Hiking Backpack Zone

Posts Tagged ‘summer camp’

Each year one quarter of a million people will make their way North to the Northwoods of Minnesota to have a one on one visit with nature and the environment. Often Childrens first experience to take part in these wild Adventures comes from aMinnesota Summer Camp.

When one thinks of the BWCA, they are reminded of a picturesque area in the northern third of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. between The International Boundary between Canada and the United States and extends nearly 150 miles while consuming nearly 1.3 million acres. The Canadians protected areas are Canada’s Quetico Provincial Park and Voyageurs National Park. The main means of transport in the BWCA is mainly canoing with over 1200 miles of canoe routes, 11 hiking trails and approximately 2000 designated campsites plus loads of Portages.

Those who come pursue an experience of expansive solitude and personal one to one with nature. It is this Minnesota wilderness that seems to offer freedom to those take the challenge of this adventure. When at this Minnesota Sanctuary one realizes hw small they are and how much thiings have changed over the last 100 years. While paddeling it may be days before you see another human requiring individual independence and being self-sufficient.

The combination of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Canada’s Parks form one of the world’s great wilderness areas; the largest international area set aside for wilderness recreational purposes in the world. For thousands of years, the area has served as a travel corridor for native peoples and, more recently, as one of the main routes to the west for European explorers and fur traders. The so-called Voyageurs’ Highway ran through Canada and Minnesota. Today its quiet waters and non-mechanized mode of travel serve as a haven from the pressures of modern-day living

So how did this come to be? Here is the short form.

July 10, 1930, the Shipstead-Newton-Nolan Act, the first statute in which Congress expressly orders land be protected as “wilderness,” is signed into law by President Herbert Hoover

September 3 1964, the Wilderness Act, U.S. is signed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson, establishing the U.S. wilderness preservation system and prohibiting the use of motorboats and snowmobiles within wilderness areas except for areas where use is well established within the Boundary Waters, defining wilderness as an area “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man . . . an area of undeveloped . . . land retaining its primeval character and influence without permanent improvements.” This date is considered by many to be the birth of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

To learn more about Summer Camps Minnesota see Swift Nature Camp

Swift Nature Camp is a Minnesota Overnight Summer Camp for boys and girls ages 6-15. Our focus is to blend traditional summer camp with a Science Summer Camp increasing a child’s appreciation for nature, science and the environment.

Summer camp isn’t just for young children. Children’s Summer Camps As an example, Swift Nature Camp offers a coed teen summer camp program that is just for teenaged campers up to 15 years of age, and a Counselor in Training Program for ages 16 and 17.

Like its summer camp programs for pre-teens, Swift Nature Camp offers an amazing range of camp activities. Hiking, climbing, ceramics, horseback riding, tennis, kayaking, and whitewater rafting are among the most popular programs among teen campers.

Summer camps with programs for teens can provide a special opportunity for them to make friends in a relaxed and fun-filled environment, build self-esteem and independence, and meet the challenge of new adventures.

Swift Nature Camp offers their Adventure Camp program, opportunities to leave camp behind and take trips to the Apostle Islands, the International Wolf Center, or the Mississippi River.

All children, especially those in their teenage years, need a break from the accelerating competition of today’s world. An intimate, friendly and non-competetive environment for teens fosters positive encouragement. The atmosphere of acceptance brings a welcome balance to young lives. Even first time campers quickly and smoothly adjust to life as a camper in this kind of setting.

Teens grow up too quickly and still are kids at heart, they too need to play. An Adventure Teen Camp should challenge your teen to do new things. Camp is not school! Interaction with animals can be a perfect way for a teenager to learn by natural discovery of play. Besides all the fun and excitement of a traditional camp, the kids have the joy of discovering Nature and the world we live in.

Many teen campers return summer after summer, returning to see friends and enjoy the excitement, self-direction, and goofy fun characteristic of camp life.

Summer camp is a great place to be oneself and a perfect place to make lifelong friends. Away from the pressures of home, school and competitive sports, teenagers discover themselves and thrive.

You can learn more about selecting a wonderful TeenSummer Camp.

About the authors: Jeff and Lonnie Lorenz are the directors of Swift Nature Camp, a non-competitive, traditional coed Overnight Summer Camp. Boys and Girls Ages 6-15 enjoy nature, animals & science along with traditional camping activities. Swift specializes in Teen Adventure Camps.