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Overnight or sleepaway summer camp can help immerse kids in the outdoors in ways that might not be possible otherwise. Resident Overnight Camp Director at Avid4 Adventure, Eric Rightor, shares with Mile High Mamas', Amber Johnson just how and why overnight summer camp benefits all kids. 

As a camp director for the past 10 years, you can imagine how many times I’ve been asked "Is my child ready for overnight camp?" by prospective families thinking of sending their most prized possession away to an overnight summer camp. You are sold on the skill and personal development, making lifelong memories with soon-to-be lifelong friends, all while having a blast in the outdoors—but is your child really ready for sleepaway camp? This is a tough question to answer and it leads to a tougher one, which ultimately leads to the hardest one of all.

The buzz is all around you and you’re getting the feeling the universe is trying to tell you something. The ski season excitement is slowly winding down and your friends are starting to think about summer. You’ve heard the mention of a family trip here and there, but someone the other day mentioned how pumped they are to go to overnight camp — the endless activities, the sweet traditions, the friends they’re excited to see, the trips they get to go on — and no parents? It caught your ear in the moment but you think, 'There is no way my parents would go for that.'

It’s a camp thing

Whether you have no hesitations, need a bit of reassurance, or want more information about Avid4 Adventure’s Overnight Camp, we’ve got you covered. We sat down with a veteran sleep-away camper’s mom to get her take on residential summer camp to see what she had to say about the experience.

When you think about the outdoor experiences that really made an imprint in your memory, what comes to mind? Camping in a tent, sleeping under the stars, conversations around the campfire that went uninterrupted by a buzzing phone, getting covered in dirt after a breathtaking hike or testing the limits of your mountain bike (or yourself) in the great outdoors? These types of experiences are what our overnight Expedition Camps for rising 5th-12th graders are all about.