Hey, Camp Fans!

We’ve got the itch, here at Everything Summer Camp, to spread the word about the awesome camps with whom we’ve formed tight bonds and relationships. It should come as no surprise to our readers of the camp community that we love these camps so much—we work with over 270 of them! And today we’re spotlighting a beautiful Texas camp—Heart O’ the Hills All Girls Camp!Founded in 1953, Heart O’ the Hills sits on the Guadalupe River’s South Fork in Hunt, Texas, at the heart the beautiful Texan Hill Country. Each summer, for well over 50 years, Heart O’ the Hills has shown more than 150 young women the time of their lives.

Girls who find themselves at Heart O’ the Hills are treated to two to four weeks of engaging and exciting activities such as Western Horseback Riding, Red Cross Swimming Instruction, Archery, Riflery, Tennis, Cooking, Fencing, Climbing, Video, Wilderness Survival, as well as a great range of individual and team sports.

Through the power of friendship and teamwork, Kitty Magee—the previous director of the neighboring Camp Mystic—reluctantly took the job as Heart O’ the Hills Camp Director. Despite her experience, Kitty was reluctant because now she had a five-year-old daughter and a family life to maintain. But she couldn’t let her community down and rose to the challenge anyway.

Heart O’ the Hills campers are assigned to cabins or ‘tepees’—as they’re called at the camp. The youngest campers stay in smaller tepees that typically house five campers and a cabin leader while the older campers live in groups of 12 with four cabin leaders as well. Heart O’ the Hills tepees all have a bathroom and a sizable closet. Each tepee is named after a flower or tree that’s a Texas native.

If Heart O’ the Hills sounds like a great camp choice for you, give it a closer look and visit their website sometime. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Folks!

Thanks for returning to check out yet another installment in our Summer Camp Spotlight Blog posts in which we feature one of the amazing summer camps who work closely with us, here at Everything Summer Camp. Proud to have formed a strong relationship the Teton Valley Ranch Camp, we’re happy to shine our spotlight on them today. Check it out to see how it might fit for your family’s summer camp experience. Peek into the world of Teton Valley Ranch!This camp’s history goes back to 1939 when its founder, Wendell Wilson found the land to start up a summer camp in Kelly, Wyoming. Thriving well into the 1990s, the summer life was good until hard financial times hit the country in 2000 and the Wilson family decided they would have to sell the ranch.

The love for the camp, however, saw it reborn with the involvement of alumni and friends of all the camp families closely affiliated with Teton Valley. By 2002, the Teton Valley Ranch Camp was back in operation at its new home in Dubois Wyoming, less than 100 miles from the original site.

Fun things are happening all summer long at Teton Valley Ranch. Things like horseback riding, riflery, archery, lapidary, gymkhana roping, and nature discovery. Have fun creating things in the Craftshop or enjoy some time at the waterfront. You can learn fly fishing or go for a dip yourself. With many other activities and special events, there’s never a dull moment at camp! Teton Valley Ranch campers are also treated to a backpacking trip and horse ride through some of the country’s most beautiful national forests.

Campers are divided into Adventure Groups at Teton Valley Ranch starting with Yearlings, then Rough Riders, followed by Top Hands, followed by Wranglers, and, lastly, the Trailblazers. Your camper’s Group is decided by a combination of age as well as experience at the ranch. Each Adventure Group is made up of a few cabins, making up a small, supportive community for your camper.

Give your kid the opportunity to grow, make friends, and have a blast next summer! You can check out the Teton Valley Ranch Camp website for yourself by clicking here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

We work with so many camps—over 270 to give you an idea—that it’s nice to devote some time for singing their praises. That’s why we like to spotlight these camps on our Blog to try and get the word out to families who might yet be looking for the right summer camp for their son or daughter. Today, we’re shining our spotlight on the boys camp in North Carolina, Timberlake Camp and their sister camp, Camp Merri-Mac.

Located on the same property in Black Mountain, North Carolina, the boys and girls camp are high up in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains where summer stays create lifelong memories. 15 miles east of Asheville, Timberlake and Merri-Mac are encircled by the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains and much of the bordering land lies within the Pisgah National Forest.

