Challenge | JH Ranch

Student Leadership Adventures

People at JH Ranch are so relatable and they make me feel like being myself.”

“Challenge was more than I imagined it would be- I made great friends, the coaches were amazing, we were always doing fun things...I already signed up to come back next year!” Hannah, AL

Challenge Yourself

To give you a first look at our Challenge Adventure we couldn’t just make a video. We had to make an action movie. The dialogue is mostly whoops of joy on a jet boat or yells of triumph on the climbing ropes, but, really, they say it all. You can see there’s so much your child can take part in, from a rodeo to a river ride to improvised dance routines. But it’s in the faces of our campers where you see what they take home. A sense of renewed hope and purpose. And while our motto is Fun First, surfing the Pacific, leaping to catch a trapeze, or hiking through redwood forests teaches life lessons that last. And best of all, notice there’s not a cell phone in sight.

The Details

2023 Program Dates
Session One: June 18 – June 30
Session Two: July 17 – July 29

Program Tuition:
2023 Tuition: $4,400 per student
Program Max: 44 students per session
Eligibility: Completed 8th or 9th grade
Highlights: Jet Boating, Camping in the Redwoods, Surfing on the Pacific Coast, Pizza Party, Pool Olympics, and Sports Night!

Food

Good Eating Makes For a Better Meeting

Every day, you will enjoy great meals created by the wonderful Chef Bob, while sitting with the rest of the Challenge students in the gorgeous, open-air dining pavilion. With a wide range of options throughout the week, you’ll chow down on biscuits, sausage, and grits at the rodeo, a barbecue picnic on the lake lawn, and everything from pita sandwiches to chicken fingers the rest of the week.

During your adventures off property, you’ll be eating food prepared on a campfire, a pizza party in the redwood forest, and trail mix on your hikes. Oh, and don’t forget the snack bar full of milkshakes, pretzels and hot nachos. You won’t go hungry and you might not want to leave.

Adventure

Adventure Based

The first morning when you wake up it’ll be off to the rodeo and the beginning of a week filled with fun, laughter, and adventure. You’ll be invited to jump in and participate in a variety of activities from three-legged races to a lake zip-line to jumping off of a 50-foot telephone pole. And that’s just day one!

The rest of the week you and your team will challenge yourselves on the ropes courses, perfect your team skit, and compete in the Lake and Pool Olympics. In between, you’ll take a day hike up a nearby mountain and explore a local waterfall and natural swimming hole. Having conquered the first week on property, the fun will kick in to high gear. You and your team will head off for the trifecta of Jet-boating on the Rogue River, surfing in the Pacific Ocean, and camping in the Redwood Forest before returning home for the final day at the Ranch.

Program

Content Driven

JH Ranch is not your typical summer camp. You won’t be doing arts and crafts and signing up for other camp activities. Instead, you’ll be on a team, conquering the challenges put in front of you while learning about what it takes to truly succeed in life. As you finish the ropes courses and enjoy the adventures, you’ll be experiencing a program that intentionally teaches biblical life principles about life, leadership and relationships through every challenging adventure. And at night, you’ll also head down to the big circus tent we call the Big Top each night for some laughter and a thought-provoking Big Top Talk, including topics such as:

Your Life Purpose
The Love of God
The Abiding Journey
The Parent Talk
How To Rate A Date and Choose A Mate (“Dating”)
Highlights and Wrap-Up

Place

Undistracted Beauty

JH Ranch is perfectly located for the adventure you are looking for. Spread over nearly 1000 remote acres, the Ranch is found fourteen miles outside of the town of Etna, CA, population 560. The Ranch is in the mountains and most summers, you’ll be able to look up and see snow still covering the peaks.

Every day will be spent largely outside enjoying the sun, shade, and fresh mountain air, and when you go off property you’ll be standing in awe looking up at the giant redwoods, playing soccer on the beach of the Pacific Ocean, or cutting across the beautiful Rogue River in a jet-boat. All in all, you’ll find that the Ranch is one of those idyllic places where it’s easy to forget what homework even is.