Growing up, Melissa Camacho dreaded when her classmates at a new school learned she was in foster care. No matter how popular she was, other kids would bully her and mock her family’s troubles. That made her guarded, and unable to trust others.
But things improved every summer when she left for Happy Trails for Kids, an outdoors summer camp for foster youth in Southern California. There, she said she never had to hide her story, or pretend to be someone else.
“Camp is honestly the one safe space where it’s OK to tell everyone that you’re a foster kid, because no one’s judging you,” Camacho said. “It’s never hard to make friends there.”
For 16 years, the Santa Monica, California-based nonprofit Happy Trails has hosted the weeklong summer camp. Children who cycle through foster care placements often have few opportunities like it — the escape of canoeing, archery, rock climbing; bonding over campfire stories and silly songs.
Now, the organization is poised to triple its camp capacity in a permanent location. At a meeting last month, Los Angeles County supervisors agreed to deed 135 acres in the high desert community of Acton.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the land donation would support “the healthy development of our foster youth.”
“This camp is sure to become a cherished space where children can create lasting memories and build meaningful connections that will empower them for years to come,” Barger said in an email to The Imprint. “This program will go a long way towards giving our youth the hope and sense of belonging they deserve.”
Buildings on the new Happy Trails’ site have a long history. After opening in 1933 Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps camp, they became a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients. The space has most recently been used as a county-run substance abuse treatment facility, but has been vacant for years.
Lindsay Elliott, a former children’s attorney, has led the Happy Trails nonprofit for the past eight years, serving children 7 through 18. She said the organization is renovating buildings at the current site, with the goal of opening there in the summer of 2026.
A 2020 study in the Children and Youth Services Review found that summer camps promote better relationships with siblings, strengthen social skills and boost self-esteem.
One camp for siblings in foster care in Washington state, Sibling Strong, has been supported by the state’s Department of Children and Family Services with the goal of preserving bonds between children they are unable to place together in foster care. Since 2009, 1,150 Washington siblings have been reunited at the camp.
“Camp is honestly the one safe space where it’s OK to tell everyone that you’re a foster kid, because no one’s judging you. … It’s never hard to make friends there.”
— Melissa Camacho, former camper
The Happy Trails camp “restores a sense of childhood and playfulness” to children who have experienced family separation and trauma at a young age, Elliott said. As in Washington state, the camp experience also provides a place for siblings who have been separated through foster care to bond.
But securing a site has been a challenge. Since its inception, Happy Trails has bounced around various wilderness camps across Southern California, wherever the group could find space. Elliott said the organization currently reaches its capacity of about 375 within a week of opening up registration. Under the new expansion, Happy Trails could host as many 2,000 children over the summer, and open up the experience to all foster youth in the county. The site could be used year-round, providing for smaller overnight trips or retreats.
“It will really be a place of healing,” Elliott said. “It’s going to be a place of joy and adventure and an incredible permanent space for all children in foster care to call their own.”
Now 18, Camacho will be returning as a counselor this summer for the first time, something she calls “her dream.” About 70% of counselors at Happy Trails are young people who have spent time in foster care.
As one of those leaders, Camacho said she’s already got the camp schedule memorized. She’s also anticipating beloved camp rituals: the annual talent show and competitions such as the Golden Plunger, with campers vying for cleanest cabin.
Camacho remembers how counselors introduced her to swimming and hiking, and the thoughtful life advice they shared. When she struck out on her own for the first time earlier this year, a former counselor talked Camacho through the move.
“I can’t wait to have the same impact on someone the same way my counselors helped me,” she said, “but also to help them make magical memories, too.”
