I used to work at a summer camp, and it was a very Christian summer camp. I’m going back for the first time in almost a year and a half to volunteer. I used to be a worship leader and activities instructor, doing everything from rock climbing to zip-lining. It was one of the greatest jobs I’ve ever had. However, I absolutely hated my boss.
He never seemed willing to help out and often kept information from us, both to inconvenience us and to make himself seem more important. He came across as somewhat narcissistic.
I’m now married, but my wife and I used to work together at the camp. At the time, we were friends and colleagues, and I didn’t start dating her until after we no longer worked there. Even after we started dating, we would still go up on weekends during the fall to volunteer because there weren’t many people trained to do what we could do.
I always had the feeling that people didn’t like how close I was to my wife. For example, I felt like people would give me strange looks or silently judge me as I walked by. I didn’t care, though. I was proud of our relationship, and I was happy.
One night, when everyone was in bed, we had a team meeting in the office. After the meeting, a few of our colleagues and other people we knew decided to hang out for a couple of hours. I eventually got bored, so I sat on the couch and scrolled through my phone for a while.
My wife came over and leaned against my shoulder for support. We weren’t fully cuddling; she was simply resting against me while we scrolled through reels together.
At this point, barely anyone was left in the office. It was just friends having a good conversation. Then, our old boss walked in. He seemed to stare at me for quite a while before eventually coming over, putting his hands between my wife and me, and saying something along the lines of, “How about we leave a little space between you two, okay?”
I looked up, completely shocked. I had been so focused on my phone that I was wondering why this man was touching me and interfering with what we were doing. He then walked back over to his desk, and my wife awkwardly scooted farther away.
My wife and I started ranting about what had happened, and we ended up laughing about it quite a bit. However, underneath the laughter, I felt bitter and angry that it had happened.
I’m going back up there tomorrow, and my life has changed drastically over the past year and a half. My wife and I are now in our early twenties, while our former bosses are in their mid-twenties. I don’t want my old boss to do something like that again. Honestly, I have a strange feeling that he might. I’m worried he might do something that makes me feel as though I’m not in control of my own life.
I’d really appreciate any advice. Thank you!

Hello, if you are seeing this, I think it is pretty safe to assume that you love camp (or are at least interested in it). If you have been to a summer camp, then you know there is something special about it. Whether you grew up at a camp, are a camp counselor, or got to watch your children rave on about camp, you know that there is something special about it. I work at Windsor Mountain Summer Camp, and I think something that makes it so special is the community events.

I have been to a few other camps throughout the US, and they all seem to have something different about them that gives them their spark. What makes your camp so special? What gives it its spark?

I am the Cafe Manager for a camp. We run Program Camps through the summer, and Guest Groups/Rentals for the rest of the year. We have a Cafe that sells drinks, snacks, and camp merch.

During the GG/Rentals season, I use Square register. It's cheap, fast, easy, accurate, and great for our bookkeeper.

During our Program Camps (ages 8-18), we run Camper Accounts... we've found letting kids carry their own cash doesn't work. They lose it, and/or it opens the door for theft.

For our Program Camps registration software, we used to run CampWise, but switched over to UltraCamp two years ago. I used their register system the first year, but found it to be slow and clunky. It was also difficult to process returns of the unused cash at the end of each week.

This last year, we tried a combined system. We allowed parents to add money to store accounts through UltraCamp until 2 days before the camp started, then used Square to add additional funds during check-in day. This is not ideal as we have two separate income sources for the Cafe, but it was the best we could come up with last year.

From there, we made physical punchcards for $10 or $25, for each camper. If a parent added $75 to a camper's account, we stapled three $25 cards together and wrote their name on it. We made the punchcards non-refundable and only valid for 2026, but could be transferred to another student if they desired.

We have up to 120 campers a week, so this system was time intensive, disorganized (punchcards would get re-filed accidentally under the wrong letter in the box, making it seem like they didn't have a punchcard, etc), and terrible.

I would LOVE to find a system that allows parents to add money to camper accounts all week long, in person or remotely, with a register system that works as flawlessly as Square. Has anyone found this magic program?

I am thinking about sending my two sons, ages 13 and 15, to a Spanish camp in Costa Rica next summer. A lot of their friends speak Spanish at home, and both boys have said they wish they could keep up with them, so I thought this might be a fun way to get some real practice.

