Overnight Summer Camp

Advice, tips, resources, information, questions to ask, list of all types of camps, checklist, how to get free tuition, campers insurance and more for overnight summer camps, also called sleepaway camps.  We're not affiliated with any overnight summer camp and can offer unbiased information.

Choosing an overnight summer camp for your child or  teen and other children deserves a great deal of consideration and attention to even the smallest details.

Selecting the right camp that fits into your child's interests, teen interests, special interests, needs, special needs and abilities will be one of the first steps.  The camp you choose will provide a lifetime of good memories and will be truly rewarding. 

Each summer, more than 10 million children and counselors attend day camps and overnight summer camps across the country.  Many of the kid campers are enrolled in summer camp by their parents early in the year, thus camps fill up quickly.  That's why you should be diligent in your efforts to visit camps during the peak season to make plans in advance of the next camping year.

The variety of camps available today is almost innumerable, meaning there will be some specialized camps that may have availability left even into the summer.

Overnight summer camps- beyond the traditional sports - baseball, softball, basketball, girls basketball, soccer, tennis, football, and more - there are camps for outdoor enthusiasts that can offer horseback riding, hiking, camping, fishing, sailing, swimming, canoeing and even rappelling.  The more artistically minded might consider arts and crafts, clowning, drama, film making, acting, theater, photography, music, American Idol, piano or dance to be important elements of having a well-rounded camp experience.  There are camps with activities as traditional as model rocketry and riflery, to those nontraditional as aviation, archery, computers, language studies, golf, martial arts, paintball, motorcycles, horses, remote-controlled cars,  robotics, NASA robotics, Spanish, French, German or community service.  Some camps have a targeted focus like religious study, Christian, Jewish, academics, and competitive sports.  There are even overnite summer camps with a focus on self-improvement, weight loss camps and grief counseling.

Types of special needs camps: physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, ADD, mobility issues, grief, depression, weight loss camp, behavior issues, emotional issues, special diets, celiac disease, diet issues, anorexia, bulimia , Asperger's , autism, asthma, respiratory illnesses, bereavement, burn, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, colitis, developmental disabilities, diabetes, enuresis (bed wetting), high risk ODD, HIV/AIDS learning disabilities/AD/HD, LD, ADD, ADHD, leukemia, mainstream, oncology, physical disabilities, social skills, speech/hearing impairments, therapeutic wilderness, horse-back therapeutic riding, visually impaired, blind, etc.   

In Spanish overnight summer camp is called summer camp - colonia   or  campamento  or  de vacaciones.

Also see on this website:        Overnight Summer Camp List of Types

The summer is a key time to visit overnight summer camps or sleepaway camps because you can ascertain whether they'll be the right fit for your child, children or family while the camp is in full operation.  You can view campers and counselors in their element, witness activities as they occur, and just obtain an overall feel of the camp, something that cannot be accurately experienced when the camp is closed.   

When visiting each camp, you want to ensure your child's safety and comfort, so try to talk to current campers and their parents, if possible.  Pore over and evaluate the brochures and promotional materials.  Get to know the camp director from an in-person visit to your home if possible, phone conversations or email or other correspondence.  Try to determine whether the director incorporates a similar philosophy to running the camp as you do in parenting your child or children.

Check the camper-counselor ratio to determine the number of campers for each counselor.  Children will get more individual attention and supervision with a lower number of campers per counselor.  Consider these industry-recommended guidelines - for smaller children ages 7 and 8, there should be one counselor for every six campers.  By age 15, there should be one counselor for every 10 campers.

Overnight Summer Camps - Checklist

The reputation of an overnight summer camp can also be determined by asking what percentage of counselors returned from the previous year. Camps should have at least a 40% to 60% return staff ratio, which shows that the camp is seen as a good place to spend a summer.

Overnight Summer Camps - Free Tuition

There are overnight summercamps in every state in the U.S. and every province in Canada. There are popular overnight summer camps in Florida, Texas, and Georgia. There are camps in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and just about every country in the world. 

If you find a traditional overnight summer camp or sleepaway camp  that's not the right fit, or an expense that isn't possible at this place in time, rest assured that there are other options that can keep your child occupied throughout the summer. Have a great overnight colonia  or  campamento or de vacaciones!