TLDR: Family Camp is a summer vacation with lasting impact at Glorieta Adventure Camps. It’s designed to bring families closer to the Lord and to each other. At Family Camp, teenagers can choose from a wide array of adventures, feel a powerful sense of community and belonging, gain new experiences, and feel more connected to their families.

Family Camp at Glorieta has life-changing adventures designed for every member of the family. Every camper, no matter how old,  can walk away with a memory to treasure or an experience that broadens their perspective. That goes for teenagers as well! Here are six ways teenagers can enjoy Family Camp:

#1 Adventures for Every Interest

Part of what makes Family Camp at Glorieta fun for the whole family is the wide range of adventures available. Some campers might find that scaling the rock climbing wall or practicing paddle board yoga is enough adventure for one day. Others crave high-speed ziplines and exciting mountain bike trails.  Family Camp has a range of activities that will keep both the thrill-seeking teen and calmer teen happy and wanting to come back year after year. 

Family Camp at Glorieta is designed for the whole family, and that includes the adventure limits and preferences that each family comes with! 

#2 Community & Belonging

Many sessions of Family Camp have every generation represented. This creates a unique environment difficult to achieve at school or youth group. Parents, grandparents, young kids, peers, Glorieta full-time staff, Glorieta  summer staff, and adult volunteers are all present and active at Family Camp. 

Not only that. Families attend Family Camp to grow closer to the Lord and each other. Which means there are a lot of godly influences or other Christian families to connect with at Family Camp. This gives teenagers a chance to feel a powerful sense of connectedness within a godly community and make friends who also love the Lord.

The multi-generational and Christ-centered aspect of Family Camp at Glorieta creates a sense of community that is often hard to find in today’s world. When teens have fun and ace new challenges within a community, they often feel a sense of belonging. It gives them a chance to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves, something they can contribute to. And the effects of that continue long after the family returns home.

#3 Teen Night 

Teen Night at Family Camp is a popular highlight of the week. It’s an activity slot supervised by Glorieta summer staff designed for the teens of Family Camp to adventure together. They experience activities and games unique to Teen Night and have a chance to connect with the other teens attending Family Camp. It’s fun, it’s memorable, and it’s a great way for teens to have their own adventure during the week.

 

#4 New Experiences Around Every Corner

If you have kids, you know: it’s human nature to seek out new experiences. Teens especially are at a point in life where they want to carve out their own experiences and set their own opinions. 

Well, Family Camp at Glorieta  is chock FULL of new experiences (even for families who come back every year)! This gives teens a chance to keep taking on new challenges and experiencing adventures for themselves in a safe and Christ-centered environment. They can challenge themselves on Via Ferrata (horizontal  rock climbing with obstacles), take on a guided hike or mountain bike ride, complete a relay with their family, and even try new food.

These kinds of experiences are deeply valuable at this time in their lives. Family Camp gives teens new experiences they can reflect on and grow from as they continue to learn about themselves and their families. 

#5 Permission to Play

Here at Glorieta, we’re proud of our Permission to Play values. This is an adventure camp! Even the most serious teens who may feel hesitant about appearing silly in any way are given a big green pass to have FUN. This break from the typical social pressure at school and their increasing responsibilities is so good for teens.

There are plenty of calm and reflective moments at Family Camp. But each day is bookended with fun: high-speed ziplines, foam parties, paddle boarding, late-night activities, group challenges, themed dinners, even dance parties. 

At Family Camp, teens get an escape from the daily stresses of becoming their own person and take time to play again.

Their time at Family Camp will give them less time on screens, too. There is cell phone service on our campus, so parents can set the rules for what their teens’ phone access looks like at Family Camp. But there are so many real-life activities going on that scrolling just can’t compete with. Real-life activities like you’ll find at Family Camp give teenagers a chance to step away from screens and gain hands-on experiences while they’re here. 

#6 Families Understand Each Other

Away from everyday routines and the roles each member plays inside those routines, families gain a new understanding of each other at Family Camp. Teens get to see Mom’s funny side or Dad’s hidden sense of adventure. Parents get to see teens take on new challenges and bond with their younger siblings. Family Camp creates a yearly reset where busy families can discover who they are outside of the roles they already know each other in. This is often a delightful surprise to both teens and parents.

Exactly What Our Family Needed

Enough from me … I want to end with a quote from a parent of teenagers who came to Family Camp in 2026. This is what the Glorieta Family Camp experience is all about!

“This camp was the perfect amount of adventure for us to be able to pull our teenagers back in close for the week! We got to be courageous together, laugh at mom (me) together, read scripture together, worship together, play together, eat every meal together… this is exactly what our family needed! Perfect balance of adventure and intentional time to slow down.” — Kali, Family Camper