San Diego, CA

The Oaks Retreat Center
Friday, August 1 - Sunday, August 3, 2025

California, here we come!

Join us for a weekend mountain getaway at The Oaks as Blue Skies heads west! Nestled on 240 acres in the Ballena Valley and located only an hour outside of San Diego and two hours from Los Angeles, The Oaks is a retreat center to help promote rest and renewal and focuses on community and connections.

beautiful views

Enjoy the modern accommodations, hiking trails, tennis courts, a three story water slide and pool, and the amazing gathering spaces that overlook the mountain vistas. There are also 40 ROCKING CHAIRS - Where you sleep is important, but where you rock is even more! Most of their guests say they would sleep in their oversized, outdoor rocking chairs if they could!

WHAT TO KNOW

where

The Oaks, A Southern California Retreat Center in the Ballena Valley

Address: 27224 HWY 78 Ramona, CA 92065

ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE

Arrival time: Between 4pm - 5pm PST

Departure time: 10:30am PST (Please bring your bags with your to breakfast!)

what to pack

You won’t need much! Pack casual clothes, including a sweatshirt in case it’s cool in the evening, bathing suits, flip-flops, shoes to hike in, and your toiletries. Remember to bring all of your family's routine medications like Advil, Tylenol, bandaids, etc. along with any prescription medications, medical supplies, equipment and swim diapers if you have little ones. We are having a western night and hayride on Saturday - you may want to pack a bandana, denim or boots!

We will provide:

  • Bedding and linens (by the resort)

  • Sunscreen (30+ lotion)

  • Snacks and bottled water, canned soda

  • Games, arts & crafts

schedule

Here’s what camp looks like:

FRIDAY

  • 5pm Camp WELCOME!

  • 6pm Dinner

  • 7pm LOL Show

  • 8pm S’mores around the campfire!

sATURDAY'

  • 8:30am Breakfast

  • 9:30am Good Morning Blue Skies (7pm LOL Show)

  • 10:00am Kindred Journeys (Parent Group)/Soaring (Kid’s Activities)

  • Noon Lunch

  • 1pm - 5pm Swimming; Tennis; Pickleball; Games; Crafts

  • 5:30pm BBQ

  • 6:30pm Sunset Hayride

  • 8pm S’mores around the campfire!

sUNDAY

  • 8am Parent breakfast

  • 9am Good Morning Blue Skies

  • 10am Benediction

what to expect

You can expect lots of smiles and excitement! Our team of volunteers will be ready to greet you with open arms! When you pull into the community of The Oaks, follow the road up the hill to the top. A Blue Skies team member will greet you and help you get checked in.

Our days begin with fun and togetherness! We start with Good Morning Blue Skies, worship and Chapel. Afterward, parents gather to get to know each other and share their stories while the kids play and have fun! Afternoons are spent with fun activities from tennis, pickleball, and lawn games to lounging at the pool - and there’s plenty of time for naps or to take in the views from a rocking chair too. After dinner, get ready for lots of laughs and fun family time at our evening activities! After watching a glorious sunset, you can have a s’more or grab some milk and cookies before climbing into a comfy bed.

It's gonna be a great time! And hopefully, exactly what you and your family need!!

We ask every guest family to attend our welcome dinner and participate in our first Kindred Journeys session. We encourage guest families to participate in all camp activities, but, take from this weekend what your family needs and participate in what you choose.

meals

All meals are provided. We will enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinners together in the beautiful dining hall at The Oaks.

housing

Volunteers and guests will stay in lodges on the property. Your room assignments will be given at check-in.

Guest families will have their own bedroom and bathroom. Each building is unique and rooms/accommodations vary.

travel

We wish we could blink you to camp, but each family must provide their own transportation. If you need to fly, the closest airport to The Oaks is the San Diego International Airport, about an hour away.

guidelines

To help keep everyone safe, please review our guidelines for camp by clicking HERE. We ask all campers to abide by these guidelines to ensure we all have an incredible week together!

podcast

Click here to hear Melinda’s heart behind the ministry and the hope Blue Skies brought to the Dryden family as they join Christy Nockels on her podcast!

a letter from melinda

Click here to read a welcome from Melinda!

additional info

This will be our inaugural mountain getaway in California! It’s lots of fun and family time packed in a weekend with new friends! Blue Skies started in 2010 with a mission to share the love and hope of Jesus with families facing the challenges and heartache of childhood cancer. For the past 15 seasons, Blue Skies has held camp in Port St. Joe, Florida and over the last several years, has added trips to St. Simons Island, Georgia; Orange Beach, Alabama; Dollywood, Tennessee and now on the west coast! We pray camp is a meaningful and hope-filled experience!

Cancellation Policy

Please let us know right away if for some reason you can not make it to camp. We want to make sure every room is filled with families who need a little Blue Skies! Email Mary Nicholl, our Guest Family Coordinator, signmeup@whereskiesareblue.org.