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Enchanted Hills

Enchanted Hills Camp 2022 Registration is Now Open!

Enchanted Hills Camp 2022 Registration is Now Open!

Hello Enchanted Hills Camp Community,

The LightHouse for the Blind is excited to enter our 72nd year at EHC, and we are proud to once again return to a variety of sessions that will benefit hundreds of campers in our community. The guiding principles of Enchanted Hills Camp is to promote independence, community and have fun. Hopefully you will gain lifelong friendships, and feel the “blind positive” atmosphere that camp strives to create. This is a place where campers have claimed they have had the time of their lives.

Enchanted Hills is an experience that so many look forward to having every year — and though our camp has been closed recently due to COVID-19 restrictions we’ve taken steps to enrich this summer so that all campers will still enjoy the beauty of our location safely and with a supportive staff.

Let’s have the best summer ever!

Tony Fletcher, senior director of Enchanted Hills Camp

View the EHC Summer 2022 Schedule and Register Now

Welcome back, EHC!

Welcome back, EHC!

As visitors wind their way up Mt. Veeder Road, past the lush redwoods, sparkling lake, and rolling green hills of Napa, the once quiet grounds of Enchanted Hills Camp are again filled with the delightful sounds of happy campers. The crunching of leaves and twigs under excited footsteps, clicking of canes, splashes of water, nays and baas of EHC’s four-legged residents and the jolly echoed shouts and laughter from campers fill the air—it is, once again, summertime at Enchanted Hills Camp!

On July 5, Enchanted Hills Camp reopened its grounds to 45 eager teen campers. After being closed for over a year, EHC has been thrilled to reopen this summer, abiding by CDC state and federal COVID-19 safety protocols. Although the limited campers, mask wearing, social distance, and required vaccinations of both campers and staff has certainly changed the look of camp this summer, the fun and festivities haven’t changed in the slightest!

“Campers are filling their days horseback riding, kayaking, playing disc golf, participating in Teen Talk rap sessions and talent shows. The kids are dancing, hiking, taking overnight camping trips into the woods, solar cooking, and fishing. They can care for our EHC animal friends (milking goats and collecting eggs from chickens) and do some wood polishing and wood working. They are putting on drama productions, training in martial arts and archery, playing goalball and bowling, and making ice cream and arts and crafts, just to name a few activities.” Enchanted Hills Camp Director, Tony Fletcher, tells LightHouse Lately.

New campers, 17-year-old twin sisters, Madison and Paige from Arroyo Grande, California, share their first impressions and experience at teen camp.

“We heard about Enchanted Hills Camp through our DOR [Department of Rehabilitation] counselor, so we were interested. We loved it once we got here! It is so much fun! There is so much to do, you never feel bored or like you are just sitting around waiting for something fun. Right now, we are working on a play, and we’ve done a lot of arts and crafts. We also tie-dyed bandanas. We are definitely coming back next summer!”

Both girls have nystagmus and ocular albinism and have low vision.

“With nystagmus it is hard to focus my eyes on things, like when I am reading my eyes jump across the page. The ocular albinism makes my eyes very sensitive to the sunlight,” Madison explains.

Aside from each other, neither Paige nor Madison knew any other peers with visual impairments prior to going to camp. Learning more about low vision and the blind community has become an interest and priority for these young women.

“We have never been around anyone with vision like ours or people with less vision. We want to be more involved in the blind and visually impaired community,” Paige says. “We have made a lot of new friends at camp. It is so relieving to be around people like us.”

Madison and Paige reflected on their camp experience:

“Overall, I have learned a lot about people who are visually impaired, and not just about people who have what I have. I have learned so much about adaptability and the blind community, and I am very grateful for that,” Paige says.

“I am also so grateful for camp. I have never seen anyone use a cane before, and it is so interesting to me to see how everyone gets around using their canes. I like how specific people are when they describe how to get to places and how they tap the walls as a guide. I’ve also learned how to guide people who can’t see, and I think it is so helpful and interesting,” says Madison.

In their remaining days at Enchanted Hills Camp Paige and Madison are excitedly looking forward to performing the play, making bath bombs, and trying their hand at archery, as well as hanging out with their new friends and strengthening their bond to the blind and low vision community. “We can’t wait to come back next summer!” they told LightHouse Lately.

There are still available spaces for EHC’s STEM camp, running from July 26 through August 1 for campers aged 13- to 20-years-old. Visit Enchanted Hills Camp STEM Camp Applications to get your application in as soon as possible. We also have limited availability left for Music Camp, also running July 26 through August 1. This session is for campers ranging from high school to college ages. Fill out the Enchanted Hills Camp Music Camp Applications here. For more information about Enchanted Hills Camp, visit the EHC website.

The Summer 2017 Enchanted Hills Camp Schedule is here!

The Summer 2017 Enchanted Hills Camp Schedule is here!

