It’s never too early to start looking for a summer camp. By enrolling your children into summer programs, you nurture their social skills, adopt healthy habits, and encourage personal growth.
With beautiful outdoor landscapes and lakes like Lake Michigan, the state provides a great environment for kids to explore and learn about the outdoors. At camp, kids can participate in fun activities like mountain biking, kayaking, canoeing, archery and much more. They’re the perfect entertainment and educational outlet for children once the school break arrives.
With that in mind, here are some of the best Michigan summer camps to enroll your kids. We included options Northern and Southern Michigan for your convenience.
Best Summer Camps in Michigan
1. Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
If your child is a budding artist, musician, actor, painter or dancer, Blue Lake Fine Arts is one of the best performing arts camp in Michigan. It sits on nearly 1600 acres of the Manistee National Forest and part of Little Blue Lake.
The camp offers four summer sessions to at least 5400 kids, with each program lasting for about two weeks. Better yet, the center features international exchange programs where they send out 350 students on study tours to Europe.
You won’t find a Michigan with a better arts and crafts program than Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Even then, they still have the traditional camp activities that every camper will enjoy. Campers that attend this camp can participate in all types of artistic activities like acrylic panting, drawing, dancing and much more.
2. Summer Discovery At University of Michigan
Summer Discovery summer programs at the prestigious University of Michigan help prepare teenagers ages 14-18 for their future careers. They have various pre-college programs, including a Inc. Magazine Young Entrepreneurs Program, sports management academy, criminal psychology, medicine & health science, and much more.
In each program, students work on projects to gain valuable experience in the field and meet experts to learn what it’s like to do their job. In programs like the Inc. Magazine Young Entrepreneurs Program, students develop a business idea, pitch it to business executives, and gather feedback from them. Courses like Introduction to Careers in Medicine & Health allow students to learn from instructors with field experience, teaching them everything from biomedical research to healthcare costs.
Students gain real-world knowledge through hands-on activities to determine whether these career paths are right for them. Most of the courses run from 2 to 3 weeks and start around June and end in July.
3. Camp Walden
For the past six decades, Camp Walden has provided campers with a home away from home. Camp Walden is located in Northern Michigan on Long Lake and offers overnight camps for kids. Open to both boys and girls, the camp is suited for children ages 7 through 16.
It features fun camp activities such as water skiing, arts and crafts, sailing, horseback riding, dance, and paddle-boarding. They also routinely host fun events for campers like scavenger hunts, dodge ball tournaments, Color Clash, Capture The Camp and much more. The campgrounds also include a farm, horse-riding stables, tennis courts, and other athletic fields.
Camp Walden is one of the top options for overnight summer camps in Michigan, especially for those interested in horseback riding. Camp sessions last anywhere between two week to seven weeks, and dates run from June to August.
4. YMCA Camp Copneconic
YMCA Camp Copneconic is one of the finest summer camps you can find in all of the Midwest. Found in Fenton, Michigan, this camp blends camping activities with outdoor adventures such as zip-lining, rock wall climbing, horseback riding, and more. It accepts students in 4th to 11th grade, with a Counselor In Training program for 12th graders. They also have a specialty camp focusing on horseback riding.
Parents have the freedom to choose between a day camp and overnight camp. The organization sets different camp themes for each week. Camp Move teaches kids the importance of physical fitness and a nutritious diet. Kids will have some of the most fun camping experiences at YMCA Camp Copneconic.
The weeklong camps run from July 10th to August 19th, with a two week option for older campers. Day camps also last around five week days.
5. Camp Carvela
If you want your child to have a supportive and positive summer camp experience, Camp Carvela is an excellent overnight option. They offer a myriad of adventurous and camper-driven activities like scavenger hunts, sailing, paddle boarding, birdwatching, and bonfires.
No two days ever look the same at Camp Carvela, and campers have agency over their experience. Curtis McFall, the camp’s owner, and director built the program using five key pillars: free-time, playfulness, non-competitive setting, unplugged environment, and collaborative programming. Camp Carvela is easily one of the top summer camps in Michigan.
