Butterfield Acres' Summer Camps | Family Fun Calgary

Butterfield Acres’ Summer Camps Are All About Fun, Fresh Air, and the Farm Experience!

Get your kids offline and outside this summer — a week on the farm at Butterfield Acres’ summer camps is just what they need! Fresh air, adorable animals, and lots of fun and games will give your kids an experience to remember. They’ll be staying active and learning about the world around them. There’s nothing like coming home tired and happy, filled with stories about an amazing day outside!

Butterfield Acres is Calgary’s farmyard. Right on the NW edge of the city, it’s easy for your city kids to experience a taste of farm animal life from spring to fall. You can visit the animals every day from April to September for fresh air and family fun, or even have the animals come to you. In the summer, you can send your kids for a wonderful week on the farm with their summer camps. And if you live in the south, select weeks have a bus service to the farm!

Summer Camps

Children ages 4 – 14 will enjoy summer camp at Butterfield Acres, nurturing a love for animals and the outdoors while they make new friends. With shorter day camps for 4 and 5-year-olds, plus full-day camps for kids ages 4 – 14, you will find a host of options, including Farmers in Training for ages 12 – 14. The littlest farmers can also get a head start on summer with camp during the last week of June, from June 23 – 27, 2025. All the camps fill up quickly, so see the schedule for what works best for your family.

What to Expect

A typical day at Butterfield Acres includes all kinds of farming fun. Your kids can get up close and personal with the critters. Maybe they will bottle-feed one of the babies or feed the animals hay, chop, or slop. There will be animal games, activities, crafts, and camp songs. Depending on their age group, your kids will get to ride on a pony, donkey, or even a horse. Of course, don’t forget a ride on the tractor or a chance to discover a whole new world in the pond! There will also be a camp “hoedown” on the last day, where you can see what your kids have been up to all week.

Every day at camp highlights a farm animal, with hands-on activities tailored to each child’s stage of development, attention span, motor skill development, physical endurance, and social skills. Kids will learn how to care for the featured animal, including their habits and what they eat. Plus, kids will be outside, enjoying the fresh air and countryside and will come home at the end of the week with this year’s Farm T-shirt and a “Memory Photo” with one of their fuzzy farm friends.

Farmers in Training

The Farmers in Training camp is a unique opportunity for older kids, as they become increasingly knowledgeable and responsible, to be more involved in operating the farm. Kids ages 12 – 14 will explore in-depth animal care, observing the animals, keeping records, and even observing elementary vet care, if necessary. They’ll experience fun and leadership with the other campers. This camp can lead to the Junior Leader Development Program for kids who might want to work for Butterfield Acres. Many Butterfield Acres’ staff began as campers, some from when they were just preschoolers!

Other Info

Do you live in the south? For 2 weeks each summer (July 21 – 25, 2025, and August 11 – 15, 2025), Butterfield Acres runs a bus service for a fee, as a convenience for families that live farther away. Parents can also access other conveniences, such as adding snacks and lunch. If you have multiple children in camps that start at different times, or you need a longer day, you can opt in for before and after care, starting as early as 7:30 AM and extending until 5 PM. Be sure to explore all your options!

The best summer memories are made outside … and on the farm! This year, show your city kids a little picture of what life on the farm is all about and register for Butterfield Acres’ summer camps before they fill up.