For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath, 2017 Enchanted Hills Camp registration is now open! See the full schedule of sessions below and follow the links for descriptions of each.

We’re also offering a  few new adult sessions in February and March, including our Adult Music Session in mid-February and an additional Woodworking with Wurtzel session in March, to accommodate the folks who missed out on the February session.

Adult Music Session – February 16 – 19

Woodworking with Wurtzel – February 16 – 19 (FULL)

Woodworking with Wurtzel  – March 16 -19

Baking with Dan – March 16 -19

Cycle for Sight – April 22

Family Camp I – June 8 – 11

Blind Babies Family Camp – June 16 – 18

Adult Session – June 24 – 29

Adults with Developmental Disability Session – June 30 to July 5

Family Camp II – July 6 – 9

Youth Camp – July 10 – 16

STEM Camp – July 12 – 15

Teen Camp – July 20 – 29

Family Camp III – August 2 – 5

Horse Camp – August 7 – 13

Youth Music Academy – August 7 – 13

Deaf-Blind Session – August 14 – 18

Chemistry Camp – October 20 – 22

Register here for all of the 2017 Enchanted Hills Camp Sessions.

If you have question regarding camp sessions or registration, contact EHC Program Coordinator Taccarra Burrell at ehc@lighthouse-sf.org or 451-694-7310.

Directions to EHC

Enchanted Hills Camp is located atop Mt. Veeder in Napa, CA. The address is 3410 Mt. Veeder Rd., Napa, CA 94558.

On Public Transit

Downtown Napa may be reached by a number of busses, namely the Napa Airporter or the #29 Vine bus originating at the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station in the East Bay. Once dropped off (at Justin Sienna High School), traveler must arrange for a driver to ferry them to 3410 Mt. Veeder Rd., Napa, CA 94558.

Driving Directions

With no traffic, EHC is about 1 hour and 15 minutes from San Francisco and the East Bay.

From San Francisco and the Peninsula

  • Take Hwy 101 North across Golden Gate Bridge
  • Go 20 miles to Hwy 37 exit toward Vallejo and Napa
  • At Sears Point, take Hwy 121 exit to the left
  • At Big Bend, turn right to stay on Hwy 121-12 to Napa
  • Hwy 121-12 will run into Hwy 29
  • Turn left onto Hwy 29 North to Napa
  • Take Hwy 29 North to Napa
  • Exit Redwood/Trancas, turn left onto Redwood Road
  • Go 4 miles to where Redwood Road veers right and becomes Mt. Veeder Road
  • Go 6 miles on Mt. Veeder Road
  • Retreat driveway will be on your right at 3410 Mt. Veeder Roa

From East Bay, Oakland or Vallejo

  • Take Interstate 80 East past the Carquinez Bridge & Vallejo
  • Take Hwy 37 exit to Napa
  • Go past Six Flags to Hwy 29 North to Napa
  • Take Hwy 29 North to Napa
  • Exit Redwood/Trancas, turn left onto Redwood Road
  • Go 4 miles to where Redwood Road veers right and becomes Mt. Veeder Road
  • Go 6 miles on Mt. Veeder Road
  • Retreat driveway will be on your right at 3410 Mt. Veeder Road

From Sacramento Area

  • Take Interstate 80 West toward San Francisco
  • Just after Fairfield, take Hwy 12 West
  • Turn right onto Hwy 29 North to Napa
  • Take Hwy 29 North to Napa
  • Exit Redwood/Trancas, turn left onto Redwood Road
  • Go 4 miles to where Redwood Road veers right and becomes Mt. Veeder Road
  • Go 6 miles on Mt. Veeder Road
  • Retreat driveway will be on your right at 3410 Mt. Veeder Road

From Northern Napa County

  • Take Hwy 29 South toward Napa
  • At Oakville, turn right onto Oakville Grade
  • Oakville Grade intersects with Dry Creek Road
  • Turn left onto Mt. Veeder Road
  • Go about 2 miles on Mt. Veeder Road
  • Retreat driveway will be on your left at 3410 Mt. Veeder Road

From Santa Rosa Area

  • Take Hwy 12 East
  • Past Kenwood, turn left onto Trinity Road
  • Trinity Road turns into Dry Creek Road at the down grade
  • Turn right onto Mt. Veeder Road
  • Go about 2 miles on Mt. Veeder Road
  • Retreat driveway will be on your left at 3410 Mt. Veeder Road

From the Sonoma Area

  • Take Hwy 12 East
  • Turn left onto Hwy 121-12
  • Napa Hwy 121-12 will run into Hwy 29
  • Turn left onto Hwy 29 North to Napa
  • Take Hwy 29 North to Napa
  • At first light, turn left onto Redwood Road
  • Go 4 miles to where Redwood Road veers right and becomes Mt. Veeder Road
  • Go 6 miles on Mt. Veeder Road
  • Retreat driveway will be on your right at 3410 Mt. Veeder Road