Keeping Up with Camp

2021 has quickly become the year of bringing camp back. While 2020 was the year of an empty camp, field trips, weekends, day camps, and more have kept us busy with providing a great space to make lasting memories. Here's what we've been up to:

The return of the weekend! YMCA groups, Cub Scouts, and other private organizations have taken advantage of the huge space we provide for our tenting occupants and taken the weekends back with hikes, zip-lining, paintball, our massive playground, and even a barbecue or two. We are continuing to offer tenting spots to families for the weekends, so make those reservations today! More info on weekends here!

Take your learning outside with our field trips

Field Trips at IHC have also become a new favorite of mid-week programming. This is an awesome chance to bring the fun of camp mixed with a little learning--and a huge playground, too--that gets your students back into nature. We offer lots of class options and all the fresh air you could want. Check out our field trip and picnic options here!

Summer is back, get excited!

Spring and Summer are also well on their way at camp with the opening of our 6th-Grade Camps and Gold Rush Days. With a modified schedule and an excited staff, we're ready to host schools and private groups alike as they explore our 86-acres, encounter God in creation, and see history come alive. For 6th Grade Camps, click here for more info. For Gold Rush Days, click here for more info. You can also join us as we go ALL IN with camps. We'll offer 3 weeks of camps for kids: 2 weeks of youth camps, and 1 week of junior high camp.* For more info on summer camp, click here.

All of these expanding preparations mean that our attention is on providing for our amazing seasonal programs. As a result, we're finishing out Day Camp on March 26th, just as Easter Break starts. While it has been a wholly unique chance to impact the lives of local kids, our focus remains on reaching kids for Jesus through camping. With schools returning to normal (or some semblance of it) following Spring Break, IHC has decided to focus on what we do well: group camps and adventurous experiences.

Grace Fellowship in front of Cabin 12

We've also been blessed by the willingness of others to provide for camp. Folks all over who have been affected by camp have worked to financially support the programs and ministry we run. Whether through their ongoing donations, one-time gifts, or gifts-in-kind, every little bit has given us the chance to continue reaching kids for Jesus through camping. Grace Fellowship in San Diego took the chance to start our Adopt-A-Cabin program, giving their time and energy to renovate one of our beloved accommodations. Check out our Adopt-A-Cabin program here! The time to help is not over. Whether elbow grease or financial support, IHC needs your help to continue the ministry of reaching kids for Jesus through camping. Please consider an ongoing donation and click here to give!

From all of us at Indian Hills Camp to all of you, thank you for being a part of what God is doing at camp. We're grateful for your prayers and support, and we look forward to bringing more good news of camp affecting change with the Gospel.

Reenactments & Learning

We here at Indian Hills Camp have hosted Gold Rush Days for decades, aiding teachers in giving children an insight into what life was like for the thousands that traveled across the country to make them for themselves in gold.  This tiny microcosm of a history lesson is less of a reenactment and more of what we like to call a living history. We bring the kids into situations not dissimilar to what occurred all those years ago, inviting them to feel and think about those problems and how they would work to better themselves through the issues.

This type of learning is incredibly multi-faceted, giving kids the chance to not only learn history but interpersonal communication, cross-cultural understanding, and defining strongly moral behavior. This kinesthetic action involving history means that the educational component is further bolstered by the environmental one. Though this article focuses on the adult learning aspect, the results are nonetheless the same for the kids. Living histories provide kids the chance to develop a better grasp of the historical concepts through an emotional and personal experience with the subject matter.

By taking part in Gold Rush Days, the experience becomes the history and an indelible mark for their encounter with real-life issues and how to work through them. While they may remember the gold panning or rush for claims, the value of experiencing the environment is priceless.

Give your class the memory of a lifetime with Gold Rush Days!

Register for Gold Rush Days here!