Crafty Critters:
Create with Nature!
Unleash your creativity and bring your ideas to life in Crafty Critters Camp! Using natural materials from the world around us, we’ll craft beautiful, fun, and useful creations—all with our own two hands!
- Weaving & Basketry – Create strong and beautiful baskets from free-form woven honeysuckle.
- Felting & Fiber Arts – Use soft wool to craft your own unique neck pouches with wet and needle felting techniques.
- Natural Dyes – Transform silk scarves or bandanas into colorful masterpieces using plant-based dyes.
- Rock Painting – Grind up creek stones to make your own natural paint and decorate the world around you.
- Gourd Crafting – Turn dried gourds into beautiful fruit bowls or small eating bowls.
- Bamboo Creations – Craft your own functional chopsticks or cups from this amazing natural material.
- Pottery – Mold pinch pots and beads from clay, just like ancient artisans!
With endless opportunities for imagination and hands-on fun, Crafty Critters Camp is the perfect place for young makers to explore, create, and turn nature into art!
Are you ready to craft something amazing?
Camp Details
Ages:
7-8 at Shope Creek
6-8 at Hutch Mountain
Sessions:
June 29 – July 3 (at Hutch Mountain)
July 13-17 (at Shope Creek)
Price: $421
- Monthly payment plans are available
- $100 non-refundable deposit due at registration
- Work-Trade & Tuition Assistance are available
If you are able, please consider donating to our Scholarship Fund with this form or by selecting an appropriate tuition option during the registration process.
Registration
Registration for 2026 camps has begun and Staggered Lottery Registration is underway for those who registered in advance. We'll move to Open Enrollment without limits on February 6. Refer to the "Full Details on Lottery & Donor Spots" toggle below.
Camps fill fast. We offer payment plans and waitlists. Waitlists are activated frequently as family plans change. See which camps have open spots on our registration portal.
We now have three camp locations with different drop-off and pick-up logistics, some with shuttles available. Shuttle reservations are free and must be added to your order to reserve a spot.
More Information
Click to expand the toggle sections below for more detailed information.
Full Details on Lottery & Donor Spots
Forest Floor 2026 Summer Camp Registration Info:
Lottery, Staggered Registration, and Donor Spots
- Please read this thoroughly, there is a lot of important information here.
Lottery Sign Up to Receive an Early Staggered Registration Slot
- Fill out this form once for EACH child you wish to enroll in summer camp.
- Deadline to submit your child's name(s) for the lottery is Feb 2nd at midnight.
- his will give you a spot in our Staggered Registration Times so that you can register your kids for Summer Camps
- On the evening of Tuesday, Feb 3rd all families who filled out this form by the deadline will receive an email with their assigned day and time for registration access, as well as a link to real time information about camp schedules and availability.
Staggered Registration Times
- Wednesday, Feb 4th begins the Staggered Registration phase of the process, with time slots set throughout the days on Wednesday, 2/4 and Thursday, 2/5.
- At your appointed registration time, you will get an email with an access code that will allow you to register that day. This is different than your personal Jumbula account password (our registration system). TIP: Log into your Jumbula account ahead of time to make sure you can easily access the website at your registration time.
- Each time slot will include a mix of returning families and new families
- Shortly before your appointed time slot we encourage you to check the Camp Availability page for updates on spots left in each camp.
- Once given access you can register ALL your kids at that time, with a limit of two camps per child.
- If the camps you want are full, definitely sign up for that camp's waitlist. We regularly have cancellations and pull from the waitlist, especially as we get closer to the start of summer. There is no limit to the number of waitlists you can sign up for.
- On Friday, Feb 6th we will transition from the Staggered Registration phase to Open Enrollment, allowing anyone to register for the remaining spots and removing the two camp per child limit and all access codes.
- Families that didn't sign-up for the Lottery will have to wait until Open Enrollment is activated on Friday, 2/6 to register for camp.
- If you want your child to ride the shuttle from HCC to our camp location at Shope Creek, you must reserve one of the limited shuttle van spots at the same time you are registering for camps.
- Shuttle van seats are listed as their own camp on the Camp Availability page. Please don't register for a shuttle if you are on the waitlist for a camp and not fully registered for the camp!
- Sadly, our system is unable to accommodate families wanting to register with their friends at the same time.
Back By Popular Demand: Donor Spots for Early Access
- Beginning Wednesday Jan. 28th, before the Staggered Registration Phase begins, we will open up a few spots in each camp for Donor Families.
- Donor families will have the opportunity to make a $200 donation (per camp) to our Scholarship Fund on top of the cost of each week of summer camp in order to gain early access to registration for that camp.
- 100% of your donation will go directly to giving other kids access to our programs.