Camp Carvela offers day camps and overnight camps for campers ages 7-17. There are weeklong and two week camp options, as well as teen leadership sessions for older campers 16-17.
6. Van Buren Youth Camp
If you’re looking for a summer program that will help your teen develop physically, mentally, and spiritually, Van Buren Youth Camp is your best bet. Situated in Bloomingdale, Michigan, it offers up to 12 camp sessions every summer. Your child can participate in 3 leadership-based or recreational programs.
The recreational activities include drama, dance, sports, nature, archery, canoeing, team building, just to mention a few. These are offered within a period of 3 to 6 days. Given their program’s current structure, this camp is suited for boys and girls ages 6 to 17 years.
Van Buren Youth Camp is a traditional summer camp where kids will gain leadership skills while participating in typical summer camp activities.
7. Interlochen Arts Camp
At Interlochen Arts Camp, students can do what they love best all day long — in the most beautiful place imaginable.
Located in Interlochen, Michigan, between two pristine lakes and forest pines, young artists spend their days practicing, performing, and creating art at this arts camp. They can choose to study creative writing, dance, film and new media, interdisciplinary arts, music, theatre, or visual arts. One, two, three, four, and six-week programs are offered for students in grades 3 to 12. Exceptional instructors become mentors and help young artists grow their talent while gaining inspiration from fellow young artists from around the world.
Though students spend several hours per day practicing their chosen art form, there’s still plenty of time for the traditional summer camp experience. Students explore a variety of outdoor activities including swimming, tennis, archery, stilt-walking, ping-pong, talent shows, sailing, campfires, and more. Favorite field trips include local hot spots like Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for canoeing, swimming, or dune-climbing.
Here, students can bring their curiosity and excitement while leaving camp with new techniques, lots of experience, and lasting memories.
8. Camp Lookout
Camp Lookout is a sleepaway summer camp for boys and girls near Frankfort, MI. With lakeside facilities and extensive forest areas, it’s a fantastic place for children to experience the outdoors. It offers a non-competitive environment where campers feel welcomed and supported.
They offer all kinds of camp activities, where campers’ input is taken seriously into account. Unique events involve turning a lodge into a haunted house, Nemo scavenger hunts, music festivals, and much more. Apart from those events, campers can also participate in sailing, raft building, jewelry making, real-life quidditch, among many other things. With all the programming and activities, kids never get bored.
Camp Lookout strongly prioritizes things like creativity and the importance of community in their program. it aims to teach and motivate students through experiential learning and teaching them how to make an impact in the world and their community. They offer 1- and 2-week sessions as well as teen leadership camps for older students.
9. YMCA Camp Ohiyesa
YMCA Camp Ohiyesa is located in Southeast Michigan in Holly and offers day camps and overnight camps. The camp helps youth challenge their abilities, gain independence, and meet new people. YMCA Camp Ohiyesa offers day camps designed for kids ages 4 to 16, overnight camp for ages 7 to 16.
There are plenty of fun camp activities like horseback riding, rock climbing, canoeing, zip lining and much more. There is a different camp theme each session, giving kids the opportunity to express their creativity.
One thing that makes this camp stand out is the fact that they embrace diversity. They hire staff from different parts of the world and welcome campers of diverse backgrounds. There is also an outdoor education program for kids to learn everything about the natural world around them, while participating in fun activities.
10. Stony Creek Nature Center Day Camp
Reconstructed from scratch in 2009, Stony Creek is a contemporary establishment located in Southeast Michigan. Stony Creek Nature Center provides interactive day camps for children ages 7 to 12. In addition to the hands-on programs, this day camp also offers easy access to natural areas.
Common activities and water sports offered at Stony Creek are fishing, canoeing, water-slides, and wagon treks. If you’re looking for an educational full day camp in the area, this should be your go-to choice.
If you want to experience Michigan during the winter, be sure to buy a hot tent with a stove jack for dealing with the cold temperature.
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