First Time Campers Come for a Test Drive
Brochures, websites and DVDs try to explain what camp is like, but nothing compares to experiencing the actual place. Spending a weekend at camp gives you an opportunity to get the feel of camp, test our bunks, look around the cabins, try camp activities, taste the food and swim in the lake. A camp visit puts our first time campers “behind the wheel” so they see where they will be coming for the summer.
In late May, Crystal Lake Camps always holds an Open House and welcomes first time campers and their families for a free weekend of camp. As a parent who brought two first time campers to a CLC Open House in 2003, I know how crucial it was to introduce the idea of camp to all of us. As parents we were reassured that our campers would be in kind, capable and safe hands. Our sons were intrigued by the possibilities of fun camp activities and new adventures, especially archery. Visions of elfin bravery in the Pennsylvanian version of Middle Earth were quite a deciding factor!
This year our Open House visitors enjoyed scaling our climbing wall, canoeing on the lake, touring our camp facilities and participating in a Sunday School class. Large quantities of marshmallows were toasted and some torched, over a glowing campfire at the Council Fire clearing, as the frogs started peeping and the bats swooped through the gathering twilight.
If you have been thinking about camp and wondering whether it is right for you or your child. Come and visit us next May and judge for yourself. I know it made the difference in my own family’s camping decision. It is so much easier for a camper to see themselves at camp when they know where they are going, have met some of the staff and seen their cabin. Coming for our special one week session can also be a great way to start your child’s camp experience. This year we are enrolling the younger siblings of families, who came to recent Open Houses.
Make a note to take your family for spin down the byways of Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains next May and visit Crystal Lake Camps, We feel confident that a visit to camp could open a whole new world for adventure with spiritual growth for you and your family.
Share this Post