Camp Tawonga
Camp Tawonga is a nonprofit Jewish residential summer camp in California's Sierra Nevada, serving children, families, and other community groups through outdoor, cultural, and inclusion-focused programs.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Camp Tawonga is a nonprofit Jewish residential summer camp situated on approximately 160 acres along the Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River near Groveland, California, several miles west of Yosemite National Park. Although the camp is geographically close to the small community of Buck Meadows, its administrative headquarters are in San Francisco, and much of its enrollment comes from the San Francisco Bay Area. Participants also come from Los Angeles, Israel, and other parts of the United States. The organization traces its origins to 1925, when Louis and Emma Blumenthal established separate boys' and girls' camps at Huntington Lake in the High Sierra. These early operations were known as Camp Kelowa for Boys and Singing Trail for Girls. The camps operated at roughly 7,000 feet above sea level and were interrupted for several years during the Second World War. In 1963, Camp Tawonga moved to its present river-and-lake setting in the Stanislaus National Forest. Tawonga's central offering is an immersive residential camp experience combining Jewish identity, outdoor recreation, communal living, arts, and personal development. The site includes rustic summer cabins, additional heated or powered guest cabins, a kosher dining hall, an arts-and-crafts facility, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a ropes course, and an outdoor amphitheater. The main summer program can accommodate approximately 500 campers and staff at a time, while the organization serves roughly 2,000 participants and staff across its activities in a typical year. The camp has also developed programs beyond its conventional summer sessions. From 2003 through 2007, it co-hosted the Oseh Shalom-Sanea al Salam Palestinian-Jewish Family Peacemakers Camp with the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue. It offers Camp Keshet, described as an LGBTQ family weekend, and in 2019 became one of the first United States summer camps to provide all-gender cabins. These initiatives position Tawonga as a Jewish communal institution that combines traditional camp culture with interfaith, peacebuilding, family, and LGBTQ inclusion. Camp Tawonga has faced serious operational challenges. A falling tree killed an arts-and-crafts specialist and injured others in July 2013. The following month, the Rim Fire forced an evacuation and destroyed three buildings, although the remaining damage was considered repairable and the facilities were rebuilt. In 2018, dangerous smoke conditions associated with the Ferguson Fire and firefighter back-burning led to another evacuation. In 2021, counselor Eli Kane died in an off-site drowning while working for the camp. The organization also has a distinctive Torah history: a scroll that had survived the Holocaust was rescued during the 2013 fire evacuation, and Tawonga obtained a replacement scroll in 2020 from the former B'Nai Israel synagogue in Olean, New York. The camp has appeared in cultural and archival references. Writer Steve Almond has discussed his experiences there, Camp Tawonga merchandise appears in flashback photographs in the 1988 film Heathers, and a 1936 film about the Blumenthals' earlier camps survives in an archival collection. Today, Tawonga remains an active residential and retreat institution whose identity rests on Jewish communal life, wilderness education, inclusion, and long-running connections with Northern California families.
History
Camp Tawonga began in 1925 through the work of Louis and Emma Blumenthal, who established two related High Sierra camps near Huntington Lake: Camp Kelowa for Boys and Singing Trail for Girls. The camps were located at about 7,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, approximately 65 miles northeast of Fresno. Their early model combined mountain recreation, organized camp life, and Jewish communal identity. Operations were suspended for several years during the Second World War. The institution later adopted the Camp Tawonga identity and, in 1963, relocated to its current property on the Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River in the Stanislaus National Forest. The site occupies about 160 acres near Groveland and west of Yosemite National Park. Its San Francisco office has supported a strong Bay Area connection, while the camp has also attracted participants from other California communities, Israel, and elsewhere in the United States. Over time, Tawonga developed from a seasonal children's camp into a broader Jewish communal and retreat organization. Its facilities include rustic cabins for summer campers, powered or heated cabins for other guests, a lodge-style dining hall with a kosher kitchen, a swimming pool, arts-and-crafts facilities, a ropes course, and an amphitheater. Programs have included residential summer sessions, family gatherings, outdoor activities, and specialized community events. The organization has used its camp setting for peacebuilding and inclusion as well as recreation. Between 2003 and 2007, it operated the Oseh Shalom-Sanea al Salam Palestinian-Jewish Family Peacemakers Camp with the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue. It also developed Camp Keshet, an LGBTQ family weekend. In 2019, Tawonga introduced all-gender cabins, reflecting a broader effort to make residential camp life more welcoming to transgender and gender-diverse participants and families. Several emergencies have shaped the camp's modern history. On July 3, 2013, a falling tree killed an arts-and-crafts specialist and injured others. During the Rim Fire later that summer, the camp was evacuated and three buildings were lost. A staff member returned during the evacuation to save a Torah scroll that had survived the Holocaust. The damaged facilities were subsequently rebuilt or repaired. In July 2018, the camp again evacuated because of dangerous smoke from the Ferguson Fire and related back-burning operations. In 2020, Tawonga obtained another Torah scroll from a former synagogue in Olean, New York. On July 15, 2021, counselor Eli Kane died in an off-site drowning while working for the organization. Camp Tawonga has also left traces in literature, film, and archival history. Writer Steve Almond has described camp experiences in his work, and Camp Tawonga apparel appears in flashback photographs in the 1988 film Heathers. A 1936 film documenting the Blumenthals' earlier Camp Kelowa and Singing Trail operations is preserved with the Louis and Emma Blumenthal Papers. The organization continues to operate as a nonprofit Jewish camp affiliated with the Jewish Community Center Association.
