Ahwahnee logoAhwahnee Father/Son Adventure Club

Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA · Encinitas, California

A season outdoors, together

Dads and kids trading screens for star-filled skies, campfire stories, and a whole season of the outdoors together.

Register with the YMCAHow do I join?

Next campout · November 13–15, 2026 · Wolf hosts

Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree National Park

Boulders the size of houses and some of the darkest skies in Southern California. A desert playground for scrambling and stargazing.

Campout detailsRegisterOpen in maps

The club

The Ahwahnee Club is one of the father-and-son Adventure Clubs at the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA in Encinitas, part of YMCA of San Diego County. Open to dads and kids ages 5–13, we camp together roughly once a month from September through June.

How a year in Ahwahnee works

  1. Join a tribe

    Register through the Ecke YMCA and you'll be placed with one of our six tribes, your home base for the season.

  2. Camp once a month

    From mountains to beaches to the desert, the club heads out together roughly monthly, September through June.

  3. Earn it together

    Kids collect patches and beads, learn new skills, and take on ceremonies and service projects alongside their dad.

  4. Build the legacy

    Each year adds to a story that stretches back through every tribe and every family that's come before.

Register with the YMCAMeet the tribesOur legacy

The Six Aims

Six short promises, shared by every Adventure Club.

The Six Aims are the same in every YMCA Adventure Club. Kids learn them early, dads relearn them, and they set the tone for every campfire, hike and tribe meeting of the season.

  • To be clean in body and pure in heart.

  • To be friends always with my dad/son.

  • To love the sacred circle of my family.

  • To listen while others speak.

  • To love my neighbor as myself.

  • To seek and preserve the beauty of the Great Spirit’s work in forest, field, stream and beach.

Season ahead