Top Family Camps In The Midwest

Midwest family camps offer fun, adventure and family bonding vacations at reasonable rates. To plan sleepaway camp together with your kids, start by checking out these great family overnight camps. Be ready to book one early in the year. Spots go fast.

Family Camps in the Midwest, an Enduring Trend

American Camp Association comprises more than 15,000 year-round and summer camps in the US, so it’s tough to pick the right one. While ACA studies show that fewer than one-quarter of their members have have added specific family programs, there are plenty to choose from.

There are several reasons family camps are popular. First, family camps are often less expensive than the typical family vacation. Camps in the Midwest are also often waterfront, a rare treat for families who don’t lie near the water. In addition to being top value, cheap vacations, these summer getaways are healthy. Parentsenjoy the outdoors, healthy recreation and an overnight camp experience that is usually exclusive to tweens and teens.

Try archery, color wars, arts n’crafts and canoeing if you want to relive your childhood camp days. Pick an all-inclusive family camp to enjoy quality family time, hassle-free, away from the distractions of modern technology.

What is a Midwest Family Camp Experience?

Families stay in tents, cabins or even luxury cottages. In the Midwest, several of the camps are located on lakes suitable for swimming, canoeing and other non-motorized watersports. Families dine together at communal meals in the dining hall, and participate in a variety of outdoor activities. No cooking, driving, or planning an itinerary on this vacation.

Most family camps run three to seven days in length. Rates generally include all activities, food, and lodging. The price ranges upwards from about $125 per night per adult depending on season. You’ll pay lower rates for teens and younger children who usually have their own supervised activities.

Family camp is ideal for families with children ages 7-12. We found that most camps welcome infants, too. Some famps even provide the option of childcare, and most don’t even charge for under-3s. Many camps have teen-specific programs as well.

6 Top Family Camps in the Midwest

Here are some of the top family camps in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Camp Dearborn

1700 General Motors Road
Milford, MI 48380
248/684-6000
The “citizens’ country club” as it’s known, has occupied 626 acres of hills, forest, and plains in Dearborn, Michigan since 1948. Take advantage of the camp’s location in a state park with six lakes, a 27-hole golf course, a heated swimming pool, playgrounds, and a baseball field. Families can enjoy bike trails that tie into the county’s system, team games, hayrides, fishing, paddle boating, dancing, and many other outdoor camp activities.

Make this your basecamp for family outings to the remarkable American history collection at the Henry Ford Museum, Henry Ford Estate and Greenfield Village. Detroit is only 44 miles southeast of the camp. Depending on season, catch a Detroit Tigers baseball game, Detroit Lions football game or a Big 10 college football game.

Camp Dearborn cabins each have six cots, electricity, refrigerator/stove units, charcoal grills, and patio furniture. Those who choose to stay in an RV or tent have access to the same amenities. The Midwest family camp runs themed weeks in summer and special Halloween events on fall weekends.

YMCA Family Camp Nawakwa

13400 Camp Nawakwa Lane
Lac du Flambeau, WI 54538
715/588-7422
YMCA Family Camp Nawakwa makes rental cabins and tent sites available year round, and it’s less than 6 hours from Chicago, Illinois. Cabin options include 20 modern ones (some with bathrooms) with log furniture, full kitchens and large living spaces at North Camp. The 14 economical, lakefront South Camp ones are simply furnished and smaller. A few are handicap accessible. Depending on the cabin you select, there’s a public shower and central wash houses.

At Nawakwa, each family is responsible for preparing their own food because there’s no dining hall. The camp provides you with refrigerators, dishware, cooking utensils, and campfire pits at no extra cost. Activities include campfires, a water carnival, ice cream social, swimming, kayaking, archery, hiking and boating. Power boats are rented for a fee. In fall, winter and spring, come for a long weekend or holiday week. Decorate pumpkins, hike, bike, borrow cross country ski gear or snowshoes. All programs are designed to enrich sprit, mind and body with full family participation. Although children are considered the sole responsibility of parents, a few mornings per week, the staff runs a small kid’s club. 

