Four Dogpatch Paddle campers on the path at Crane Cove Park, arms around each other, one still wearing her life jacket

Welcome to paddle camp

Camper information

Everything a camp family needs before Monday morning.

Drop off9:00am

Pick up3:00pm

WhereCrane Cove Park

Text us415-484-9322

Our days mix on-water sessions with beach and park activities. When wind or conditions dictate we’ll stay protected; on calm, glassy days we may take longer adventure paddles, with lunch at Mission Bay or Mission Creek Park. Expect your camper to come home tired and happy.

Read this bit if you read nothing else

Sunscreen goes on before drop off. Sunburn is the most common injury we see at camp. We remind campers to reapply all day, and anything you can do to set them up for that helps.
Shoes that can get wet, worn on land. Cut feet are the second most common, and the shoreline rocks are why. Flip flops, crocs or water shoes.
A full lunch, snacks and a big water bottle. We work them hard and they need the energy.
Paperwork finished before Monday. We check every camper in against it, so it has to be complete before the first morning. It lives in your registration.

Drop off and pick up

Crane Cove Park, 701 Illinois Street. Camp runs 9:00 to 3:00 at our tent on the park. Come in on the Crane Cove access road from 18th Street, and keep the line moving so everyone gets in on time.

Arriving and leaving

The access roadTurn in off 18th Street and carry on past the YMCA, down into the park.

The loading zoneBy the crane. Park perpendicular to the curb, five minutes at most, so it keeps moving for the family behind you.

Signing inAn authorised adult signs campers in and out each day, unless you have chosen self check-in and check-out in your registration.

Who can collectCampers are released to the adults named in your registration. Update that list any time in CampBrain.

The windows

Camp day9:00 to 3:00. Staff are setting up and breaking down gear either side of that, so those are the hours we can supervise.

Before care8:00 to 9:00am. Drop off any time in the window.

After care3:00 to 6:00pm. Collect any time in the window.

Where they areBetween 3:00 and 5:30 the after-care group is often in a park nearby. If they are not at Crane Cove, text us and we will point you at them.

Extended care is added at registration and the rates are on the camps page. If you decide on the day, ask at the shop and we will ring up a single day at a pro-rated rate.

How a camp week runs

Weather sets the plan, so no two weeks are the same shape. Every one of them runs 9:00 to 3:00, and three things are always true.

Monday

Sign in at the tent at nine and the day starts straight away: names, stretching, pod games, the safety briefing, and where the boundaries are on the water. The briefing comes first, so campers need to be there for it. Counsellors watch how everyone paddles on the first day and will move a camper between the beginner and intermediate groups if that suits them better.

Most days

A morning paddle, lunch and land games around noon, then back on the water in the afternoon. Beginners stay close to base and build skills; intermediate campers go farther, and some days stay out through the middle of the day. Gear is cleaned and stored, and campers are ready for pick up at three.

Friday

Food truck day. The group heads over to Spark Social at 12:30 and is back at the cove for the afternoon. Send a card if your camper is buying, order ahead so it is waiting for them, or pack a lunch as usual and they picnic with everyone else.

What we provide

Included with every camper

Everything your camper paddles with is ours. A board or kayak sized to them, a paddle, and a leash that stays on for every SUP session. A life jacket for every paddler, and they are welcome to bring their own instead. Bags, towels and dry clothes stay in the bins at camp while they are on the water.

What to pack

San Francisco is layer weather and Dogpatch runs sunny, so pack for a warm day with one cool hour in it. Whatever you forget, the shop has: flip flops, rash guards, sun shirts, hoodies, wetsuits, sunscreen, towels and changing robes.

On their feet

Flip flops, crocs, sport sandals or water shoes. Cut feet are the second most common injury we see, and the shoreline rocks are why, so this is the one thing not to improvise. They should be comfy, grippy and fine to get wet. Worn on land and on the way in and out of the water; barefoot on the boards and boats.

Most days here

Warm and sunny

A bathing suit, worn under everything else
A long-sleeve rash guard or sun shirt, not cotton
A hat, and sunglasses on a strap

When it breezes up

Cool or windy

The same, plus a hoodie or a warm layer
A shorty wetsuit if your camper runs cold and wants to swim a lot
Most campers wear no wetsuit at all, and there is a longer answer below

Every day, in the bag

Lunch and dry clothes

A full lunch and snacks for an active day
1 to 2 litres of water. Refills are at the drinking fountain by the restrooms
A towel or poncho towel, and a full change of clothes

Also

Sunscreen, already on
A card if they buy from the shop
Their name on everything

Medication comes to us at check in, in its original packaging and listed on the medical form. That includes inhalers and EpiPens.

Camp rules

Share these with your camper before the first morning. Counsellors go through them at circle time on Monday, and again whenever the group changes what it is doing.

Strong swimming comfort, and ready for active outdoor days
Listen to counsellors; follow instructions on land and water
PFDs and SUP leashes are required on the water
Give wildlife space, 50 feet, and no feeding or touching
No touching pilings, piers, buoys, boats or hazards
No horseplay or jousting on boards; help keep everyone safe
If you fall in: stay calm and climb back on your board or boat
If someone else falls in: alert a counsellor, don’t jump in
Pack out trash, and grab litter with your paddle when it’s safe
Have a lot of fun

Good to know

Wetsuits or not?Generally we don’t recommend them for paddle boarding or kayaking. They make kids overly hot and restrict movement, and if a camper goes in it’s usually only for a moment, which on a sunny day is a refreshing escape. If your child runs cold and wants to swim a lot, a shorty might make sense; we wouldn’t recommend a full suit. We sell a small selection of shorties in the shop.

Swimming and wadingCampers wade in the buoyed near-shore area, and wear a life jacket and follow staff direction on the water at all times. Crane Cove has historical submerged hazards, so there is no swimming off that beach. On sunny days we often take the group somewhere away from the cove to swim.

Which group they’re inBeginner and intermediate camps run alongside each other, and counsellors see how every camper paddles on the first morning. If a move up or down would give your child a better week we’ll say so, and you can ask us about it at any point. We’d rather they were in the group that fits.

Bathrooms and changingCrane Cove has new public restrooms, and campers use them with a counsellor’s permission. Younger campers are always accompanied. Changing after water time happens there, and we have a rinse station and a changing room at the shop.

The shopSnacks, drinks and frozen treats, plus the gear list above. It takes cards only, so a card in your camper’s bag is what tells us they’re allowed to buy. Let us know at check in if there’s anything they shouldn’t have.

Photos of the weekCounsellors upload to your session’s album through the week, so new shots keep arriving. The link comes to you in your camp email. Encourage campers to stay present and let us handle the pictures. If you’d rather your camper wasn’t identifiable in them, tell us and we’ll flag it.

PhonesFor reaching you, and that’s all. No phone use during activities, and phones stay in the bins with the rest of their things while campers are on the water.

If they miss a dayText us and we’ll plan around it. Their board will be ready when they’re back. Refunds and credits run on the cancellation policy.

Day-of helpText 415-484-9322 or email camp@dogpatchpaddle.com. If the shop is briefly unstaffed, head down to the Crane Cove beach and text us.

While they are at camp You have six hours. Drop off at nine, be in the sauna by quarter past. 190° in the sauna, 49° in the plunge, five minutes from the beach. Book a session → From the journal Birthdays on the water. What a party at Crane Cove actually looks like, for the birthday that needs to beat last year. Read the post →

Rentals Take a boat out while they are on the water from $40/hr Camps Sessions, ages and what separates the three camps from $799 Cancellations Refund windows for camp and everything else Read

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