Michigan youth summer camps focus on a variety of different ideas and experiences, but all include plenty of time spent outdoors in Michigan's beautiful countryside. These camps are not only fun but educational as well, and they appeal to all different ages.
Youth Summer Camps in Michigan for Kids
No matter what area of interest a teen has, there's a Michigan youth summer camp designed around it. Here's a selection of camps, all built around varied activities:
Summer Discovery
This summer camp is located at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and offers up both academic and social activities to help with that transition from high school to college. The classes are small and informal in these two-week and five-week sessions. It's a residential camp and open to coed students 14 to 18 years old. Prices range from $4800 to around $8,800 depending on how many weeks attended. This camp made the top 50 list for best pre-college camps.
ID Tech Camps
At this camp, class sizes vary with a ratio of between six-to-one and eight-to-one offer instruction in creating video games, iPhone and iPad apps, websites, and more. This camp features both a residential and day program and is open to co-ed campers 7 to 17 years old. They also offer an all-girls program called Alexa Cafe. Prices range from $850 to $3900 depending on how many weeks attended. Reviews for this camp are mixed with some people loving it, and others saying it is not as advertised with class sizes being pretty large.
Nike Tennis Camp
This camp is a great place for young tennis players to brush up on their skills. It offers team play, skills, games, and tournaments. With both residential and day programs, it's open to co-ed tennis players from ages nine to 18. This camp was rated a 4.6 out of 5 stars with both parents and kids raving about the camp. Overnight camp is about $800 and daytime camp is about $465 per week.
Midcourse Correction Challenge Camps
With a boot camp style, these camps are open to at-risk kids. Their goal is for these kids to learn a greater self-confidence and to have more concern for how their choices affect others. This residential camp is open to coed campers from six to 17 years old. They also include a parenting class, and referrals once the camp is finished. Costs range between $75 and $495 depending on the type of program selected. Both parents and campers rave about the life-changing impact this camp has had on them. Some campers have even gone on to become camp counselors there.
The Road Less Traveled
This camp offers wilderness adventure, community service, and global perspective programs with activities like backpacking, environmental studies, wilderness medicine, and boogie boarding. The sessions last from 10 to 25 days and the camp is open to ages 12 through 19. Costs range from $2,250 to over $6,000 depending on the trip selected. This camp was rated 4.4 out of 5 stars with campers and parents noting how incredible the experiences were for them.
Camp Hawthorn Hollow
This camp is set up to allow girl scout troops to plan their own adventure. There are four campground options on site, and each troop can rent a lodge or village. Troops can choose several fun activities like volleyball, basketball, and hiking to name a few. Campsite rental is about $500 with $5 per girl for each add on activity. The camps are offered in Lexington and Columbus, Michigan. The camps are offered to girls only from ages 6 through 17 with either dorms or mini-cabins assigned according to age level, type of program, and group size.
Michigan Tech Youth Programs
Over seventy courses help pre-teens and teens learn about different fields through hands-on, classroom, and in-the-field experiences. The classes are offered weekly, and if students want to attend multiple weeks, they can also have a "week stay-over." It costs $950 per week for students who stay in the dorms and $525 for students who commute. Courses include writing, photography, robotics, coding, chemical engineering, outdoor adventures, and many more.
Cedar Lodge
This family-run camp focuses on creating a place where kids can be themselves, meet new friends, and learn new skills. This camp offers general outdoor activities and also has a wonderful horseback riding program. This camp specializes in helping kids learn English riding, showing, and vaulting skills. Both a residential and day program, the camp is coed and open to kids eight to 16 years old. Camp prices range from $200 to $700 per week depending on the program selected and whether the camper uses their own horse. This camp was rated 5 stars with campers noting how beautiful the grounds are and how great the programs are.
Resources for Summer Camps in Michigan for Kids
There are plenty of youth summer camps offered throughout the state of Michigan. They are listed on the Internet both with single websites and websites that feature whole catalogs of different camps offering different activities and in different states and countries. The following are a few of the sites with large groups of Michigan summer camps to find just the right one for your needs:
- Camp Page: Find a camp based on location, activity, or program type.
- My Summer Camps: Use this resource to find camps for a specific age group, activity, gender, and location.
- Teen Summer Camps: This page offers international and local programs based on gender, program type, and specific location.
- Camp Channel: Based on location, this page lists various types of camps and notes if they are co-ed, are residential, or daytime only.
- Michigan Go Blue: This page notes various sports camps including cheer, basketball, baseball, soccer, diving, tennis, and hockey to name a few.
A Camp for Everyone
There are camps for kids in Michigan who are interested in sports, fine arts, and academics. There are also plenty of traditional nature-inspired camps, as well as programs for kids with many other areas of interest. They're offered for every different age group from elementary school to 19 years old. In a nutshell, if you're a kid in Michigan and you have a specific interest, there's a camp for you.
