Paddleboarding Summer Camp for Kids in Alameda
Top Outdoor Adventure and Environmental Education Camp
Our paddleboarding summer camp in Alameda gives kids a fun, confidence-building way to explore the water while learning balance, coordination, and teamwork. At Gaia Guides, stand-up paddleboarding isn’t about perfection; it’s about trying, laughing, and discovering what your body can do. Families from Alameda and across the Bay Area choose our kids paddleboarding summer camp because it feels safe, supportive, and genuinely joyful.
Our Alameda summer kids camps offer both full-day and half-day options, with each 1-week camp session running Monday–Friday.
Options: Full & Half Day
Our full-day camps run 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, and half-day camps run from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Both options are offered during the same weeks.
Time: 9am-1pm / 9am-4pm
Campers are grouped by age and experience to create a supportive, safe, and challenging environment for skills lessons and paddle adventures.
Ages: 6 - 14 years old
Drive to Ballena Bay Marina, 1138 Ballena Blvd, Alameda. Drive past the flagpole and look for the tennis courts and parking lot on the left.
Location: Alameda, CA
Full-day camps are $699 per week, and half-day camps are $449 per week. Both options are offered during the same weeks.
Price: $449 - $699 Per Week
All campers wear life jackets, with CPR/First Aid certified instructors, small group ratios, and Bay adventures planned around weather conditions.
Safety: Our Top Priority
Summer Camp
June 2027
Full-day and half-day camps.
June 7 - 11
June 14 - 18
June 21 - 25
June 28 - July 2
July 2027
Summer Camp
Full-day and half-day camps.
July 5 - 9
July 12 - 16
July 19 - 23
July 26 - 30
August 2027
Summer Camp
Full-day and half-day camps.
August 2 - 6
August 9 - 13
August 2027
Leadership Training
CPR/First Aid certification
August 20 - 22
Stand-up paddleboarding for kids on San Francisco Bay
Stand-up paddleboarding is the sport most campers fall for, and Alameda’s South Shore is one of the few places on the Bay where a seven-year-old can learn it safely. The Ballena Bay lagoon is flat and protected; a kid can kneel, wobble, stand, fall off and climb back on without wind or wake to fight. Once they can stand and steer, the shallow, sandy Crown Beach shoreline is right outside, with the San Francisco skyline across the water. The Bay is cold (mid-50s to low 60s), so every camper paddles in a wetsuit we provide and a Coast Guard-approved life jacket, every time, and every jacket is checked before anyone walks near the water.
From kneeling to standing: how kids learn SUP
We don’t put a six-year-old on a board and say “stand up.” The progression looks like this:
Sit and paddle. Learn the paddle, the board, and how to get on from the dock. Every camper starts seated.
Kneel and steer. Forward stroke, sweep turns, stopping. Kneeling is stable and fast; most kids are steering confidently within the first morning.
Stand (and fall). Feet where the handle is, knees soft, eyes on the horizon. The first fall is a milestone we cheer. Then: how to climb back on from the water, which is the skill that makes everything else possible.
Stand and go somewhere. Paddle a course in the lagoon, then along the beach. Turning on a moving board, paddling into a light breeze, riding it home.
Play. SUP yoga (balance poses on a floating board), relay races, the giant party board (it comes out every week), and SUP Olympics on Friday: a sprint, an obstacle course, a balance challenge and a team event the whole group talks about all the way home.
Boards are matched to the kid: smaller boards for our youngest campers, bigger boards that pairs and teams paddle together, and the giant party board that comes out every week. Wind and weather make every day a little different, and that is what keeps it fun: the protected lagoon is always there for learning, and the open Bay is right outside for kids who are ready for more. Campers in their second or third week start higher on the ladder.
Why the Bay makes better paddlers
Flat lake water is easy. The Bay teaches a little more each day: a light breeze means you angle the board and paddle on one side; a ferry wake 200 yards out means you bend your knees and ride it; an outgoing tide means we paddle out against it so the trip home is easy. Campers learn to look at the water before they get on it, and that habit is what makes them safe paddlers for life, on any water.