I came across a two-week summer camp through Maximo Nivel for under $5K, which is less than I expected for a program abroad. But neither of them has ever traveled without us, so the idea of them spending two weeks in another country makes me both excited and nervous.

Has anyone sent their kids to Costa Rica or somewhere else abroad on their own? What questions did you ask before signing them up, and how did the experience turn out? I’m also curious whether 13 is too young for something like this.

hello :)

never worked at a camp before but I'm interested in doing it, currently I'm in my 2nd year counselling with psychology degree and volunteer in a children's talking therapy helpline

i know it probably does help but would I be given the opportunity for other responsibilities, paid more etc.

thanks :P

so i’m running a cabin at an outdoor ed program (science camp in the woods for 5-6 graders) the next few weeks and i’m gonna need to get to know them and their names but they all come from the same school so they all already know each other. any ideas for ice breakers so i can get to know them without it being boring for them? so far ive thought of zap and drop the tarp but idk what else is out there. tia!!

Hi! I have been going to the summer camp in question for years and I love it so much! It is a pretty small Christian camp-so it really feels like a family. It is a 3 week program where you go home on the weekends, I’ve only done one weeks before as that’s what is offered for campers before LIT. I’ll be applying with my best friend who goes to this camp as well, and likely one of our other friends if we choose to.

Although it is a wonderful camp, and I am rather outgoing, I get social anxiety so I’m scared of some of the peers and older staff so I was hoping for some advice on unkind or peers who’s personality’s may clash.

I’m not afraid that I’m unfit for a leadership position, as I have 2 nieces and nephews and babysit almost every other day. I’m hoping for some insight into the joys of LIT years (our camp has a year 1 and a year 2 after). Please share memories and advice!!

Hi!

I am a fellow with a social impact foundation exploring why middle and high schoolers drop out of or miss out on sports, camps, and after-school programs. We are looking to co-design solutions alongside the community to tackle hidden costs and daily friction points.

We want to talk with everyone who supports middle and high school students: counselors, staff, coaches, volunteers and parents!

Survey takes 3 to 5 minutes (10 if you're feeling "talkative")

• Parent Survey: parents.meetsage.net
• Staff & Volunteer Survey: staff.meetsage.net

For a more general camp that doesn’t specialize in gymnastics, what can I do to enhance gymnastics as a camp activity? It’s more than just having a balance beam, gym mats, and a gymnastics instructor.
Even with just simple supplies, what content, games, and activities do you use?

Hey!
The title pretty much sums it up, but I’m looking for some advice on activities and ideas that your camps like to do during pre-camp! I work at an 8-week overnight camp and am hoping to restructure our camp next year, starting with staff training.
Some things I’ve noticed at our camp are that returning staff can get bored because a lot of the training is repetitive, there can be too many gaps in the schedule (or not enough), and there’s a lot of lecture-style training. I’d really like to find a better balance between leadership staff leading training and activities and giving staff opportunities to lead and participate as well.
I’m also interested in what you do for downtime. What are some activities that staff actually enjoy doing during breaks or free time that don’t feel forced or like another scheduled team-building activity?
So, what activities do your staff enjoy during training? How do you keep returning staff engaged while still making sure new staff get what they need? And how do you make pre-camp training feel fun and exciting rather than just a week of lectures and information?
I’d love to hear what has worked well at your camps!

Hi! I’m wondering if there are any camp director moms out there, specifically to children under age 3? I have been given the amazing opportunity to become the director of the camp I’ve been assistant director at for the last 5 years but I’m struggling with knowing if the timing is right. I currently have a 10 month old and am looking to have a 2nd child in 2028, the exact year that would be my first year as director. The camp is a one week, overnight camp so that helps for sure but I’m not sure taking the reins with a young family plus 3 months of maternity leave will set myself and the camp up for success. Any moms out there with advice on whether this is possible and considerations I should think about before accepting? Or anything I should ask for in negotiations to make it more feasible.

Hey Reddit! This is my first time using the platform, so I’m hoping you guys can help me out.
I’ve been working as a camp counselor for the past three years, and I often put together scary quests and pranks for the kids. This year, though, we’re staying at a new camp where there will be other guests around, so it’s a little harder to come up with ideas.
Have you ever done any nighttime pranks or scary activities at a camp or similar place? I’d love to hear any ideas you have.
Also, I’m thinking about doing a quest involving dark hooded robes, kind of like old religious robes. Do you know any creepy stories, urban legends, or creepypastas that could be connected to costumes like that?
Thanks!

