{{short description|US outdoor education organization}} {{About|the outdoor educational group|the Roman settlement|Calleva Atrebatum}}
{{Infobox company | name = Calleva Inc. | logo = | type = Non-profit | foundation = {{start date and age|1994}}<br>Darnestown, Maryland, U.S. | founders = Nick Markoff<br>Alex "Al" Markoff<br>Matt Markoff | location = Poolesville, Maryland, U.S. | area_served = Washington, D.C.<br />Montgomery County, Maryland<br />Potomac, and Great Falls, Virginia | industry = | services = Summer camp, outdoor education, private programming | homepage = [http://www.calleva.org/ Calleva.org] }}
'''Calleva''' is the largest outdoor education organization in Central Maryland, United States, established to provide outdoor team building opportunities, host summer camps, and take groups of individuals on excursions throughout Maryland,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Moeller |first=Amy |date=2023-02-03 |title=10 Fun Outdoor Summer Camps in the DC Area |url=https://washingtonian.com/2023/02/03/fun-outdoor-summer-camps-in-the-dc-area/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> Virginia,<ref name=":0" /> North Carolina, West Virginia, Delaware, Colorado, and Canada, among other places. It is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit.
==History== Calleva was started by Nick, Alex, and Matt Markoff, whose family was involved in the summer camp business for generations, including close ties to Valley Mill Camp. In the fall of 1993, in order to raise capital, they held the first ever Markoff's Haunted Forest.<ref name="lha">{{cite news |last1=Hayes |first1=Laura |title=One Hour Away From D.C. is One of America's Most Intricate, Long-Standing Haunts |url=https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/194000/one-hour-away-from-dc-is-one-of-americas-most-intricate-longstanding-haunts/ |access-date=22 December 2020 |work=Washington City Paper |date=27 October 2016}}</ref> Camp Calleva began in the summer of 1994.<ref name="gne">{{cite news |last1=Chadwick |first1=Melissa A. |title=Calleva puts a little adventure in summer |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/072606/bethnew195758_31953.shtml |publisher=Gazette.Net |date=26 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522185009/http://www.gazette.net/stories/072606/bethnew195758_31953.shtml|archive-date=2011-05-22 }}</ref> The word Calleva means "where the paths cross".
They offer LIT (Leadership in Training), Cubs (ages 4–5), Explorer (ages 6–8), Adventure (ages 9–14), and High Adventure (ages 15–16) programs during the summer, as well as various other outdoor excursions throughout the year. The Calleva Ski Club was offered during the winter, but stopped in early 2020 due to COVID-19 and resort management changes.
In 1998 the first ever Calleva Challenge was held, a triathlon of sorts on the Potomac River. This was later renamed the Potomac Challenge in 1999.
==Locations== Calleva offers programming across five main locations including: *Riley's Lock, in Poolesville, Maryland is the hub-location for Camp Calleva. It is adjacent to the Potomac River and the C&O Canal. *Markoff's Farm, a {{convert|168|acre|km2|adj=on}} farm, in Dickerson, Maryland is home to Markoff's Haunted Forest,<ref name="wtop">{{cite news |last1=Hartner |first1=Zeke |title=How does a haunted attraction scare during a pandemic? Md.-based Markoff's Haunted Forest brings socially-distanced frights |url=https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/10/how-does-a-haunted-attraction-scare-during-a-pandemic-md-based-markoffs-haunted-forest-brings-socially-distanced-frights/ |access-date=22 December 2020 |work=wTOP News |date=6 October 2020}}</ref> CHAPs (Calleva Horse Adventure Programs), horseback riding, rock climbing, and Calleva's agricultural tourism programming, which includes Pizza Nights, located on the farm, and Dirty Dinners. *Seneca Barn in Darnestown, Maryland *Calleva Virginia, on the campus of The Madeira School *Adventure Island, Calleva's private island on the Potomac River.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walston |first=Mark |date=2022-12-13 |title=These mostly forgotten islands on the Potomac are finding modern-day uses |url=http://moco360.media/2022/12/13/these-mostly-forgotten-islands-on-the-potomac-are-finding-modern-day-uses/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=MoCo360 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.calleva.org Calleva]
Category:Camping in the United States Category:Summer camps in Maryland Category:Summer camps in Virginia Category:Outdoor education organizations based in the United States