thoughts on escape adventures

i've been looking at options for kids mtb summer camps. wondering if anyone has experience (kids camps or otherwise) with escape adventures they can share. i talked to the owner and she seems really engaged and down to earth, but i haven't heard anything about them and can't find any reviews or testimonials online…

thanks!

Book a week in Whistler and book your kid/s into the WORCA youth camp.

Book a week in Whistler and book your kid/s into the WORCA youth camp.

The WORCA camps are great. I think DFX is also running week long camps for out of town visitors as well.

Book a week in Whistler and book your kid/s into the WORCA youth camp.

that would be great, but it's not happening

I don't have any direct experience with Escape but I have known Tammy for years and she is the real deal. Super passionate about mountain biking and lots of experience teaching / coaching kids. If my kids were younger I wouldn't hesitate to sign them up.

coooool thanks skooks

coooool thanks skooks

We have had both our kids in escape since kindergarten age. Older one is volunteering there this summer and younger one is still in the camps.

They also do after school programs in the spring and fall that have been very good.

It has been awesome to get the girls up and riding. Nothing more fun than having your kid take you for a ride and show you what they learnt.

s

My boys have been doing the Sunday rides, Spring and Summer Camps with EndlessBiking for a few years now. They always have fun, coaching has always been excellent.

Summer camps do go up to Whistler for a day, and was a big highlight of the camp.

my son has done the endless summer camp a few times now. we'd like to try something different. also he's really comfortable on the shore but for some reason the wbp freaks him out, so that's not really a draw

I've heard good things about Escape, but I'm going to vouch for Pedalheads which has a great mtb program for kids that many people don't know about.

I wanted to put my son (who was 7 at the time) in Escape last summer. I was looking for a week long camp where he could ride all the kid friendly trails on Fromme-Bobsled, Floppy, Griffin, Kirkford, etc. The 3pm pickup time didn't work for me so I put him in Flow (Pedalheads) thinking it probably wouldn't be as good, maybe too boring, but it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. It's basically the same thing as Escape, but half day.

https://www.pedalheads.com/mountainbiking

Don't confuse this with regular pedal heads, which is more focused on complete beginners, road safety, and intro to some easy trail riding. Their mtb camps are different, more challenging, similar to Escape.

Escape does a better job of marketing and explaining which trails they'll be riding. Pedalheads doesn't have a reputation for mtb camps, but imo they're just as good as Escape, maybe better. They got a ton of riding in. And riding is all they did, no filler time. 2 coaches for 5 kids. Lead coach was a skilled DH racer and super positive and engaging with the kids. The pace was good, they got on plenty of cool trails (including some I didn't expect), and my son was never bored. It was also less expensive than Escape. So it exceeded my expectations.

For Pedalheads/Flow, the first day meeting place is at a coffee shop down the street from Brockton school, but after the first day, drop off/pickup is at the Fromme gate.

Another star for pedalheads, they got my daughter riding without training wheels on the first day when she was 7. My buddy's daughter who is 12 did the flow camp and she just rips on the trail. Great experience.
she loves the flow camp…

I've heard really good things about the pedal heads mtb camp. but they have a hard age cap, so my son would be limited to the intermediate program, which doesnt go above bobsled, and wouldn't get to be with his buddies who'd be signing up with him, so that's out

cost for the full day is the same as escape, btw; and both are ~200$ less than endless iirc

I've heard really good things about the pedal heads mtb camp. but they have a hard age cap, so my son would be limited to the intermediate program, which doesnt go above bobsled, and wouldn't get to be with his buddies who'd be signing up with him, so that's out

cost for the full day is the same as escape, btw; and both are ~200$ less than endless iirc

If you're doing full day, no reason not to use Escape. Pedalheads/Flow has an awesome program and great coaches, but it seems like they have some knuckleheads at corporate HQ that aren't quite with the times. That's one of my gripes with them. I had to call and bitch when they tried to tell me I had to put my younger son (age 3 at the time) in Trikes N Trainers. He had already moved from the run bike to the pedal bike, racing half track at bmx, and you want me to put him in the run bike / tricycle group?? I managed to talk some sense into them.

Hard age limits make no sense in this day and age. Equipment has changed thanks to companies like Spawn and others, and what's considered normal has changed. Whether it's biking or skiing, kids are starting as soon as they can walk, and we're not just talking about taking off the training wheels (what training wheels??), it's not uncommon anymore to see kids that are straight up legit rippers before they even get to kindergarten. It's dumb because they've got a good program and they turn customers away for no reason. Not the smartest business strategy if you ask me, but they're part of a bigger company so I guess stuff like that is par for the course.

Fwiw, my older son was 7 last year, he was in the intermediate program, and it didn't suck. They rode all the same trails as the other groups, including plenty of relatively challenging trails, so to be honest, I don't even know whey they make the distinction. To Escape's credit, they're local, and not part of a clueless bigger company.

To Escape's credit, they're local, and not part of a clueless bigger company.

yup, definitely a positive consideration