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Big Sky Kids

LAUGH, MOVE, PLAY, EXPLORE: GET THE CHANCE TO BE A KID.

To be a Big Sky Kid at Eagle Mount is to experience the incredible wonders of Montana’s outdoors, even as you face the challenges cancer has brought into your life. Big Sky Kids empowers participants to escape the confines of treatment schedules and hospital walls and experience all the thrills that our state has to offer!

Through this program, children and young adults aged 5 to 26, along with their families, can attend medically supervised camps that promote strength, wellness, fun, and freedom in an inspiring natural landscape. You’ll make new friends and memories, and forge meaningful connections that bring deep emotional support both during and after your camp experience.

Begun in 1985, Big Sky Kids serves young people with cancer from Montana and all over the U.S. We provide four different oncology summer camps, as well as a family ski weekend every spring. Our camps are centered around exciting Montana adventures such as white-water rafting, horseback riding, kayaking, fishing, zip-lining, and touring the wonders of Yellowstone National Park.

For more information, contact bigskykids@eaglemount.org.

On the agenda:

2025 Spring Fling

Dates:
April 4, 2025 - April 6, 2025

2025 Remembrance Retreat

Dates:
April 10, 2025 - April 13, 2025

2025 Flight Camp

Dates:
June 22, 2025 - June 28, 2025

2025 Camp Braveheart

Dates:
July 7, 2025 - July 12, 2025

2025 Big Sky Adventure

Dates:
July 18, 2025 - July 26, 2025

2025 Young Adult Retreat

Dates:
August 1, 2025 - August 8, 2025

Program Offerings

Spring Fling

Activities during this annual reunion weekend include downhill skiing or snowboarding at Big Sky Resort, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at Lone Mountain Ranch, and a pizza and pool party. Spring Fling is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with friends and families met at previous camps. Eagle Mount covers the cost of lodging, lift tickets and rentals.

Flight Camp

Flight Camp is designed for young adult cancer survivors ages 18-26 years old with dreams of flying. In partnership with Summit Aviation, Big Sky Kids provides four campers the opportunity to learn how to fly a plane and see the beauty of Montana from an entirely new perspective. Campers get hands-on during this 5 day adventure! Each morning starts with participants and their certified flight instructors conducting a pre-flight inspection on Summit’s aircraft before taking to the skies! All flight lessons take place above some of the best views Montana has to offer, as campers learn basic aircraft control and how to perform basic maneuvers; by the end of the week many are even performing their own take-offs and landings! Campers return from their morning flights to delicious themed lunches, afternoons tours of Bozeman International Airport facilities (including emergency response operations, the air traffic control tower, and private jets) and a ground lesson where instructors go over flight controls and aerodynamics, helpful tips for landing smoothly, and how to plan a cross-country flight. The week culminates in a graduation flight to Driggs, ID, during which campers get a bird’s eye view of the majestic Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons!

Camp Braveheart

Kayak, ride horses, fish, swim, create arts and crafts, eat s’mores, and more! Camp Braveheart is designed for campers aged 5 to 10 and their immediate families. Children in this age bracket that are post-treatment are welcome to apply! We’ll gather for 5 nights at Hyalite Youth Camp, a rustic facility located on the beautiful shores of Hyalite Reservoir just outside of Bozeman. Camp Braveheart is medically supervised by a nurse, and the only cost to families is transportation to and from your home.

Big Sky Adventure

You’ll be forever changed by this unforgettable experience of the beautiful outdoors. Big Sky Adventure Camp is designed for kids ages 11 to 18 who are still in treatment for their cancer or who have recently completed their treatment, plus one parent or guardian each. This unique camp includes a float on the Yellowstone river, horseback riding, white-water rafting, a day trip to Yellowstone National Park, and many more exciting excursions. Big Sky Adventure Camp is medically supervised by an oncologist, and is an all-expense paid vacation, including travel.

Young Adult Retreat

Young Adult Retreat (YAR) is designed for young adults ages 18 to 26 whose cancer is in remission. For a full week, campers are immersed in adventurous outdoor activities, the camaraderie of a small group, and opportunities to develop unique and powerful leadership skills. YAR is a traveling camp with an itinerary that changes from year to year, so returning campers are given the chance to see multiple facets of Montana’s beauty. This retreat is medically supervised by a volunteer nurse, and the only cost for our YAR campers is transportation to and from their homes.

Participate

When you participate at Eagle Mount, you make new strides, happy memories, and good friends while enjoying Montana’s amazing recreation opportunities! Our programs and camps are designed for people of all ages with physical, developmental or cognitive disabilities, and for young people with cancer.

Volunteer

As an Eagle Mount volunteer, you’ll receive training designed to help you improve your personal skills, learn to adapt to the needs of people we work with, and learn about the wonderful world of Disability.

Support

Eagle Mount Bozeman invites annual partnerships and sponsorships from businesses and individuals deeply invested in community, who believe that people with disabilities or cancer deserve to experience all that Montana has to offer, and who want to help them “mount up with wings as eagles.“