This summer, we shared some big news: JCC Ranch Camp is taking over ownership and management of Maccabi Sports Camp, bringing two established Jewish overnight camp experiences together at the Ranch beginning in Summer 2027.
As you may know, JCC Ranch Camp has been offering a residential Jewish experience in Elbert, Colorado since 1953. For many years, Ranch Camp has offered two primary tracks—our Traditional Program and our Specialty Camps—each intentionally designed to grow with campers year after year. The Traditional Program features a diverse array of activities (including horseback riding, swimming, high and low ropes, teva (nature) and gardening, sports, hiking, archery, music, rikkud (dance), drama, arts & crafts, Israeli culture, and Judaics). Specialty Camps, namely Equestrian (EQ) and Outdoor Adventure (OA) provide older campers with deeper, more focused opportunities for skill building through horseback riding, backpacking, orienteering, mountain biking, and off-site trips. In summer 2027 – for the first time at Ranch Camp – we are so excited to offer Maccabi Sports camp as a Specialty Program. So, while Traditional Ranch and Maccabi campers will live together, share staff, participate in many activities as one community, Maccabi campers will follow a sports-focused program.
Founded in 2014, Maccabi was built around a simple idea: kids who love sports shouldn’t have to choose between meaningful athletic development and the powerful experience of Jewish overnight camp. Since its inception, hundreds of campers have called Maccabi Sports Camp “their camp.”
Beginning next summer, Maccabi Sports Camp at the Ranch will offer Basketball, Ultimate Frisbee, Soccer, Baseball & Softball, and Sports of All Sorts. Campers will spend 3 to 4 hours each day focused on their sport through coaching, skill development, practice, and play. In addition, campers will still get to experience all that Ranch Camp has to offer, including swimming in the pool, horseback riding, mountain biking, going up (and down) the challenge course and zip line, arts and crafts, farming, experiencing Shabbat at Ranch, and more.
What excites us most is what bringing these two camps together on one campus! For Ranch Campers, Maccabi Sports Camp creates a new pathway for kids who want sports to become a bigger part of their summer. For Maccabi Sports Campers, the Ranch opens up 400 acres of new adventures and activities alongside the sports experience they already know and love. And for kids who haven’t found their way to Jewish overnight camp because their summers revolve around sports, there is now another way in.
Maccabi Sports brings more than a decade of experience using sports to build teamwork, resilience, leadership, and Jewish connection. Ranch Camp brings more than 70 years of creating a place where kids build friendships, explore, take on challenges, and grow summer after summer. By bringing those strengths together, we can give even more kids a way to find their place at camp.
Summer 2027 is the beginning of an exciting new chapter, and we can’t wait to welcome the Maccabi Sports community to the Ranch!