Prospective Campers
What is RYLA?
RYLA is a week-long leadership camp for high school students hosted in Scotts Valley, California. Students from all over Rotary District 5170 (San Francisco Bay Area– East Bay to South Bay) come together at Mission Springs Conference Center to develop their leadership skills, build relationships, and explore who they are and who they want to become. This experience is often described by our campers as “life-changing”, “impactful”, “fun”, “inspiring”, among others. Attendance at Camp RYLA is typically sponsored by a local Rotary Club and is offered as a “scholarship” to the selected student. Self-sponsorship is also available.
What do you do at RYLA?
Typically the mornings include rotations through 6 leadership modules on topics like relationship building, social justice, network and networth to name a few. These are our more formal classroom-like learning experiences. After lunch we spend time in our activity workshops which are hands-on learning experiences for students to put their leadership skills in action– workshops include things like Summer Jam, Speech and Debate, Entertainment, and more. The late afternoon is free time where students can play sports, spend time with new friends, or catch up on sleep. After dinner, we typically have fun team building and nighttime activities like campfires, yoga, and more. For many, the highlight of the week is the Dave Ditto BBQ where we invite our Rotarian sponsors to a presentation of the week’s activities and wrap with a camp dance under the stars. To learn more about our camp programming visit this page.
When is RYLA?
RYLA 2026 takes place June 21-26, 2026. Campers are all transported to RYLA via bus from either Saratoga or Santa Cruz. On Sunday, Campers meet the buses around 10:30 am in Saratoga or 12:00pm in Santa Cruz. On Friday, students return to the respective bus locations in the early afternoon.
Who is RYLA for?
Prospective campers must be current high school Freshman - Juniors and they must commit to attending the full week of camp. Students may be demonstrated leaders or potential leaders. Current involvement with Rotary Youth Services is not required, and we welcome students of all backgrounds to apply.
Interested in attending Camp RYLA?