- To access the donor spots and register early, log onto our summer camp page anytime between Wednesday Jan. 28th and Tuesday Feb. 3rd.
- We will also send out a newsletter when these donor spots open.
- More information about Tuition Assistance and Scholarships can be found here.
Shope Creek Shuttles - Reservations Required
- The default drop-off/pick-up location for our Shope Creek Wilderness location is directly at the camp location.
- Alternatively, shuttle vans provide roundtrip transportation from our in-town location of Haw Creek Commons each day.
- Shuttle van seats for each week of camp are listed as it’s own “camp” on the Camp Availability page.
- Shuttle van seats are offered free of charge for your convenience.
- To save a seat in the shuttle van you MUST register for the Shuttle Van “camp” for each week of camp your child is attending at the same time you are registering for their actual camp.
- The Shuttle Van “camp” for each week will be clearly listed with the other camps for that week and will show if there are any seats still available.
- The Shuttle Van “camp” will have a waitlist available, but once the van is full we can’t guarantee more spots will open up and parents on the waitlist should be prepared to drop-off/pick-up at Shope Creek.
- If your child’s participation in camp is dependent on a seat in the van and the Shuttle Van is listed as full for a given week, we encourage parents to sign-up for a different week of camp.
Pick-up & Drop-off Options for Shope Creek Programs
Shope Creek Wilderness
Direct Drop-off & Pick-up Location
472 Shope Creek Road, Asheville, NC 28805
Pick-up and drop-off here at the program location, unless you have reserved a shuttle seat during camp registration.
- Drop-off: 8:45 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
- Pick-up: 2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Haw Creek Commons
Shuttle Van Base
315 Old Haw Creek Rd.
Pick-up and drop-off here only if you have reserved a shuttle seat.
- Drop-off: 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
- Pick-up: 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
If you are running late and miss the shuttle van departure, please proceed directly to Shope Creek Wilderness to drop-off prior to camp starting at 9:30 a.m.
Hutch Mountain Pick-up & Drop-off
Hutch Mountain
Direct Drop-off & Pick-up Location
725 Hutch Mountain Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732
- Drop-off: 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
- Pick-up: 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
There is no shuttle van service offered for programs at this location.
Clothing & Daily Packing List
What to Pack
Please send your child with the following items, packed in a small, well-fitting backpack. No rolling bags or one-shoulder satchels, please! ):
- Rain gear or a poncho (even in summer)
- A full 1-liter water bottle (24 oz. for younger campers is fine)
- A sack lunch
- At least one snack
- Personal sunscreen (if needed)
- Bug repellent (we encourage herbal-based, rather than DEET)
- An extra pair of dry socks in a ziploc bag
What NOT to Pack
Please make your children aware of these limitations and check with them before you sign them in each morning.
Having extra items is a distraction and often causes discomfort for kids carrying extra weight as we cover a lot of ground each day.
- Electronics
- A change of clothes (extra layers or rain gear are fine, but please keep a change of clothes in the car instead of in their backpack)
- Extra items like toys
- Sandals or open-toed shoes
- A knife
What Your Child Should Wear
Sturdy, close-toed, waterproof shoes. If they are wearing crocks they must have the heel strap.
Comfortable clothes that are appropriate for the weather. For cold weather dressing details, visit our Weather page.
Dirty Clothes Alert!
Here at Forest Floor, we encourage children to really engage with nature—sometimes that means getting dirty! Expect muddy faces, berry stains, and other nature-inspired designs on their clothes by the end of the day. We suggest keeping a plastic trash bag in the car for your child to sit on, especially if they get really muddy. Please don’t send a back up set of clothes in their backpacks, this makes their backpacks too heavy and then they don’t want to carry their backpacks.
Special Safety & Clothing Considerations for Blacksmithing & Knife-making
These activities carry inherent risks. We have strict safety procedures in place to ensure your child’s safety, but small burns can happen from time to time. These are usually minor, and we see them as learning opportunities about staying focused and present in the moment.
For safety, please dress your child in natural materials only—no synthetic fabrics like nylon, polyester, or spandex. These materials can melt when exposed to hot metal. It’s also important that sleeves and pants aren’t rolled up to prevent embers from getting caught in the cuffs.
They should be wearing closed toed shoes, no Crocs or similar.
Also, be prepared for your child to get dirty—blacksmithing can be a very sooty activity! Keep an extra plastic bag in the car for easy clean-up afterward.
Why Choose Forest Floor Camps?
We help children have fun, be healthy, and achieve their fullest potential with nature connection mentoring.
- Health benefits of nature connection
- Learn wilderness skills & traditional crafts
- Meet new friends and reunite with old ones
- Unforgettable adventures every day
- Skilled and caring mentors
- Exciting wilderness experiences
- Convenient in-town drop-off & pickup
- Boost long term cognitive & social development