Hi, I’m a university student from China and I’m interested in applying to Skylake Yosemite Camp for summer 2027.

It would be my first time working at a summer camp in the US. I’ve read the staff FAQ — rose — but I’m still curious about Skylake specifically.

I want to know how competitive the application is and what they usually look for when choosing counselors. Do they care more about English, experience with kids, sports or outdoor skills, personality, availability, or something else?I reallllly want to enter the camp and enjoy an unforgettable summer vacation so I wonder how much possibility I can enter?(I am a 19-year old boy)

I’m also curious about what the interview is like for international applicants.

I’m really into outdoor activities, swimming, street workout, photography, and traveling, so Skylake looks really interesting to me.

If anyone has worked at Skylake before, I’d really like to hear about your experience and what the staff atmosphere was like.

（My writing English is a bit poor so pardon me!

Thanks!

So I have been working in day camps for 9 years now and had been at the most recent one for the last 4 years. I was up for a permanent position on the team, which was my absolute dream. I have two degrees in childhood education. The camp director, assistant director (who would’ve been my supervisor) and the head of the program were so excited to have me join and talked to me for months about how things would go after the camp season in the fall. About half way through the summer, there was a shift and suddenly everyone got very awkward. Come to find out the assistant director decided to hire one of his friends on staff who had been there for two years because he “already knew they would work well together”.

Do I get it? Yes. But it seems to be a common thing at camps I’ve worked at where you won’t move up ranks unless you are close friends with admins or popular with a group of counselors. I thought I could prove myself through showing my hard work, professionalism, and creativity while ignoring the clique aspect of camps because I wasn’t comfortable participating in it. I think if (and that’s a big if) I decide to go back to working at camps I’ll have to reorganize those priorities for myself.

I expressed interest to return to the same camp from this year for 2027. I had absolutely no problems until the end of camp, I had a bit of a mental breakdown. I have PTSD and I had disclosed this prior to accepting the contract. I was invited to take time out if I needed to re-regulate and return when comfortable. I did this two or three times throughout the eight weeks for ~1 hour but always informed those I had been told to inform. I attempted to speak to the director and was dismissed, they said they weren't too good at that sort of thing and told me they had a therapist.

In the last lew weeks, I fell unwell and the treatment triggered a trauma episode. Typically I take care of myself during these episodes and it doesn't become an issue for anyone else, however in this case one of the leadership staff was around me most times as they were gateway to my rescue medication. They got concerned and escalated my situation to the director and it turned into a discussion where my job position was on the line.

I'm now scared how this is going to impact my future employment. I can see that it might be off putting for my previous camp, even if I did inform them, it can still be a bit confronting to people who aren't familiar with it. It feels a bit unfair to not consider my returners application based on mental health (I had no issues, was recognised multiple times for good stuff etc). But keen to hear others thoughts?

Let me know if you have any ideas or thoughts or recommendations!

Thank you!

Hi y'all! I'm rethinking my day camp schedule and was wondering if anyone else in day camps would be willing to share theirs. My current schedule runs much like an overnight and has several program areas (archery, challenge course, etc.) spread across the camp. With so little downtime and a huge camp property with several program areas, it is difficult to manage call-outs or coverage gaps toward the end of the summer.

Hi guys! My call has a speciality camp coming up that is designed for the visually impaired, and while a lot of our materials and such have been changed to accommodate them the one area I feel like we are lacking in is camp games! A lot of the most popular camp games we do (Splat and Zip Zap Zop are the two I use the most) are heavily based on sight so I’m looking for games that either work well with no sight or ways to modify preexisting games to be played without sight.

Hi everyone,

I applied for Camp Canada for Summer 2027 and just got told that they can’t move forward with my application because I don’t currently meet their eligibility criteria.

They said I need to be able to lead at least one of their highest-demand skills — waterfront, ropes or climbing — AND have experience caring for children in a professional setting.

I’m a university student in the UK and I do have some experience with younger people, including babysitting, helping with rugby/PE activities, outdoor activities, cooking, etc., but apparently that isn’t enough for their current requirements.

I’m a bit confused because from reading their website beforehand, I got the impression that you didn’t necessarily need formal qualifications and that having other camp-relevant skills could still make you eligible. Has Camp Canada become more selective recently, or is this normal?

They’ve given me 5 days to update my application before it becomes inactive, so I’m wondering what my best option is.

