10 of the Best Outdoor Adventure Summer Camps across Canada
Although summer is several weeks away, now is the time to be thinking about summer camps. Or at least, registering your children for summer camps if you want them to participate in some amazing outdoor adventures that often provide some great growth opportunities as well.
In most cases, registration is fairly easy and can be done online.
Here’s a list of some really excellent summer camp—some are more traditional types of camps; others offer some unique approaches not always provided in traditional camps.
Big Cove YMCA Camp, Nova Scotia
This camp is generally accepted as the oldest overnight summer youth camp in Canada that is still running today. It began operations in 1889. But that is not all that sets it apart.
Situated on a peninsula on Nova Scotia’s northern shore, Big Cove is the only YMCA camp that operates in a harbour of the Atlantic Ocean. This lends itself to canoeing and camping trips in the harbour and beyond. The highlight of the summer program is a 10-day ocean canoe trip from Ballantynes Cove in Antigonish County all the way to Cape Breton Island.
To register, call (782) 446-5317. There is a registration portal on their website. You can also email for more information at [email protected]. Prices range from $475 to $2,400.
Camp Nominingue, Quebec
Some camps provide cabins for campers to sleep in when not out on an overnight canoe or backpacking excursion—but not Camp Nominingue. Everyone sleeps in tents.
An easy drive from Ottawa and Montreal in the Laurentians, this boys’ camp offers the usual camp activities like canoeing, kayaking, swimming, archery, campcraft and outdoor cooking. Campers are split into age groups. They can select which programs to participate in.
Although it is an English-speaking camp, because it is in Quebec, campers can have the opportunity to practise French by sleeping in a tent with a couple of Francophones or by opting for a French-speaking counselor.
You can register online on their website portal. Prices range from $1,875 to $5,750.
Camp Outlook, Ontario
Camp Outlook takes a couple of unique approaches to providing camping experiences for young people.
They charge NO camp fees, and the camp leaders are all volunteers. While based in Kingston, they don’t have a “camp” there. Campers congregate there before taking buses to head out on five-, nine- and 14-day canoe trips in Algonquin or Frontenac Provincial Parks.
There is a vetting process for campers. They need to be recommended by a social agency or a school to provide camp experiences for teens from the ages of 13 to 17 that would otherwise not be able to enjoy them. Its philosophy? Nature can have a healing power, providing personal growth opportunities for the campers.
Their website provides more information.
Kettleby Valley Camp, Ontario
This camp offers both day camp and overnight camp experiences. Located near Newmarket and Aurora, 20 minutes from Richmond Hill, it uses buses to take day campers back and forth five days a week. Day campers enjoy many of the same activities as the overnighters, including canoeing, swimming instruction, archery, nature lore and crafts. Overnight campers get all those as well as some evening programs, like singalongs and other activities. There are different lengths of overnight stays.
Registration can be done online. Costs range from $564 to $2,240 per session.
Camp Arowhon, Algonquin Park, Ontario
Arowhon is one of several summer camps in Algonquin Provincial Park. It traces its roots back to the Great Depression. While it offers a variety of outdoor programs like canoeing, canoe-tripping, horseback riding, archery and climbing, it is very focused on using those activities to develop real skills and enhance personal growth for all its campers. Participation in the camp activities is essential. They accomplish that by trying to build connections between the leaders and the campers.
You can register through a portal on their website. Costs range from $1,500 to $2,000 per week.
DUC Wetland Discovery Centre Day Camp, Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba
Located an hour from Winnipeg, this wetland provides more than just great birdwatching through its summer day camps.
Outdoor adventures, games, crafts, hikes and exploring the exhibits in the Centre are all offered as activities in the camps for six- to nine-year-olds, Tuesday to Thursday. Each week features a different theme, like Wetland Detectives, Crazy Critters and Junior Naturalists. You can also opt to include a camp-provided lunch: a sandwich, drink, baked goods and fruit.
Check out their website to register. Costs $38 per day for Ducks Canada Unlimited members, $45 per day for non-members.
Kâniyâsihk Culture Camps, Saskatchewan
This camp is not restricted to summer operations. Both day and overnight camps are available at the Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation in northeastern Saskatchewan.
Participants learn many of the skills associated with camping, like paddling, hiking, archery and wilderness first aid. It also offers more. Because of its First Nations connections, participants can learn to pick berries, gather teas, fillet fish, tan hides and preserve foods the way the Cree would have. The Cree language is also taught.
Accommodations range from cabins to quinzees (snow shelters) in the winter to tents and tipis in the summer. Their website contains more information about how to register. Costs range from $1,200 to $2,000.
Jasper Park Lodge Camp, Jasper Park, Alberta
This is another day camp that differs from traditional summer camps. It runs all year round, and it’s for the children of guests staying at the Jasper Park Lodge, offering outdoor activities in the park’s natural surroundings, giving youths the opportunity to experience nature (and perhaps giving the parents a bit of a break).
They’re taught outdoor skills like setting up tents, navigating trails, building fires and enjoying the wilderness safely. Achievement badges are awarded for activities.
The camps run from 10 to 4 and lunch is included. An advance sign-up of 24 hours is required. You register through the email address [email protected]. The cost for one day of camp is $189 per child.
British Columbia Wildlife Federation Summer Camps
Every summer, the BCWF heads to various locations around BC, running summer camps to teach youths outdoor skills like how to make a shelter, build a fire, navigate through wilderness, canoe, fish and backpack overnight.
A unique aspect of these camps is that they’re “pop-up” camps, showing up around BC to instill knowledge about, and love for, wildlife. They like to try to hit urban centres as well as smaller, more remote communities that don’t have quick and easy access to outdoor programs.
There are two separate programs: Wild Kidz for eight to 12-year-olds and Go Wild for 13-17-year-olds. You can find out more details regarding locations and reservations on the federation’s website. Costs $450 for non-members, $375 for BCWF members for WildKidz; $825 and $725 for Go Wild. Some early-bird discounts may apply before April 18.
Camp McLean, British Columbia
Located in Langley, this camp is run by Scouts Canada, one of many camps the organization runs across the country every summer. However, it is not restricted only to Scouts members—this co-ed camp is open to other youths in the surrounding community.
The camp offers a variety of outdoor activities that can include training in skills like paddling, camping, woodcraft, archery, swimming and hiking, and the campers are divided into groups by age, with the skill sets required for the activities set for the various ages. The activities take place both on the 20-hectare camp property as well as nearby Campbell Valley Regional Park.
Registration for both the day camps and the overnight camps is available online. Prices range from $315 to $610, depending on length and membership versus non-membership status.
