Camp Trends

Specialty Camps

Camps are designed in a variety of styles and formats and provide activities that vary to meet many interests. Most camps offer a general program of outdoor activities of hiking, swimming, sports and games, arts and crafts, and nature awareness. Some camps have special emphasis on programs such as horseback riding, water sports, music, or adventure challenge activities. While camps provide facilities and services for a broad range of children, youth, and adults, some camps provide services to special groups: There are programs for seniors, families, campers with cancer, gifted and talented children, youth at risk, diabetics, asthmatics, or persons with disabilities.

Types of Camps

Of the estimated 12,000 American camps, approximately 7,000 are resident camps and 5,000 are day camps. Resident camps are designed for campers staying at camp from several days to eight weeks. Campers sleep overnight in cabins, tents, tepees or other forms of shelter, and participate in a variety of supervised activities. Having grown by nearly 90% in the past 20 years, day camps offer sessions and age-appropriate programs similar to resident camps. Campers are often transported to camp by a bus or van, and return home each day in the late afternoon.

Other trends incorporate less traditional models for the camp experience. Trip Camps provide programs where the participants transport themselves to different sites by backpacking, riding, or canoeing. Travel camps often transport campers by car or bus to geographic and topographic places of interest.

In addition to the increase of children with disabilities being mainstreamed into camps, many new camps have opened to provide specialized services to children with special medical needs.

Year-round use of camp facilities is a growing trend. Programs are evolving from spring and fall ancillary weekends to winterized full service operations seven days a week. Many camps work with schools to provide environmental education during the school year, provide year-round program and food services, and have some year-round staff.

Camps can often be rented to other groups, such as school groups, wishing to provide camp programs to their constituents. With meeting rooms, sleeping, and eating accommodations readily available, many facilities are both camps and year-round conference or retreat centers.

Program Trends

In an ACA survey, 75% of the directors reported adding new activities and programs over the last few years. The most common program trends in camps are challenging and adventurous activities including high and low ropes courses, climbing walls, zip lines, backpacking, mountain biking, and cave exploring. There is also an increased emphasis on performing arts and fine arts such as dance, theater, singing, ceramics, leather crafts, woodworking, photography, etc.

56% of camps surveyed report having community service or good deed programs incorporated into the camp curriculum. The top projects conducted at camps last summer were:

• Community clean-ups
• Food drives
• Recycling programs
• Volunteering with senior citizens and hospital patients

Top of page.