Portland summer camps.
136+ camps in Portland. What things cost, which weeks fill first, and how to put a summer together without losing a Saturday to spreadsheets.
136 active camps. Browse the directory →
For most Portland families, the right strategy is: pick 2–3 day camps, one specialty week (STEM, sports, or arts), and leave 1–2 weeks for family travel. Sign up for top-rated specialty camps by February; rec and community camps fill later. Use our planner to avoid double-booking across kids and weeks.
By category
By age
By feature
Ten reads for Portland parents
The planning writing we keep going back to — what camps cost, what questions actually matter, how to pick one that fits your kid. Written for families anywhere, with Portland numbers where the numbers matter.
- How to choose a summer camp — The nine questions that tell you whether a camp is actually good.
- Safety + ACA accreditation — The ten safety questions every parent should ask before sending a check.
- 2026 pricing report — What a week actually costs, broken out by city and camp type.
- Day camp vs overnight — Is your kid ready? A simple read, plus a three-year glide path.
- STEM camps guide — What a good STEM week looks like at ages 5, 9, and 13 — and how to tell real programs from expensive day-care.
- Sports camps guide — Multi-sport weeks vs single-sport intensives, and how to tell rec camps from the serious stuff.
- Arts + performing-arts — Visual art vs performing, and what to expect from audition-based programs.
- Neurodiversity-friendly camps — Mainstream camps that do inclusion well, and when a specialty program is the better call.
- Financial aid + scholarships — Where the money actually is, plus the deadlines that trip families up.
- Packing list + prep checklist — Day camp and overnight lists, what NOT to bring, and the pre-camp talk.
Questions Portland parents ask us
When should I sign up for Portland camps?
Top specialty camps (STEM, overnight, scholarship-heavy, popular city programs) fill by January-February. Traditional day camps usually have capacity into April. Rec-center drop-ins often take May sign-ups. For best selection, start researching in November.
How much should I budget for Portland camps?
Most day camps run $400-$600 a week. Overnight camps are a different animal — plan on $1,500-$2,500 a week. An eight-week summer for one kid is usually $3,000-$5,000 before any aid. See the pricing report for the full breakdown, and financial aid for ways to bring the bill down.
Are Portland camps mostly day camps or overnight?
Mostly day camps — the national split is roughly 85% day to 15% overnight, and Portland tracks that with slightly more day-camp concentration because of residential density. Browse Portland overnight camps to see the local options.
How do I find Portland camps with financial aid?
We flag camps that publicly offer need-based aid. Start with Portland camps with financial aid, then look at rec-center programs (most run sliding-scale fees) and outside scholarships. The full playbook lives in our financial aid guide.
Where the prices come from. Every camp count and dollar figure on this page is pulled from camps currently running in Portland that publish their prices. Camps that don't list a price aren't part of the averages.
What counts. Camps with 2026 sessions on the books.
Who wrote this. Parents. We don't take money to move a camp up the list — the only sponsored stuff on the site is clearly labeled where it shows.
Last updated. April 2026. Prices and camp counts refresh as we confirm them.
- Portland camps directory — full list with filters
- All planning guides
- Open the planner — shortlist + compare + assign kids to weeks