- 2020
Replacement Torah acquired
[1]The camp receives a replacement Torah scroll from the former B'Nai Israel synagogue in Olean, New York.
- 2019
All-gender cabins introduced
[1]Tawonga becomes one of the early United States summer camps to offer all-gender cabins.
- 2018
Ferguson Fire evacuation
[1]The camp evacuates because of hazardous wildfire smoke during its final summer session.
- 2013
Tree accident and Rim Fire
[1]A falling tree causes a fatality in July, and the Rim Fire later forces evacuation and destroys three buildings.
- 2003
Peacebuilding camp begins
[1]Tawonga begins hosting the Oseh Shalom-Sanea al Salam Palestinian-Jewish Family Peacemakers Camp with the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue.
- 1963
Move to the Tuolumne River site
[1]Camp Tawonga moves to its current 160-acre location on the Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River.
- 1925
Blumenthals establish the predecessor camps
[1]Louis and Emma Blumenthal establish Camp Kelowa for Boys and Singing Trail for Girls near Huntington Lake in the High Sierra.
Products and positioning
A Jewish nonprofit residential camp combining Sierra Nevada outdoor living, communal Jewish culture, youth development, family programming, and inclusion-oriented experiences.
Youth camp · 1925
Residential summer camp
Tawonga's core program is a Jewish residential summer-camp experience for children and young people. Campers live in rustic cabins, participate in outdoor activities, arts, swimming, ropes-course challenges, communal meals, and Jewish cultural life. The program is supported by a larger seasonal staff and can host roughly 500 attendees and staff at one time.
Family program
Camp Keshet
Camp Keshet is an LGBTQ family weekend designed to provide an affirming communal and outdoor camp experience for LGBTQ families. It extends Tawonga's facilities and camp model beyond the primary youth summer season.
Peacebuilding program · 2003
Oseh Shalom-Sanea al Salam Palestinian-Jewish Family Peacemakers Camp
This family-oriented peacebuilding program brought Palestinian and Jewish participants together at Tawonga for facilitated relationship-building and dialogue. It was conducted in cooperation with the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue from 2003 through 2007.
Brand decisions
2020
Acquire replacement Torah scrollOtherBackground
The Torah scroll rescued during the 2013 Rim Fire had been an important part of the camp's institutional history, creating a need for a replacement scroll for ongoing religious life.
Action taken
Tawonga obtained a replacement Torah scroll from the former B'Nai Israel synagogue in Olean, New York.
Aftermath
The acquisition allowed the camp to continue its Torah-centered Jewish programming while preserving the memory of the scroll saved during the fire.
2019
Adopt all-gender cabinsStrategyBackground
The camp sought to broaden participation and provide a more inclusive residential structure for campers whose gender identities or family circumstances did not fit traditional gender-separated cabin arrangements.
Action taken
Camp Tawonga introduced all-gender cabins during the 2019 summer season.
Aftermath
The change positioned Tawonga among the early United States summer camps to offer this accommodation and reinforced its inclusion-focused identity.
Recent events
- 2021
Counselor dies in off-site drowning[1]
Other
Counselor Eli Kane died by drowning off-site while working at Camp Tawonga.
- 2020
Camp Tawonga obtains replacement Torah scroll[1]
Other
The organization procured a replacement Torah scroll from the former B'Nai Israel synagogue in Olean, New York, after the original scroll had been rescued during the 2013 fire evacuation.
- 2019
Camp Tawonga introduces all-gender cabins[1]
Product launch · Other
The camp offered all-gender cabins, making it one of the early United States summer camps to adopt this accommodation broadly.
- 2018
Camp Tawonga evacuates during Ferguson Fire smoke emergency[1]
Other
Two days into the final summer session, the camp evacuated because of hazardous air quality linked to the Ferguson Fire and associated firefighting operations.
- 2013
Falling tree kills staff member and injures others at Camp Tawonga[1]
Other
A tree fell at the camp on July 3, killing an arts-and-crafts specialist and injuring several people. Campers were evacuated to the girls' side field.
- 2013
Rim Fire forces Camp Tawonga evacuation[1]
Other
The camp was evacuated during the August Rim Fire. A staff member returned to retrieve a Torah scroll that had survived the Holocaust, and three buildings were destroyed.
Sources1 sources
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