Travel & Packing
Flying to Camp
We will meet campers at both Colorado Springs Airport and Denver International Airport. Colorado Springs is a smaller, more convenient airport and only 45 miles from camp. However, several low cost carriers have direct flights from many cities to Denver and it may be more cost effective and convenient for you to schedule your child’s flight into this larger airport that is about 100 miles from camp.
At both airports our team of staff will meet campers at their gates, help collect their luggage and transport them to camp. Please ask your camper to look for a Sanborn staff member as he or she departs the airplane. Our staff members wear easily identifiable, bright orange shirts that say “Sanborn Western Camps” on the front.
Please arrange flights into Colorado Springs or Denver that arrive between 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM on Opening Day. This allows campers to arrive at camp before dinner and begin to connect with their living units. Flights on Closing Day should depart between 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
International campers from Europe and Asia are encouraged to fly to camp one day before Opening Day. We will meet them at the airport, transport them to camp, and give them an opportunity to get a good night’s sleep before welcoming their cabin and tentmates on Opening Day.
If your child is flying, we will e-mail you by 8 p.m. MST on Opening Day to let you know he/she has arrived safely at camp and to provide the name of his/her living unit. It is very important that we have an accurate e-mail address for one or more parents or guardians.
If you have questions or are having difficulty arranging appropriate flights, please contact Jenny Peck in our office (719) 748-3341 or . If you need to make any change in your child’s travel plans during the week prior to their travel to camp, please contact Jenny Peck immediately.
Travel Plans
To submit your child’s travel information login to our online community and then follow our step-by-step guide (p. 16). We need this information at least two weeks before your child’s travel date. If you are flying with your child, please call Jenny Peck to determine where and if you will meet camp staff at the airport.
Each camper’s travel documents will be collected by staff members upon arrival at camp. Please talk with your child about turning in his/her paper travel documents upon arrival at camp because we may need baggage claim checks or other flight/airline information.
For travel home, we will make sure that each camper has some money for needs in the airport (this may be money brought to camp or from his/her camper account). We will return cell phones to those campers who brought them so they can be charged and ready for the trip.
Please do not download your child’s boarding passes for his/her return flight. We will take care of these at the airport.
We recommend that you check with your airline prior to departure regarding unaccompanied minor fees and requirements. Please be available by phone on the day your camper is flying.
Be aware that airlines will not allow an unaccompanied minor to fly on the last flight of the day. We recommend that the Unaccompanied Minor Fee be paid roundtrip at your originating airport to assure a speedy return check-in for your child. Please send us a copy of your receipt for the return flight, as airline computers sometimes can’t access this information.
When arranging unaccompanied minor travel with the airline, please list one of the following camp representatives as the person designated to pick your camper up at their final destination:
Denver: Taylor Indrebo 2000 Old Stage Road Florissant, CO 80816 PH: (303) 656-1963
Colorado Springs: Carly Liebich 2000 Old Stage Road Florissant, CO 80816 PH: (208) 863-7897
Please use the tags provided by camp for all baggage checked or carried on the plane. Our experience is that baggage with camp tags is more easily identifiable at the airports. Please check with your airline for current baggage policies and fees.
The charge for the trip from Colorado Springs airport ($55.00 each way) or Denver airport ($75.00 each way) will be made to the camper’s spending account.
Luggage & Shipping
With the additional costs for luggage carried by airlines, it may be more convenient for you to ship your child’s belongings to camp ahead of time. We are considered a “business” and receive FedEX and UPS on a regular basis.
The physical shipping address is:
Sanborn Western Camps
Camper Name
High Trails or Big Spring
2000 Old Stage Road
Florissant, CO 80816
Phone: 719-748-3341
Shipping Recommendations
- Ship luggage at least 10 days before camp begins to assure timely arrival. Camp receives no Saturday deliveries.
- Please try to keep box weight to 50 pounds or less to avoid additional shipping charges and to make it easier for camp staff to transport your child’s luggage to their assigned tent or cabin.
- Trunks and duffle bags should be in a cardboard box to minimize damage and avoid additional charges. Check with the shipper to confirm any restrictions or extra fees that can be avoided by a simple change in the way these items are packaged.
- No packing peanuts, please.
Shipped Luggage Return
Unless we are notified, we will send your child’s luggage back at the end of camp (1-2 days plus shipping time) and will make every effort to use the same carrier that you used to send these items. Please be aware that these charges can be significant.
We will insure shipped items for $900 unless you request a higher amount. We also ship lost and found items with camper’s name back to the camper as soon as possible by the best available method. Shipping fees and insurance will be charged to the camper account.
Driving to Camp
From Colorado Springs take US Highway 24 west through Florissant (34 miles). Turn left at the top of the hill onto County Road 46, less than one mile west of Florissant. (The “Wagon Tongue/Slater Creek” directional sign indicates the turn). Follow County Road 46 for about 2.5 miles to the camp road. Bear left at our signs and proceed on our road for two more miles to the main entrance marked by flags and a covered wagon. Follow the signs to the right for Big Spring Ranch and to the left for High Trails Ranch.
Please note that many GPS systems provide inaccurate directions to Sanborn. If your GPS routes you to “Calle de la Lluvia” off of County Road 1, do NOT take that route as you will end up in an area with no cell phone service and no camp. If you have questions, please call camp prior to leaving Florissant: 719-748-3341.
On departure, if your child is being picked up by someone other than a parent, we will need this person’s name, address and phone number.
Most campers are picked up on Closing Day between 8am-11am. If you need to pick up a camper much before or slightly after that pick-up window, please call 719-748-3341 and speak to a director so we will know when you intend to arrive.