylor said. Early Childhood Council Coordinator Lana Athey, and members of the Gunnison County Substance Abuse Prevention Project (GCSAPP) are requesting help from MetRec. If their grant request is approved, the group would use the money to offer scholarships for families to put toward their summer program of choice. The Rotary Club is also offering $1,000 awards to Gunnison nonprofits “expanding, discounting or making free their summer programs to accommodate more young people.”
After gauging the community need, Parks and Rec founded the “Rec-Trek Summer Club,” as an addition to its perennial summer camp programs such as rock climbing, baseball and swim lessons, among others. Similar to Summer Experience, Rec-Trek plans to offer morning programming for incoming first through sixth graders.
The program will stretch from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday from June 9-26, and then again from July 7-24. Rec-Trek will be divided into four clubs: outdoor recreation, arts and crafts, sports and a field-trip based “community connection” camp. Each club will meet on a select day of the week. The cost is $120 per club. For example, $120 will cover all six weeks of art camp on Tuesdays, while roughly $480 will cover all four clubs for six weeks, Baylor said.
Although summer camp costs may be higher, Nichols said the school district remained thankful for the community’s response to the 2025 Summer Experience cancellation.
“I’m so grateful for the community support to fill this gap while we’re under construction,” Nichols said. “We’re so appreciative.”
In addition to the Rec-Trek Summer Club, Western Colorado University’s Junior Mountaineers, the Mountain Roots Food Project and the Go Girls Mountain Bike summer camps plan to expand to cover other gaps this summer, Baylor said. The Rec Center will also host babysitting classes to prepare siblings to watch over little ones when parents are away. Registration for summer programs opens on March 10.
More information can be found at gunnisonco.gov/summercamp.
(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@gunnisontimes.com.)
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