About The Little Explorers Club

The Little Explorers Club is a community for anyone who has a relationship with a child to join together and embrace adventure and kid exploration.  We want to see more kids on local trails and open spaces, growing their imagination and creativity, while taking healthy risks and building their self-esteem through interactions with nature. 

We believe in letting kids take the lead and having freedom to roam and explore in our backyards.  We are not a hiking club.  So often we rush kids along to get to a destination or stay on our busy schedule.  The Little Explorers Club gives kids time to sit in the dirt and watch ants crawl around them, splash in the creek, or let their imaginations turn boulders into ships and sticks into fishing poles.  

The Little Explorers Club is a simple way to encourage a love for the outdoors in our children so they become stewards of our planet, and to create a community of parents and caretakers to work together in this effort.

Each local community is unique in its members and location.  The Little Explorers Club wants to empower communities to take initiative to form their local club in a way that suits their community while honoring our principles listed above.  

Listen here to learn a little more about us. 

About the Founders

Becca Caldwell grew up in the farmlands of Minnesota.  Her favorite memories from childhood are playing in her backyard and going on family camping trips, often in Rocky Mountain National Park.  After college, Becca moved to Colorado and met her husband, world-renowned rock climber, Tommy Caldwell.  Tommy grew up in Estes Park, Colorado and spent his childhood on adventures in the mountains. 

When Becca and Tommy had their son, Fitz, they decided it was important that he have a childhood spent outside.  They believe nature has provided the perfect canvas for development, and for a lot of fun.  When Fitz was young, Becca noticed that her friends were planning playdates at local playgrounds and coffee shops, but no one was taking advantage of the amazing trails all over their backyard in Rocky Mountain National Park.  She also knew that many kids in Estes Park never utilized the national park, located just minutes away from their front families.  In an effort to change this, she started the Estes Park Little Explorers Club.  Her goal was to inspire local families to get their kids outside, and now she wants to share that inspiration with other communities.  

Becca has been heading up the Estes Park Little Explorer's Club since 2015.  She and Tommy have also welcomed a daughter, Ingrid, into their family.