If your child’s already thinking about summer camp, it might be time to start looking into early registration. Some camps accept applications as early as December, so you can take care of the registration process now and have plenty of time to prepare before the summer starts.
Check out these DMV-area camps with early registration in December and January. From classic day camps to specialty camps focused on one area of interest, there’s a lot to explore!
Open for Registration
BYM Summer Camps
Sandy Spring, MD
A Quaker camp focused on exploring local nature; incorporates off-campus hiking and boating trips
{ Registration currently open }
bymcamps.org
Camp Sonshine
Silver Spring, MD
Christian camp with fun aquatic and adventure attractions and programming
{ Registration currently open }
campsonshine.org
Sunrise Day Camp
Fairfax, VA
A 7-week-long day camp for children with cancer and their siblings
{ Registration currently open }
horizondaycamp.org
Valley Mill Camp
Darnestown, MD
Offers several camp programs for boys, girls and counselors-in-training; holds a weeklong spring camp for anyone who want to try out camp early
{ Registration currently open }
valleymill.com
Opening in December
Camp Arena Stage
Washington, D.C.
Arts camp where campers can choose their own schedules from a variety of activities, including theater, dance and stop-motion animation
{ Registration opens in December }
arenastage.org/camp
Encore Stage & Studio Camps
Arlington, VA
Holds theater camps year-round with different themes; also offers a camp for kids interested in learning about backstage work
{ Registration opens in December }
encorestage.org/camps
KID Museum Summer Camps
Bethesda, MD
Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-based camps with a different theme every week
{ Registration opens early December }
kid-museum.org/programs/summer-camp
Opening in January
Chesterbrook Academy Summer Camp
Locations throughout Northern VA & Olney, MD
Offers day camps and academic camps
{ Registration opens in January }
chesterbrookacademy.com/camp/summer-camp
City of Rockville Recreation and Parks Summer Camp
Rockville, MD
Day camp offering a wide variety of activities and several field trip opportunities
{ Registration opens early January }
rockvillemd.gov/359/Summer-Camps
Green Acres Camp
Bethesda, MD
A long-running day camp with a focus on nature and outdoor activities, as well as building teamwork and confidence in campers
{ Registration opens early January }
greenacrescamp.org
KidsCo Inc. Summer Camp
Gaithersburg, MD
Offers day camp, travel camp and summer school options
{ Registration opens Jan. 5 }
kidscoonline.com/camp2026
Barrie Camp
Silver Spring, MD
Barrie School-based camp that offers a variety of activities and a leadership program for rising ninth graders
{ Registration opens Jan. 7 }
barrie.org/camp/overview
Sidwell Summer
Washington, D.C. & Bethesda, MD
Sidwell Friends School’s summer program, offering a variety of specialty camps and academic programs
{ Registration opens Jan. 14 }
sidwellsummer.org
Beauvoir Summer Camp
Washington, D.C.
Day camp with a different theme every week; offers counselor-in-training programs for older campers
{ Registration opens Jan. 15 }
beauvoirschool.org/summer
Camp Aristotle
Silver Spring, MD
A camp geared towards children with learning differences such as ADHD and autism
{ Registration opens Jan. 20 }
theauburnschool.org/summer-programs/camp-aristotle-silver-spring-campus
More to Explore
As more summer camps announce their registration dates, many will be opening for registration from January through March. Here are just a handful of camps to look out for this winter. For even more options to fuel your camp search, visit washingtonfamily.com/campdirectory.
{ Overnight Camps }
- Camp Horizons / Harrisburg, VA
- Camp Under the Stars / Dumfries, VA
- Ancestral Knowledge / Greenbelt, MD
- Camp Woodend / Chevy Chase, MD
- Camp Highroad / Middleburg, VA
{ Specialty Camps }
- Game Camp Nation / Herndon, VA
{ Video game development } - Arsenal Soccer Camp / Washington, D.C.
{ Soccer } - International School of Music Camps / Bethesda, MD
{ Music } - Summer Art Camp at The Art League / Alexandria, VA
{ Art } - Children’s Science Center Lab Camps / Fairfax, VA
{ STEM }
{ New Program }
Camp Invention Launches ‘Spark’ in 2026
Camp Invention has long been a learning space for creative kids to put their thinking caps on and channel the inventors that came before them. A program of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum, the camp stemmed from a makers’ space that was popular with young people at the museum’s original Akron, Ohio, location. The first camp locations opened in 1990, and now there are thousands across the country, including in the D.C. area, where the museum moved to a new home in the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia.
Camp Invention serves many families across the DMV, and this year it has a new program with locations in Hyattsville, Bowie and Germantown, Maryland, and Alexandria, Vienna, Lorton and Woodbridge, Virginia.
The Spark program is focused on collaboration on different problem-solving experiences through hands-on challenges and open-ended adventures.
Kids can “time travel to ensure their ideas are patented and protected against the Infringers” or “create sleuthing gadgets to help them collect bits of fluffy fur and reveal a trail of animal tracks” as they investigate mischievous pranks with Cap E. Bara and a fleet of robotic capybaras. Other adventures explore surfboard innovation and DIY space rockets.
Learn more at invent.org/programs/camp-invention.
