YMCA Day Camp Heritage
Overview
Expert Summary
Detailed Insights
YMCA Day Camp Heritage offers an exceptional outdoor summer camp experience, marked by high camper loyalty, engaging staff, and a strong focus on nature and active play. Children consistently love attending, eager to participate in diverse specialty camps and benefit from a well-structured program led by enthusiastic leadership, including Director Mackenzie. The convenient, free bus transportation is a significant added value for parents.
Key Highlights
- ✓Children are highly engaged, popping out of bed eager to go to camp each morning.
- ✓Campers learn a ton about nature and gardening, with a strong outdoor focus.
- ✓Counselors are described as very kind, professional, fun, and making kids feel special.
- ✓Strong leadership, with Director Mackenzie specifically praised as fantastic, energetic, and engaging.
- ✓Kids return for multiple summers, indicating high satisfaction and retention.
- ✓Offers diverse specialty camps, including 'farm & garden camp', 'superheroes', and 'Dragon Fairy camp'.
- ✓Campers come home tired from being outside all day, ensuring active engagement.
- ✓Excellent program put together by staff, supported by great communication from the director and office team.
- ✓Free bus transportation to camp is available, adding significant convenience at no extra cost.
Standout Features
- ⭐Immersive outdoor setting that fosters nature and gardening learning.
- ⭐Dedicated and highly engaging Director, Mackenzie, who ensures a fun outdoor experience.
- ⭐Variety of unique specialty camps (e.g., Farm & Garden, Superheroes, Dragon Fairy).
- ⭐Free bus transportation for campers, enhancing convenience.
- ⭐Programs are designed to keep children active and outdoors, resulting in healthy exhaustion.
- ⭐Staff's ability to make individual campers feel special and valued.
Perfect For
Ideal For
💡Pro Tips from Reviews
- →Consider bringing swim shirts for fair-skinned or younger children to enhance sun protection, especially if they are too young to reapply sunscreen themselves.
- →Prepare for potential bug bites as a normal part of an outdoor camp experience.
- →Inquire about specific specialty camps like 'Farm & Garden' or 'Superheroes' if your child has particular interests.
- →Utilize the free bus option for convenient transportation to and from camp.
Things to Consider
- ⚠Parents may need to proactively manage sun protection (e.g., swim shirts) for fair-skinned or younger children, as reapplication of sunscreen by counselors might be a challenge.
- ⚠Bug bites are a natural occurrence due to the outdoor setting and should be anticipated.
- ⚠Communication, while generally good, might be perceived as 'as good as can be expected' given the average counselor age being late teens, suggesting parents may need to set realistic expectations.
Price & Value
While no specific pricing is mentioned, the inclusion of free bus transportation to camp represents a significant value-add, making the overall offering more convenient and potentially more cost-effective compared to alternatives requiring private transport.
♿Accessibility & Special Needs
- •No specific accommodations mentioned in the reviews.
🍎Food & Drink Policy
- •No specific food or drink policies mentioned in the reviews.
🚗Parking Info
- •No specific parking information mentioned in the reviews.
👥Crowd Levels
- •No information about crowd levels or peak times mentioned in the reviews.
🛡️Safety Features
- •General supervision by kind and professional counselors is implied.
- •Parents suggest proactive sun protection (swim shirts) for children, indicating this might be a shared responsibility or a common parental concern for outdoor camps.
⏰When to Avoid
- • Not explicitly mentioned in reviews, but parents highly sensitive to bug bites might need extra preparation if an outdoor setting is a concern.
Pricing/Package/Events
Pricing & Packages
Day Camp
Duration: weekly
Fun, outdoor adventures, week packed full of exciting, structured activities, participants in small, age-appropriate groups where they build self-esteem and learn new skills. Sleep at home.
Includes:
- •structured activities
- •small, age-appropriate groups
Overnight Camp
Sleep at camp.
Teen Wilderness
Wilderness travel.
Family Camp
Summer camp for the entire family.
BOLD GOLD
Outdoor leadership development.
Adventure in the Neighborhood
Day camp closer to home.
Horseback Riding Lessons
Small group Western riding.
Nature Preschool
Learning for Little Seeds.
Nature Retreats
We plan; you participate.
Outdoor Learning
Hands-on outdoor education.
Private Events
Personal and professional use.
Team Building
Improving group dynamics.
Weddings
A natural way to say "I do!".
Events & Schedule
Special Events(Last 2 months - Next 6 months)
Unlock It!
Year-Round
FREE
Year-round scavenger hunts.
YMCA Mess Fest
Early Summer
Early summer adventure race.
BreakAway Kids Tri
Late Summer
Late summer adventure race.
Resilinator
October 25, 2025
Fall adventure race, a 2.5 mile adventure buddy race on nature trails.
Kidarod
February 21, 2026
Winter adventure race.
🛡️Safety Policy
- • Safe and structured day experiences are provided.
📅Booking Policy
- • Registration information, rates, dates, and program descriptions are available (see website for details).
- • A definitive source of truth for preparation is available for download.
🚗Parking Information
- • Bus Pick Up & Drop Off Times available (implies bus transportation services).
- • Camp transportation options are available.
What People Say
What's Great
- Fun and entertaining activities (mentioned in 5 reviews)
Recent Reviews
Nicole Kizer
10 months agoMy 4 year old son loves their day camp. He pops out of bed each morning asking to go to camp and comes home each day having learned a ton about nature and gardening. The counselors are all very kind and professional. Their specialty camps look like fun and we are looking forward to trying them when he is older.
Erin Swanson
a year agoWe love Camp Heritage! Our kiddo has been going for several summers and is something that’s always on his must do list for the summer. The counselors are great as is the Leadership! Mackenzie, the Director is fantastic- so energetic, engaging and always trying to ensure campers have a fun outdoor experience! Looking forward to another great summer!
Lane Underdahl
a year agoAmazing day camp in a great outdoor setting! The staff at Camp Heritage are awesome & make camp so fun for the kids. We love the different specialty offerings like the farm & garden camp, superheroes & Dragon Fairy camp! The option to send campers on a bus to camp for no extra cost makes camp more convenient too! Heritage's staff put together an excellent program & their director and office team provide great communication.
Kaarin Mantz
a year agoMy kids have been going to Camp Heritage every summer since they could. They love all the activities and we love how tired they are from being outside all day. The counselors are fun and make my kiddos feel special. What a treasure in our community!
kate zaczkowski
a year agoMy son really enjoys this camp! He’s 9. I see a couple of bad reviews about sunscreen - swim shirts are a great option if you have fair skinned kids who are too young to reapply sunscreen. We had some pretty big bug bites but it wasn’t anything to blame the counselors about. It’s part of being outside. I feel like the kids are great and communication was as good as can be expected when the average counselor age is maybe late teens??