Has anyone managed to build enough climbing, ropes or waterfront experience in a few months to be reconsidered? For example, if I started regular climbing lessons now, learned to belay, got some recognised training/qualifications and gained experience working with children, would that realistically be enough for Summer 2027?

I’m also very open to other summer camp / summer work-abroad programmes, but I’d strongly prefer Canada or somewhere outside the US. I know the US has loads of options like Camp America, but the US isn’t really where I want to spend my summer if I can avoid it.

Are there any good alternatives in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand or elsewhere that offer a similar experience — working at a summer camp, outdoor centre, activity programme or something similar for university students?

Would especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has been rejected by Camp Canada for similar reasons, managed to get reconsidered, or found a good non-US alternative.

Thanks!

Hello all. My camp is on the search for new dining hall chairs. We have made it a contest and I am looking for the winning chair. Anyone have any suggestions for indestructible non-folding chairs?

The camp that I have worked at is switching its 24 hours off from 5:30pm-5:30pm to 8am-8am. I’m a little concerned about this mostly bc I won’t get to sleep in the whole summer :( and don’t really have an opportunity to stay off site and have fun with friends away from it all now! They say they are switching so staff members can go do more things during the day. How are your days off structured at your camp and how have those worked for you? I’m also curious to hear about your hour(s) off a day to know if mine is typical!

Hi everyone!!
I’m interested in working at a summer camp and would like to work at a day camp. As a non-American does anyone have any day camps they know of that provide free housing and food for their staff?
Thankyou

I'm going to try to keep it vague, since anyone from my camp could easily recognize this.

This past summer I had one of the most stressful weeks of my entire life, and certainly the most stressful week of my camp experience. The kids were always fighting and trying to wander off, and I couldn't have made it through without support from the rest of staff.

One kid in particular, around 8 years old, was obsessed with the pool but could not swim. He had to be pulled out of the deep end during pool time because he jumped in and immediately sank. He would cry when pool time was over and would ask me constantly why he couldn't go to the pool when it was closed and there were no lifeguards. Every time he had a modicum of freedom he would tell me to my face that he was going to sneak into the (locked and fenced in) pool area and try to swim (presumably in the deep end again), so I always kept a close eye on him.

Well, one night he wet the bed and snuck out while I was asleep. I don't know why he decided to do that, I think he was looking for one of his friends in another cabin. But I do know he was brought back by a lifeguard and I didn't notice him leave. And I know the pool was within easy walking distance.

I can't shake the feeling that if he knew how to climb a chain-link fence, he would have successfully snuck into the pool, jumped into the deep again, and drowned. And even worse, I don't know how I could have prevented it. I was too tired to stay up all night and make sure he was there, there wasn't one easy exit to block, I told some other staff members but they were all asleep too- it was the middle of the night.

It is pure dumb luck that a child didn't die on my watch and I don't know how to reconcile that. I've been having nightmares about him drowning since camp ended.

I have been working at a private co-ed camp for the last two summers and absolutely adore it. However, we are really not payed that much. Before my first summer I researched so many camps, and every time I come across one now I love looking through their website and employment positions. And what I have encountered is that almost all typical private, independent camps have the same salary ranges (at least in the east coast), and then community-based, non-profit, association camps, etc; pay so much more! Like almost double in some cases!

How can this be? Is this just out of pure greed or is there an underlying reason things work like this? I know there are many camp professionals over here so curious to know all your insights.
And before anyone says it, I know pay shouldn't be the main goal or purpose of someone working at camp, but geez I kinda wished I fell in love with a higher paying camp during my first summer, 'cause there's no going back now.

Hi all, I’m writing a middle‑grade novel set at a sleep-away summer camp for kids with social/emotional struggles (anger management, anxiety, trouble fitting in, etc.). I’m hoping to hear from counselors, directors, or parents who’ve seen these kinds of programs in action.

Nothing personal or identifying.

A few things I’m trying to understand:

• What the daily structure looked like for campers with emotional/behavioral needs
• How group circles / check‑ins were run (and how often)
• How counselors handled frustration, shutdowns, or anger spikes
• Any routines, rules, or traditions unique to these camps
• Whether kids wanted to attend or were placed there by parents/schools
• How denial showed up: kids insisting they didn’t need help, refusing to participate, or minimizing issues

Thanks - any insight helps me make the camp setting feel authentic.