Hey, Camp Families!

While there are some stragglers yet, the camp season is over for most of you. Still, it’s never too early to start considering where you’ll send your camper for the next summer season. Whether they’re going for the first time or looking for a change-up in the camp experience, taking the steps to exploring how well a camp will suit your child is one of the most crucial parts of a successful camp stay.

And just for that very reason, we like to highlight the summer camps with whom we’ve formed great relationships. Today, let’s shine our Camp Spotlight on Camp Crestridge for Girls in mountainous North Carolina.

Built and established in 1955, Camp Crestridge has welcomed young girls to this spot of abounding natural beauty for a two-week adventure that helps shape the woman your daughter will become. Nestled nicely on the south side of a heavily wooded mountain with a view of a plethora of mountain peaks all along the horizon, Camp Crestridge sits on an extraordinary piece of land that stretches out over a hundred acres with miles of private trails and campsites.

They’ve got tons of fun going on for the summers like their Giant Swing, Leap of Faith, Water Slide, Octaball, Four Square, Hiking, High Ropes Course, Canoeing, Outdoor Cooking, Zip Line, Blob, Time in the Swimming Pool, and Time with Puppies. The campground borders the Pisgah National Forest which provides mountains of mile-high peaks, cascading waterfalls, and forested slopes—a perfect backdrop for adventures.

The waterfront is also a staple of most girls' adventures at Crestridge! The lake is central to the grounds which makes it an easy find and frequently enjoyed! Girls have a blast on a blob, the diving board, the floating dock, Corcl boats, and plenty of Adirondack chairs surrounding the area for relaxing and hanging out near the water.

In the luxury pool atop the Blue Ridge mountains like they have at Camp Crestridge, campers are treated to not just an amazing view, but a diving board, hoops for water basketball, nets for water volleyball, custom underwater lighting, and plenty of lounge chairs for hanging out around the poolside.

The recently-renovated dining hall sees 600+ girls come in from serious play, sit with their cabin, relax, and enjoy the good food. And the cabins are built in the same simple, clean, and rustic style with mountain air breezes in place of air conditioning. The cabins have two private full bathrooms and are big enough for ten campers and two or three cabin leaders.

Be sure to take a closer look at Camp Crestridge as well as their brother camp, Camp Ridgecrest when you click here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

The recommended camp outfitter for nearly three hundred summer camps, we here at Everything Summer Camp are proud to work with every single one of them! And we love singing the praises of the many camps with whom we’ve developed a working relationship too. That’s why today I’m shining our camp spotlight on the pristine land in the northeast corner of Florida where we find Camp Crystal Lake.

Sitting between Starke and Keystone Heights, the 140 acres that make up Camp Crystal Lake contain flourishing ecosystems as well as three surrounding freshwater lakes that really create an amazing atmosphere and cut out a little piece of heaven on earth.    

For the last 70 years or so, Camp Crystal Lake has been inviting boys and girls for summer fun. They offer great activities like Archery, Basketball, Fishing, Four Square, Mountain Biking, Ropes Course, Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, and plenty more. There’s also fun splashing around with activities like Wakeboarding, Water Polo and other water sports, Waterskiing, Skin Diving, Snorkeling, as well as Canoeing, Kayaking, and Sailing.

And you can flex your creativity with awesome things like Arts & Crafts, Pottery, Dance, Fingerpainting, Music, Puppet Show, Yoga, and more!

With modern and updated facilities, the Crystal Lake campground is complete with excellent construction of buildings and other facilities that are complimentary to the natural surroundings. Four of the original Camp Crystal Lake buildings are still standing and used today, keeping camp history current!

With five modern cabins for girls and five modern cabins for boys, campers have a great space to set up home base for their camp stay and make themselves comfortable. The cabins all hold about 20 people each and they all have indoor bathrooms with showers as well as nice decks that offer lakefront views.  

Check into Camp Crystal Lake for your next summer adventure. You can visit their website by clicking right here. And, as always thanks for reading, Camp Fans! Fun, Family, and Fellowship.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

We here at Everything Summer Camp are proud to work with nearly 300 summer camps across the nation! We’re their recommended camp outfitter and, in return, we love singing the praises of the many camps with whom we’ve developed a wonderful working relationship. That’s why today I’m shining our camp spotlight on the pristine land in the southwest Colorado. 

In the Red Creek Valley at the foot of the rugged San Juan Mountains Colvig Silver Camps lies all beautiful 600 acres to the Colvig Silver name. The Cottonwood valley, open hay fields, and Ponderosa forest, the campgrounds range from 7,200 to 8,000’ in elevation. The camp is bordered on three sides by the San Juan National Forest and provides access to some of the most pristine, beautiful, and diverse wilderness on the earth. They see 300 sunny days a year with a cool, clear, dry climate—perfect for summer camp!

