Hollywood actors seem to take enormous pride in doing their own stunts. It’s easy to see why. If an action hero is required to leap from a 32-foot water tower, for instance, there’s a professional stunt person with years of experience prepared to stand in for our hero and take the leap. But from the actor’s point of view, making that leap himself is likely far more of a rush than delivering a monologue, as exciting as that can be.
Kids likewise seem to take enormous pride in doing their own stunts, whether said stunts are illicit leaps from one bed to another or semi good-natured sparring matches with their siblings. But from a parent’s point of view, many of these day-to-day jumps and fights feel like preludes to emergency room visits. And while that feeling never goes away, it might help if you child goes away – to Hollywood Stunt Camp, that is.
Hollywood Stunt Camp is one of 16 specialty sleepover camps – offered for one- or two-week sessions for kids ages 9 to 16 – by Pali Overnight Adventures (www.paliadventures.com) in Running Springs, California from June 19 to August 20 this summer.
At the stunt camp there are in fact professional stuntmen with years of experience who will teach your child proper falling (and landing) techniques, as well as fight scene, swordplay, and combat moves. If your kid sticks around for a second week, he’ll have the chance to leap from the aforementioned 32-foot tower.
Stunt camp is one of six “action” camps, which also include Secret Agent Camp (paintball, anyone?), Girl Power Camp (essentials from boxing to facials covered) as well as camps with various kinds of sports instruction. If your child is more into monologues than motorsports, there is also a camp for acting. For those with nerves of steel, there’s a program for perhaps the most brutal, bare-knuckle sport of them all, magazine publishing.
For all camps, the core specialty activities are scheduled in the mornings, and in the afternoons kids are permitted to do three electives that vary in intensity from Eurobungee and ziplining to yoga and pedicures. Within some of the camps kids may be separated by age – for instance, older kids may do more challenging Hollywood stunts than younger kids – and likewise, kids 12 and younger are bunked separately from kids 13 and older; of course, boys and girls are bunked separately.
Camp is $1,615 per seven-day session; $3,145 for two weeks; and $6,040 for one two-week session and two additional one-week sessions. The cost includes a staff to camper ratio of 1:3 or better, all activities and materials and, of course, room and board.
If you don’t live in California but would perhaps like to visit and situate yourself within driving distance of the camp, Running Springs is about 15 minutes southeast of Lake Arrowhead, 40 minutes southeast of San Bernardino, 90 minutes northwest of Palm Springs, and upwards of 100 minutes southeast of Los Angeles.
See our Palm Springs Travel Guide and Los Angeles Travel Guide for more trip-planning information, then use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find the lowest rates on flights to Palm Springs and Los Angeles.