Camp Mather

Summer Family Camp 2023

  • Summer Family Camp reservations and waiting list information have been sent. The final payment is due 30 days before your reservation start date.
  • For questions, email matherreservations@sfgov.org.
  • Waiting List Chart - we will email you if we have an opening and you will have one business day to respond. If you do not respond, you will be removed from the waiting list.

Senior Get-Away Information

The Senior Get-Away is scheduled for August 20-24, 2023. Registration has closed.

The Senior Camp Mather Getaway is a four-night adventure where you can relax, lounge around, enjoy nature, and have a good time. You'll stay in a cozy cabin that has beds, dressers, and electricity. Well-lit bathhouses with toilets and showers are near the cabins. You will be served cafeteria-style meals. You can participate in activities that include art and crafts, sing-alongs, exercise classes, nature hikes, a one-day trip to Yosemite National Park, and a variety of fun-filled evening activities. It is truly a getaway. 

Registration Period:  Monday, April 24 at 10AM to Friday, May 12, at 5PM

Registration Procedure:  Go to www.sfrecpark.org/register, log into your account, and fill out the detailed registration form.  The course number is 36209

  • If you don’t have an account, follow the instructions to apply for a new account.
  • Each camper must be registered into the lottery registration even if they are from the same family account.
  • Registration Period:  Monday, April 24, 10 AM to Friday, May 12, 5:00 PM

Camp Fee Due if selected:  SF Resident: $393      Non-Resident: $440

Contact: Rec-SeniorCampMather@sfgov.org

Women by a campfire
Kids riding bikes
Woman riding a horse
Pile of logs by trees
Kids and adults at an archery range
Mather Nature
Kids participating in a sack race
Youth on a challenge course high above the ground
Kids performing a program on-stage
  1. History
  2. Activities
  3. Accommodations
  4. Reservation Information


The Origmorgue29_mather_entrance-600x354ins of a San Francisco Family Tradition

The history of Camp Mather dates back many years before the area became a popular vacation site. Even before the pioneers settled in California, Mather was home to a group of Miwok Indians, who made their camp near where the corral now stands. Artifacts are occasionally found from these Indians.

Although there are signs that prospectors may have re-settled the area during the gold rush era, it was actually not until the early part of this century that the area became heavily populated, when the City of San Francisco began construction of a dam at nearby Hetch Hetchy Valley.

During this time, a sawmill was built on the lake side of Mather to supply the lumber needed for the dam’s construction. ’ Birch Lake, now the camp "swimming hole," was used to float logs needed for the project.

At the same time, the Yosemite Park and Curry Company used the other side of camp to house tourists interested in seeing both Yosemite National Park and the construction of the dam. The company built the Jack Spring Dining Hall for this purpose, the building that now serves as the Camp Mather kitchen and dining room.

When the O’Shaughnessy Dam was completed, many of the facilities were no longer needed. In the mid 1920’s, the City of San Francisco designated the property for use as a family recreation area. It was named Camp Mather in honor of Stephen T. Mather, the first director of the National Park Service.