Our Progress

Sometimes, triumphs come from tribulations.

In 2021, two years ahead of the original schedule, we held our first camps at Hidden Paradise in Fairfield, Idaho. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to get creative for our campers. We pulled off a miracle and with the help of many hands, we remodeled fourteen buildings — with new roofs, chinking, painting, new ADA bathrooms, new floors, and new bunk beds. We remodeled a commercial kitchen, created an outdoor dining area built over a crumbling old swimming pool, put in bike trails, added a ropes course, and more.

And we’re not done yet! Actually, we’re just getting started.

Blue Cross of Idaho has donated to build a new Health Center and Blackrock Homes will build new accessible cabins and shower houses for the kids. But to get these started, we need a strong foundation — infrastructure and site development to support the old, the new, and the future. We also need a large new lodge to fully support our camps and have the ability to bring everyone indoors if needed. This lodge will help us get back to larger camp attendance, take campers and families off the waiting lists, and to accommodate all the other organizations and groups lining up to lease the property.

Construction Businesses Work Together to Heal Idaho

A multitude of subcontractors, construction workers, and vendors are linking arms under the direction of Blackrock Homes to build 12 new cabins and 2 shower houses as a gift for Idaho’s children dealing with medical challenges.

The cabins are all ADA accessible with ADA bathrooms, showers, heat, and air conditioning. They feature space to host 12 people total (campers and volunteers). The cabins also include a feature to divide the cabin into two sides, each with room for 6, and still including private bathrooms on each side.

Blackrock has built the first of the cabins as a prototype. This will allow leaders from other Idaho charities to make sure the cabins fit their specific camp needs before the rest are built in the Spring and Summer of 2023.

Read the full press release here.

Front Porch View

ADA Showers

Cabin Front Doors

Bathroom Sinks

Cabin Interior

Room Divider

New Cabin Exterior

Front Door

New Bike Trails Give a Scenic View of the Prairie

We had the bikes, the dream— and now, we have the space. The property at Hidden Paradise has an abundance of land and we’re thrilled to now enjoy 3 incredible mountain bike courses to get our campers moving.

A child-friendly, all-accessible course is available for our campers with restrictions or just learning to ride. Another accessible course with a few more challenges takes riders on a trip through the trees and over the creek. And a third, a more complicated route for teens and adults is available up on the hills, giving riders a beautiful view of the Prairie and all of Camp.

These courses were made possible through countless hours of planning and hard work from donors and volunteers.

Special thanks to donors: The Larsen Fund, Muffy Ritz, The Marilyn Rivera Memorial Fund, SPUR, The Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho, and The South West Idaho Mountain Bike Association.

Teamwork and Triumphs on the Ropes Course

Ropes courses like ours build confidence, teamwork, and trust. Our low ropes course features games and activities for every level and has paths for all abilities to participate.

With features like the Whale Watch, Vertical and Horizontal Spider Webs, Pentagon, Trailblazer, and Trustfall Platforms, our campers learn to overcome challenges by learning about each other and working together toward a common goal.

Special thanks to the donors who made this possible: Regence Blue Shield and the Cambia Health Foundation.

And So Much More…

These are just a few of the renovations, upgrades, additions, and remodels we’ve accomplished so far at Hidden Paradise. We can’t wait for what’s to come!