Where campers paddleboard
Ballena Bay lagoon. Learning water. Calm, protected, a few strokes from the dock.
Crown Beach. Shallow and sandy for a long way out, so a fall means standing up in waist-deep water. Skyline views.
USS Hornet. The destination paddle for older groups: along the shore to the aircraft carrier at Alameda Point and back.
What kids see from a board
Standing on a board, you can see straight down. On clear days campers watch bat rays and leopard sharks glide over the sand (both harmless, both unforgettable), crabs on the bottom, and eelgrass swaying in the current. Looking up: brown pelicans dive-bombing anchovies, black oystercatchers on the rocks, endangered California least terns that nest at Alameda Point and fish the shallows all summer, cormorants drying their wings on the pilings, egrets and herons stalking the edges, and the harbor seals that haul out near Alameda Point.
Environmental education at camp starts with whatever the kids saw that morning.
How we keep paddleboarders safe
About one instructor per six campers, on the water with them.
CPR and First Aid-certified instructors.
Everyone wears a life jacket, campers and instructors, and every jacket is checked before anyone walks near the water.
Wetsuits, life jackets, boards and paddles provided.
Wind, tide and fog checked before every launch; plan changed when conditions change. The lagoon is the fallback and it’s always calm.
Falling in and climbing back on is practiced on Day 1, in the lagoon, before anyone leaves it.
Paddleboarding camp FAQs
Can my child paddleboard if they’ve never tried? Yes. Most campers haven’t. Everyone starts seated, then kneeling, then standing, at their own pace, in flat water.
How old do kids have to be? We take campers from age 6. Younger kids spend more time kneeling and on the big board with an instructor; most are standing by midweek.
Do kids fall in a lot? Yes, on purpose at first. We practice falling and climbing back on in the lagoon on Day 1. After that, falls are just part of a good day.
Isn’t the water cold? Mid-50s to low 60s year-round. Every camper wears a wetsuit we provide, so they’re warm even after a swim.
What is SUP Olympics? Friday’s event: sprints, an obstacle course, a balance challenge and a team relay on the boards. Parents are welcome to watch from the dock.
What is SUP yoga? Simple balance poses on a floating board. It’s the fastest way we know to teach core balance, and kids think it’s hilarious.
Will my child be on a paddleboard or a kayak? Both, every week. The mix depends on age, conditions and what the group is ready for; paddleboarding is usually the camper favorite.
What should my child bring? Swimsuit under clothes, towel, warm change of clothes, water bottle, lunch and snacks, sunscreen, a hat. We provide the wetsuit, life jacket, board and paddle. Full packing list.
Paddleboarding with kids in the Bay Area: a parent’s guide
Want to keep paddling after camp? The best family-friendly SUP spots around the Bay, and what to know.
Ballena Bay / Crown Beach, Alameda. Protected lagoon and a shallow sandy beach; the easiest learning water on the Bay. Our home: Tuesday Family Paddle Nights in summer, $40 adults, kids’ first night free.
Lake Merritt, Oakland. Flat, warm, no tide. Rentals at the Boating Center; no wetsuit needed.
Shoreline Lake, Mountain View. Flat man-made lake with rentals and lessons. Good South Bay option.
Sausalito / Richardson Bay. Calm mornings and houseboats. Rentals near the ferry; wind by early afternoon.
Tomales Bay, Marin. Glassy mornings, warm shallows at the south end. The best Bay Area day trip for SUP.
Foster City lagoon. Flat, warm, sheltered. Peninsula families’ local option.
Three habits we teach that work anywhere: life jacket on (required by law under 13), check the wind before you launch and paddle into it first, and wear a leash so the board can’t leave without you.
Ready to get your kid on a board?
Full-day (9am–4pm, $699) and half-day (9am–1pm, $449) weeks run June 7–August 13, 2027. Registration opens January 1. See the full Kids Camp program, read the Kids Camp FAQs, or paddle together first at a Family Paddle Night.