A highlight of the two-week session for our youngest campers (grades K-3), and their version of backpacking, is Bears’ Adventure. This one-night trip allows campers to experience sleeping outdoors under the stars and cooking over a campfire. Campers’ luggage is taken for them to the campsite, so they are not technically “backpacking,” because they have no pack to carry. With just their water bottle and their positive attitude, they set out from camp singing and talking on their hike.
The best part of Bears’ Adventure is the free time kids get to play and explore the area. For many campers, the longer sticks provide the perfect start to a fort. Others enjoy laying on their sleeping bags talking with friends or silently watching clouds move overhead. Some participate in crafts and games while enjoying being outdoors. For many of these kids, Bears’ Adventure is their first experience “roughing it,” and they absolutely love it.
When they hike back into camp the morning after their adventure, our Bears campers stand a little taller. And their dirty, smiling faces are the best indication that they have experienced the awe of nature.
They’re trained and ready for an amazing summer guiding campers to have fun, make friends, and grow! Visit the Meet the Staff Page for individual pictures and bios.
We had so much fun during June Specialty 3! Enjoy these memories and we cannot wait to see you next year!
We have so many great memories from June Specialty 2/GACpacking session. Here are some highlights as recorded by our awesome media team (AKA the “GACarazzi”):
Session 1 starts now! We’re so excited to welcome our Session 1 campers to camp today! This session we have campers coming from as far away as the United Kingdom and representing many states! Of these campers…
96 are 1st time campers at GAC
184 are returning campers
38 are 3-year campers
29 are 5-year campers
and 2 are 10-year campers!
We are so excited for the next 2 weeks that will be spent hiking, singing songs, waterskiing, campfires and so much more! Make sure to keep up with everything going on at camp through our News section as well as our Whadda Day daily podcast!
What are we eating this week? Check out the Session 1, Week 1 Menu
Yesterday, we welcomed another group of June Specialty campers to Gold Arrow Camp! They will enjoy an action-packed week of waterskiing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding on our island outpost in the middle of Shaver Lake. They will get to sleep under the stars after spending fun-filled days on the lake! How lucky they are!
Want to learn more about June Specialty? Click here.
Can you believe it? Camp has officially begun! Today, we’re welcoming our June Specialty & GACpacking campers to Gold Arrow Camp. Our June Specialty campers will enjoy an action-packed week of waterskiing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding, while our GACpacking campers will enjoy a week of backcountry hiking skill building. Shaver Specialty is held on our island outpost in the middle of Shaver Lake, where campers sleep under the stars after spending fun days on the lake.
June Shaver Specialty Menu
GACpacking Menu
Want to learn more about June Specialty? Click here.
Want to learn more about GACpacking? Click here.
One of the highlights of each session is our camp dance.
Dances feature favorite group dances, like Footloose and Tragedy. There’s also our photo booth for some pictures with friends, special snacks and drinks like the “Soy Rogers” and “Shirley Chipmunk,” as well as a wide selection of games for those campers that prefer playing games over dancing.
Each of our dances has a theme, and campers and staff are encouraged to dress up to match the theme. Some people bring costumes from home, while others improvise using their clothes or making something at Arts & Crafts. Whatever you choose to do, we know you’ll have a great time at our dances.
This year’s dance themes are:
Come as your favorite celebrity or dress to impress as one of your favorite movie characters for this fun SoCal themed party!
Shiver me timbers matey! Session 1 campers will be walking the plank to fun with their peg-legs, eye patches, and other pirate accessories.
Let’s have some far-out fun in Session 2, when we enjoy the dance with our best hippie costumes, or your tie-dyed favorites.
Having a hard time coming up with a costume for Session 3’s Halloween dance? Any costume will do as we celebrate the one night of the year when people love costumes as much as we do on dance night.
It’ll be the end of August, but we’re going to dress like a blizzard is on the way for our Winter Wonderland dance for Session 4.
It’s a night for sweet treats as we end the summer with a dance celebrating candy, or the board game Candy Land!
We are so excited to be back at camp for another summer of fun, friends, and growth! Our staff is a big part of what helps make camp the special place that it is! Check out our Meet the Staff page to learn a little bit more about all of our counselors. Be sure to check back often as more staff members continue to join the team!
Be sure to also follow us on Instagram and Facebook for fun content! Every Monday is “Meet the Staff Monday” where we feature a few counselors and a little information about them. You can also find all of the past featured counselors on Instagram in the 2021 Staff highlight bubble in our profile.