YMCA Camp du Nord

3606 North Ann Road
Ely, MN 55731
651/645-6605
This classic Y Camp is located within a million acres of forest at Burntside Lake among the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Camp du Nord’s serene beauty calls all types of families to gather year after year for active, fun vacations. They even run a women-only sleepaway camp for adults. Parents love their me-time while daily organized activities take care of babies through 17-year-olds.

Spend most of the weeklong family camps as “families-together” to enjoy hiking, fishing, sailing etc. Some themed retreats include arts, crafts, cooking, nature and wellness progarms. There are 28 large cabins (many open year round) with bathrooms and kitchens; seven rustic cabins with kitchens and electricity; and plenty of tent sites, six on platforms. Prepare meals in your cabin, or purchase a meal plan for dining in the Lodge where kids under 3 years dine free.

YMCA Camp Northern Lights

9089 Highway 21
N. Babbitt, MN 55706
612/822-2267
The YMCA expanded its Minnesota facilities in 2019 with this beautiful new camp at the edge of the Superior National Forest on Bear Island Lake. Here’s a great place to fish, enjoy boating or explore 130 acres of trails as a family. Choose among year-round lodging in tents, RV sites or comfortable cabins with kitchen and bathrooms (idea for newbie campers.) Program opportunities include 3, 4- and 7-day family camps in summer. Be sure to plan a Cookout or Overnight adventure with loaner gear, accompanying staff or just their expert advice to smooth the way.

YMCA Trout Lodge and Camp Lakewood

13528 State Hwy AA
Potosi, MI
888/FUN-YMCA
Located on Sunnen Lake in Potosi, 90 minutes south of St. Louis, these facilities encompass 5,200 wooded acres, a private 360-acre lake and the Triangle Y Ranch equestrian center. Stay in the fully renovated Trout Lodge in balconied rooms or comfy family cabins. Partake and 40 to 100 different seasonal activities throughout the year. The Lodge vacation package rate for families includes a room, all meals, nature hikes, horseback riding, zip lining, water activities and more. Kids under 4 stay and play free.

Camp Lakewood runs a summer camp for ages 6-16 in age-appropriate groups, plus a Family Camp that parents attend in autumn. Those three days of fun take place Halloween weekend this year. Enjoy time for a zipline, archery, a 50-foot climbing structure and trail rides together. A riflery range, gymnasium and a mini-golf course round out the facilities.

Top Learning Camp for Families in the Mid-West

For families that are looking for something outside of the typical camp experience, many places offer family-oriented learning programs. These camps are still inexpensive for what they do offer, in comparison with academic programs. Parents and their children can learn about outer space, the arts, or other cultures over the course of a week or weekend. The following activity-specific camp is best for families with school-age children ages 6-13 or older.

Concordia Language Villages

901 8th St S
Moorhead, MN 56562
218/368-3067
Spend a week in Germany without leaving the country! Popular since 1961, this branch of Concordia College has hosted hundreds of thousands of campers. At Concordia Language Villages, families are immersed into a different culture, according to the language they wish to learn. During check-in, campers present “passports” they have received in the mail. They exchange their dollars for foreign currency at a camp bank in order to practice using the currency. They learn the new language of their choice and eat the indigenous cuisine. Learn about the country’s song, art, sports, and dance in a variety of activities.

Family camp sessions are currently in Arabic, Chinese, German, French, Finnish, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Portuguese, Russian. Choose from Family, Adult, Senior or Youth-only sessions. Weeklong summer programs take place in Moorhead. In-person weekends and virtual sessions at other times of year are often conducted from the Bemidji, Minnesota campus.

Plan ahead to secure a spot at one of these great family camps in the West. And read on for information on top family camps in the West, family camps in the South and family camps in the East.