Choices are very important when it comes to summer camp. At Colvig Silver, campers get to choose their activities and trips on a daily basis for an extremely unique experience. You want to go horseback riding, go horseback riding. You want to go rock climbing, go rock climbing. You want to kayak in the lake, go kayak in the lake. You can climb a 14,000 foot peak, explore ancient ruins, discover a crystal clear alpine lake, lead an improv game at the campfire, the options are endless!

Campers live in cabins with one or two counselors and four to six campers. The cabins differ throughout camp, but all are cozy structures that have comfy beds and mattresses, windows, and nearby bathrooms and common areas. Campers have their own bunk (choose top or bottom bunk) and they’re welcome and encouraged to bring things like family pictures, posters, or a treasured blanket to make the cabin and bunk feel like home.

Colvig Silver Camp has seen great success in kick-starting kids on an awesome path through life. Check out their website for a closer look by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Door County was full of summer campers in the 1920s. Chock full of forests, fields, and bays, that the Wisconsin State Legislature designated for preservation in 1909, Peninsula State Park offers a breathtaking view looking northwest: the chain of Strawberry Islands as they skip through the Green Bay water. A world of fun was had here by children in the Midwest who attended camps in this gorgeous part of Wisconsin such as the rustic Adventure Island Camp off the shores of Ephraim on the thumb of the state.

Check it out! 

It was a man from Illinois, Charles “Skipper” Kinney who spearheaded a boys camp on the largest of the Strawberry Islands (initially named Big Strawberry Island and renamed Adventure Island) in 1925. He kept dominion over the land and summer operations season after season, and remained true to the original purpose the camp was founded upon—“The Spirit of Adventure which is inherent in practically every boy.”  

Adventure Island Camp was truly a self-made camp. Aside from the cooking, all the work at Adventure Island Camp was done by the campers. They did it all and they did it without electricity or running water. In the very beginning, work included the construction of the camp’s cabins and other structures.

To compensate the boys, Skipper gave them incredible freedom. Every day, he would ask them individually what they wanted to do for the day and, as long as you weren’t going to kill yourself doing it, he provided the material and guidance for them to achieve their goals.  

The 7 to 14 year old boys would venture out on solo treks for overnights in the woods or build their own wooden kayaks. One year, the kids constructed their own Viking ship and named it ‘Serpent of the Sea’. They took it on a five-day cruise, a voyage off to distant lands like Escanaba and Marinette!

To make the freedom that much better, the boys could even bring their dogs for the summer. The freedoms taught the campers invaluable lessons. They found that they were ‘free’ not to do their dishes, but then must eat on dirty plates. They were ‘free’ to stay up at night, but had to be up and at ‘em with the sun.

With further establishment in later days, the camp came to offer a baseball league, stamp club, journalism, an orchestra, and a shooting range to expand the options the boys had for activities. A true inspiration for why we have summer camp, the Skipper was a wonderful influence on the youth of his day. The camp stayed in operation until 1952.

There were a handful of other historic camps that operated in close proximity to Adventure Island such as Meenahga Girls camp and the Cherry Camp. I’ll cover these camps and more in future Blog posts. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

The recommended camp outfitter for nearly three hundred summer camps, we here at Everything Summer Camp are proud to work with every single one of them! And we love singing the praises of the many camps with whom we’ve developed a working relationship too. That’s why today I’m shining our camp spotlight northeast coast in Woolwich, Maine.

Set in just off from the Atlantic Ocean and bordered by Goose Cove and Merrymeeting Bay, Chop Point Camp provides a wonderful, woodsy landscape for overnight campers to unplug from the constant buzzing of the electrical grid. This camp is a fun factory, designed specifically for teenagers ever since 1967 when they bought the land from the defunct Merrymeeting Camp which had operated for the previous 50 years.

Chop Point offers a full range of traditional residential camp activities. Some of them like Basketball, Music, Soccer, Sailing, Windsurfing, Kayaking, Black and White Photography, or Sketching and Painting may challenge campers to develop new skills and talents during their stay at camp. Other activities such as Hiking, Biking, Art & Crafts, and using the Zipline are for the sheer enjoyment of participation.

The cabins at Chop Point accommodate eight or nine other campers of similar age along with two counselors. The cabins are rustic while still being comfortable. The girls’ cabins all have a large closet and drawer space, two sinks, a toilet, and a shower. Three of the boys’ cabins share a latrine with plenty of sinks and toilets and two showers. They also have a number of other bathrooms available to them. The oldest boys’ cabin has bathrooms with showers and sinks. All cabins are equipped with comfortable bunk beds for good rest between the packed days of camp!

Chop Point campers have the opportunity to create their own unique experience, selecting from the available adventure trips and daily activities each session. Get a closer look at Chop Point Camp by clicking right here. Maybe your kid is there right now. Or maybe it will be a great place for your camper come the 2022 season! And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John