Not everything is perfectly clean and organized, so there will be bugs ( bring bug spray), and don't mind if you can't wash your hands before every meal, also if you forget to bring hair conditioner or something to the bathroom, just don't (your counselors will be mad if you hold up the shower line by going back to your cabin). You should be thankful if you get put in a cabin with a shower inside it😉!

Margaret S.
Camper
Camp Ozark
2 Years

Make sure everything you bring is easily accessible, so you spend more time having fun than preparing, especially if you are a first year camper (so your cabin doesn't leave without you).

Buy/designate & label a set of sheets & towels that are just for camp. Wash those & store them in the trunk until the next summer when they are needed again. That way you aren't scrambling around trying to find a set of sheets & a couple of towels that are labeled for your kiddo to take with them. Same goes for the shower caddy!

MaryMarshall M. 
Parent of a Camper
Camp Ozark 
2 Years

After picking up the kids' from camp, as we are driving away, I ask for packing feedback & requests for the next year. I started doing this after their first summer at camp. Then I put the notes in their trunks after unpacking, before putting them away for the season. When I got the trunks out to start packing for the next summer, there were my notes of tips, ideas, & requests from the prior summer. It was genius! I had forgotten about them completely & they were right there where I would find them when I needed them.

Packing can be hard and not being able to fit everything is stressful. My two words for you Packing Cubes. They are a necessity ( on the store!) I have tried everything stacking rolling and its never enough but packing cubes they will change your life! You can fit so much in them. If those aren’t your style try folding your clothes in different ways so they all fit!

Kate W.
Camper
YMCA Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha
4 Years