July 26th - August 2nd, 2026
Arrival: July 26th, 2:00-5:00 PM
Departure: August 2nd, 10:30 AM
Nurture family connection while restoring your energy in the beautiful landscape of Drala Mountain Center. This creative and contemplative retreat is designed for the whole family, offering space for reflection, play, and shared practice in a setting that supports both renewal and togetherness.
In the mornings, adults can enjoy meditation, yoga, and Parenting as Path discussions while children take part in enriching activities with friends. Afternoons and evenings bring family hikes to the Stupa, contemplative arts and crafts, free play, song night, a talent show, and a dance party.
Throughout the retreat, we will explore Buddhist teachings that support the cultivation of loving kindness for ourselves and compassionate relationships with family, community, and the wider world. As we deepen our capacity for compassion in family life, we look at how love and care can soften our rough edges and help us meet the challenges of parenthood with steadiness, clarity, and warmth.
This year’s program builds on the compassion practices of the 2025 Family Camp, adding wisdom from the Four Skillful Actions of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Through daily progressive compassion training, meditation, and glimpses of current compassion science, participants will have the opportunity to strengthen expressions of love in everyday relationships.
Guests may stay in comfortable platform tents among fresh pine and fragrant summer breezes, or choose indoor lodging with views of the unspoiled wilderness.
Children begin the day with a morning session from 9:15 AM to 12:00 PM. Age groups include:
Children enjoy craft projects, time outdoors, stories, songs, hikes in the woods, and group games. They are also introduced to sitting meditation and meditative arts as ways to work with heart and mind, while exploring basic goodness as a source of intelligence, compassion, and confidence.
Please note that there is no programming for children under 3. Families with younger children are welcome, with the understanding that one parent will stay with the child during the morning program. Tent lodging may not be ideal for young children who need afternoon naps, as tents can become hot during the day; indoor lodging is recommended in that case.
This special program for children ages 8-10 supports the transition from dependence on parents toward greater responsibility within family and community life. Through sitting meditation, kyudo (Zen archery), ikebana (flower arranging), haiku, calligraphy, and other meditative arts, children gain practical tools for caring for their minds and emotions with confidence and gentleness.
The week concludes with a powerful ceremony in which children take a vow of kindness toward themselves and others. There is an additional fee of $110 Program Tuition per child for Rites of Passage. The program will be led by Tessa Ladendorff.
Registration will open through a lottery system to give everyone an equal opportunity for a place in the camp. On February 1st, a lottery form will open on this page and will appear as “Register For Lottery” buttons at the top, bottom, and throughout the page as you scroll.
After submitting the form, participants will receive an email on February 9th with their status. The form will close 72 hours after it opens, so please mark February 1st on your calendar.
Registration fees include Program Tuition and lodging. Standard room rates are discounted to make Family Camp more affordable. Initial housing costs include adult meals and lodging, while children’s meals and lodging are included in their tuition cost. Lodging costs will be visible when registration opens.
Registration fees help cover Drala Mountain Center’s operational costs, including facilities, lodging, food, supplies, support staff, and direct program expenses, as well as a base honorarium for the Family Camp Directors.
Many teachers and program staff volunteer their expertise to create the experience of Family Camp. To honor their work, a Heart Offering is collected, and 100% of it goes toward teaching and non-teaching staff honoraria.
Please offer from a place of generosity, regardless of the amount. This payment is made separately, and Drala Mountain Center does not process it.
Financial assistance will be available. Once accepted into the program, you will receive instructions on how to apply.
Judith Simmer-Brown and Richard Brown
Judith Simmer-Brown is one of the founding faculty of Naropa University and has taught Buddhist studies since 1977. Since retiring in 2020, she continues there as a trainer for the Compassion Initiative and the Masters of Divinity. Richard Brown, founder of Naropa University’s Education Department, has dedicated his career to adapting Buddhist wisdom for contemporary teaching and learning. He has taught in public elementary school and in a Buddhist-inspired K-12 setting, and has written and lectured internationally on contemplative education.
Kelly Lindsey
Kelly Lindsey is a meditation teacher, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and Safe and Sound Protocol Provider based in Austin, TX. Her path has woven together more than 25 years of meditation practice, healing modalities, and spiritual study, including Counseling Psychology, Somatic Experiencing, Tibetan Buddhism, and Classical Indian Yoga.
Rachel Steele
Rachel is a longtime educator and the director of Alaya Preschool in Boulder, CO, where she has taught for more than 20 years. With degrees in Early Childhood Education and Contemplative Education from Naropa University, she has been involved in family programming in Shambhala since 2002.
Tessa Ladendorff
Tessa Ladendorff was born into the Shambhala community and has been meditating since age 5. She has a deep connection to the Rites of Passage program and has helped teach it in Boulder and at DMC Family Camp for much of her teens and twenties. She now lives in Boulder with her husband and children, and works as a mama, designer, artist, and astrologer.
Drala Mountain Center
Price
On request
Please contact the organizer directly for pricing information
Sun, Jul 26 – Mon, Aug 3