A few years back, I had the privilege of visiting the NRA Whittington Center, a 33,000-acre stretch of high desert beauty tucked into the foothills of New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains, just southwest of Raton. I came away in awe of what the center offers adult shooters: an unrivaled collection of ranges, world-class competition venues and the kind of wide-open Western landscape that makes you feel like you’re back in time on the Santa Fe Trail.
But since my visit, I’ve learned that one of the most compelling reasons to make the trip to Whittington has nothing to do with my own shooting; it’s about what the center can do for the next generation. If you have kids between the ages of 13 and 17, there is quite simply no better summer experience you can give them than the NRA Whittington Center Adventure Camp.
More Than a Summer Camp
Let me be direct: this is not a week at a lake with canoes and s’mores. The NRA Whittington Center Adventure Camp, known as ADVC, is a serious, structured, 13-day all-inclusive, coed firearms and outdoor education program that has been transforming young men and women into responsible, confident citizens since 1988. Over 3,600 campers from across the United States, Canada and beyond have come through the program. They arrive as kids. They leave as something more.
The program is offered in two consecutive 13-day sessions each summer, running from mid-June through mid-July. Each session hosts up to 56 campers between the ages of 13 and 17, divided into small groups for hands-on individual instruction and personal mentoring. The all-volunteer staff, certified instructors and counselors, many of whom are themselves former Adventure Campers, bring a level of knowledge, passion and genuine care for young people that is rare to find anywhere.
Leadership, Patriotism & Marksmanship — In That Order
The official motto of Adventure Camp is Leadership, Patriotism and Marksmanship, and the order is intentional. The trigger time is the hook, the vehicle and the reward. But what the program is really building, day by day, is leaders and patriots.
Every morning before breakfast, the American flag is raised, and the National Anthem is played. Meals are blessed. These aren’t incidental details; they are the backbone of a daily culture that reminds young people where they come from and what they stand for. In a world where those traditions are increasingly rare, Adventure Camp makes them central.
Parent after parent and graduate after graduate will tell you that their son or daughter came home from Whittington fundamentally changed–more mature, more confident, more responsible. One graduate, Dana McBee, who attended the very first session in 1988, put it simply: the NRA Whittington Center Adventure Camp is a world-class experience where young people gain the skills to handle firearms safely while experiencing the outdoors in a setting that is absolutely breathtaking. More than 35 years later, that hasn’t changed.
Former campers become counselors. Former counselors become program directors. The program builds a family that spans generations and geography. Kids from Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Canada and beyond arrive as strangers and leave with friendships that last decades.
World-Class Shooting on 18 Ranges
When I visited Whittington, what struck me immediately was the sheer scale and quality of its shooting facilities. The Center operates 28 world-class ranges, and Adventure Camp kids get access to the full spectrum. During their 13 days, each camper fires over 1,400 rounds across a curriculum that covers:
- High Power Rifle — silhouette and long-range shooting up to a full mile
- Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays
- Muzzleloader — bullseye and silhouette
- Pistol — bullseye and silhouette
- Archery — target and 3D
Every bit of this training takes place against the spectacular backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and unlike some of the military ranges I’ve shot at, the backstop on the 1,000-yard line here is a mountain, not a lake. No cease-fires because a boater wandered into the range. Just clean, uninterrupted shooting in some of the most breathtaking high desert scenery in America.
All necessary shooting equipment and ammunition are provided by the center. No personal firearms are allowed, which means parents don’t have to worry about transport, and every kid starts on a level playing field.
Hunting, Survival & the Outdoors
The shooting curriculum is just part of the story. Adventure Camp’s hunting and outdoor education program teaches campers genuine hunting ethics and responsibilities, basic wilderness and survival skills, knife use, camp preparation and cooking, game care and tracking. These aren’t classroom lectures; the skills are put to use during a three-day campout complete with a walk-through hunt using steel targets.
The camp also incorporates the New Mexico State Hunter’s Education program, with a full-spectrum firearms training emphasis on safety first and hands-on fundamentals. To earn the NRA Whittington Adventure Camp Certificate of Completion, each camper must demonstrate safe handling of their firearms and the shooting skills learned during their time at camp. There’s real accountability here and real pride when they earn that certificate.
The Setting: God’s Country, Plain and Simple
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the NRA Whittington Center is one of those places that has to be seen to be believed. At 33,300 acres—that’s more than 53 square miles—it is the largest civilian shooting range in the country, if not the world. The historic Mountain Route of the Santa Fe Trail runs through the property. The high desert foothills where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains stretch in every direction. At an average elevation of 7,500 feet, the air is thin, the sky is enormous and the stars at night are extraordinary.
Campers stay in Whittington’s rustic log cabins, each with bunk beds, storage, a separate bathroom with shower, and counselor quarters. Meals are served at the center’s cafeteria. The campus also features the Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest, the Bud and Willa Eyman Research Library, the Van Houten Ghost Town and Coal Mine ruins and “The Scout” statue and walkway honoring Charlton Heston overlooking the Santa Fe Trail. This is not just a camp; it’s an immersion in American history, Western heritage and outdoor culture.
What It Costs & Why It’s Worth Every Penny
The cost of Adventure Camp is $1,300 — and that includes 13 days of lodging, all meals, all ammunition, all shooting equipment, prizes, expert instruction from certified volunteers and a banquet on the final evening where friends and family are encouraged to attend. Compare that to the cost of virtually any other specialized youth camp or training program of this caliber, and you’ll quickly realize it’s an extraordinary value.
The NRA Whittington Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates solely on donations and range and program fees. Generous corporate and individual sponsors have helped make Adventure Camp a reality since its founding. If you want to invest in the program and in the future of America’s shooting heritage, the Center welcomes sponsors.
Act Now—This Camp Fills FAST
With only 56 spots per session, Adventure Camp fills quickly, and demand has grown steadily over the program’s 37-year history. Applications for campers and staff for 2026 and 2027 sessions are already available online.
Your sons and daughters are growing up in a world where screens compete for every minute of attention, and genuine outdoor experiences are increasingly rare. Adventure Camp cuts through all of that. It puts real firearms in their hands under expert supervision, puts real wilderness under their feet, and builds the kind of confidence and character that no video game, no social media platform, and no conventional summer camp ever could.
I’ve seen what the NRA Whittington Center is capable of. The ranges, the landscape, the history, the heritage — it is something genuinely special. Now imagine what a 13-year-old kid from anywhere in America feels when they step onto that property, pick up a rifle for the first time, and hear it echo off a mountainside. That experience lasts a lifetime.
Camper and staff applications are available for the 2027 sessions, and slots for the 2028 sessions open on July 1, 2026. Space fills up fast. Don’t miss the adventure of a lifetime. Visit the NRA Whittington Center Adventure Camp website here.
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