Lots of fun activities are offered at Timberlake Camp . Boys can soak in the fun on their waterfronts with Canoeing, Fly-Fishing, Kayaking, Swimming, or Waterskiing. And they have fun on the land with Archery, Backpacking, Climbing, Fencing, Mountain Biking, Paintball, Pottery, Riding, Riflery, Rocketry, Ropes Course, Soccer, Tennis, Trips, Wrestling, and more. There are also Tribes into which all campers are initiated and participate for in the Tribal Events.

Timberlake campers are placed in cabins based on their grade in school. Boasting seven rustic cabins, they are all different at Timberlake—from big to small, accompanied by two to five cabin leaders. Each cabin observes its own traditions, providing its own attitude and environment to the campers.

You’d be lucky if you get the opportunity to attend Timberlake Camp . You can take a closer look at it by clicking here and read about Camp Merri-Mac in our previous Blog post right here. Look into these camps to see if they may be right for your budding camper and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Folks!

We’re back today to feature yet another one of the amazing summer camps with whom we’re delighted to have formed a strong relationship. Laity Lodge Youth Camp is an awesome place for your soon-to-be-camper. Check it out to see how it might fit for your family’s summer camp experience on today’s Blog post. Dive into the world of Laity Lodge!

Found in Hill Country’s most fantastic canyon with the Frio River, Laity Lodge is known for its excellent hospitality on their exceptional 1900-acre ranch, 13 miles north of Leakey, Texas. Beauty surrounds in this natural environment that’s ripe for adventure, games, activities, and the kind of serenity that you can only experience at this level of remote seclusion.

Have fun in the Frio River kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, and more at Laity Lodge’s awesome waterfront. Go mountain biking, try the zip line, rock climb, and sharpen your arts and crafts skills. Laity Lodge offers tons of other activities like shooting sports, field sports, sword-fighting for the boys, nail-painting for the girls, and so much more than just that.

On top of these traditional activities, campers have lots of wild times with their cabin mates or “home groups”. They engage in friendly fights as in organized food fights, shaving cream fights, water balloon fights, and a number of other crazy battles. Quality time together brings cabin mates close together and helps create unbreakable bonds between campers.

Laity Lodge has been showing summer campers the time of their lives for 56 years and they continue to do an amazing job every summer season. You can look into this amazing camp even closer on their website sometime. Good luck on your summer camp search for the right camp for your camper and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Families!

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

At Everything Summer Camp, since we work with more than 270 camps, we love to pick one regularly to spotlight and sing their praises here on our Blog. So far, we’ve featured more than 50 of those great camps and we aren’t stopping any time soon. Take this virtual tour of Camp Tockwogh in Maryland so you can learn all about this fantastic YMCA Camp!

Tockwogh opened its doors to summer campers in 1946 and—now, throughout the years—the Tockwogh summer camp staffers have loved every minute of the experience. This remote, east coast summer camp is situated on 309 well-maintained acres that stretch across one-and-a-half miles of the shoreline on Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay offers the best waterfront for fun activities like sailing, waterskiing, canoeing, kayaking, and more. And they also have a pool for water sports and swimming. On land, Tockwogh offers cool activities like archery, mountain biking, horseback riding, and outdoor education. Find a plethora of sports like soccer, softball, volleyball, flag football, lacrosse, basketball, dogdeball, and so much more.

And Camp Tockwogh operates under the philosophy that “A good camp should have something for every kid.” And so they do. On top of all their active activities, they also offer lots of options in the fine arts such as learning guitar, drawing, creative writing, photography, or painting. There are also performing arts offered like dance, drama, and cooking.
Campers are broken down into smaller villages by grade for housing and activities during their stay. The rustic cabins are complimentary of the natural surroundings of the campgrounds as well as more than accommodating for each camper who lives there and the cabin leader who lives there too.

You can get even more info on Camp Tockwogh when you check out their website for yourself. Maybe you’ll find the camp for your kid when next summer rolls around. Good luck and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John