Someday They Will Tell Their Grandchildren About This...

For more than 80 years, children have come to Willson Outdoor Center to swim, boat, sleep under the stars, fish, ride horses, experience nature and enjoy the outdoors. These children have left with much more... independence, confidence, great memories and lasting friendships. Most importantly, they left camp feeling good about themselves.

This same spirit and tradition still thrives at Willson. We stress the values that you embrace at home: honesty, caring, respect and responsibility. These values extend into all areas of your child's life, giving them increased confidence and maturity. Last summer, more than 1,000 children enjoyed the Willson experience and our commitment to excellence continues with challenging, exciting and adventure-oriented activities.

Staff - Our Most Important Asset

We are committed to developing youth in spirit, mind and body, to provide guidance and develop character. Behind our commitment is a dedicated, caring staff of full-time YMCA professionals and fully trained college-aged men and women from throughout the Midwest and the world.

After an extensive training program, the staff is prepared to provide the best possible camping experience for your child. We believe each camper should receive individual attention and we maintain at least one counselor to every eight children. After all, everyone should have the opportunity to have an adult role model or mentor who inspires, provides guidance and leads by example. Parents can have peace of mind knowing their children are in good hands.

Safety First!

Safety always comes first along with our commitment to a healthy camp experience. Our tradition of safe camping is a blend of quality training and equipment. In addition to our counselors who make daily health checks, we also employ an on-site health supervisor who follows strict guidelines for dispensing medication and caring for individual campers.

Our Promise of Quality

We are committed to providing a positive experience that helps each child recognize self worth and develop a sense of responsibility. If your child's experience is not a positive, high quality experience, please let us know. We will make it right by letting your child try another week at no charge. If we cannot improve the quality of your child's experience, we will refund your money. We believe in our programs that much!

Stay Over Weekends

Campers who register for more than one week have the opportunity to stay from one week to the next at no additional charge. Mark your registration card if you wish to have this free stay over. Stay-over weekend is not available between sessions R8 and R9 (August 9-10, 2003).