Your 2025 Summer Camp Guide: 26 Options for Up North Kids

Spots fill up fast for these summer programs!

The first official day of summer is still four months off, but many local parents are already thinking about how their kids will spend the warmer months. With some camps already open for registration and others prepping for sign-ups in the coming weeks, here’s your guide for how to get on the list for many local camps.

Grand Traverse Bay YMCA

Perhaps the most in-demand summer camp in Traverse City, the YMCA offers 200 camp slots and 10 weeks of programming, from June 16 to Aug.22. In recent years, parents have camped out in the YMCA parking lot the night before registration to give themselves the best chances of landing spots for their kids. This year, citing “increased demand and accessibility concerns,” the YMCA announced it will be dispensing with in-person registrations.

“Last year, we had people lining up as early as 10pm the night prior,” says YMCA Senior Program Director Thomas Graber. For reference, registration for the 2024 Y camp opened at 7am, nine hours after the line started to form. “After that, we knew we had to do something different. We really don’t want anybody standing out overnight in February.”

This year, the Y will open registration applications at 7am on Monday, Feb. 17. As in the past, that application window will prioritize families with active YMCA family memberships. This time, though, everything will happen online.

The change in protocol has had mixed reception among Y families. On one hand, Graber says parents are relieved they won’t have to camp out overnight in bitter cold weather to get their kids into summer camp. On the other hand, some families worry that losing the limiting factor of in-person queuing will mean more competition for spots—and lower chances of getting one.

“There’s no perfect system,” Graber admits. “This is clearly more of a community childcare shortage issue than a process issue. We’re doing everything we can to make this as fair and accessible and safe as possible. But the reality is, there just aren’t enough summer camp spots to go around.”

In the spirit of accessibility, Graber says the YMCA is using a web form that is totally mobile-friendly, rather than one that favors desktop users. He also invites parents concerned about unreliable internet access to come into the YMCA and submit their application from the lobby.

“Our doors are going to be open,” he says. Visit gtbayymca.org/camp to learn more.

NMC College for Kids

For parents looking for an educational focus for the summer, Northern Michigan College’s College for Kids stands apart for its commitment to providing unique learning opportunities for local children.

“College for Kids is intended to be experiential learning in a specific topic that students might not otherwise have exposure to,” says NMC’s Director of Extended Education & Training Laura Matchett. “For example, we no longer have a dinosaur unit in school, but we have a preschool teacher who loves to do a dinosaur unit in summer.”

Unlike summer camp options designed to provide childcare or that focus on general activities or sports, College for Kids’ offerings are designed more like classes, allowing teachers to provide specialized content and students to explore things they are curious about. “Kids are getting a different level of support and expertise,” says Matchett.

While classes don’t typically cover an entire day, Matchett shares that many families stack a morning and afternoon class and then join their students for lunch on campus.

Like other camp options in the area, NMC has seen high demand for their classes. “In 2024, we sold over 1,100 seats and we had 745 unique students. That’s pretty close to the previous year,” says Matchett. “Looking back over the last four years, the capacity of each class is increasing each summer. More popular classes are needing waiting lists.” She advises parents to sign up for the waitlist, because that’s how NMC assesses demand and can consider adjusting offerings in the future.

College for Kids’ programs are tailored for students starting with ages 4-6 in preschool classes all the way up to grade 12. “We’re really known for our variety,” emphasizes Matchett. Offerings range widely from languages like Japanese to caricature drawing to game design and art classes.

“From aviation—we have 12-year-olds flying planes!—to the culinary classes, those are ones that always fill up right away,” Matchett says.

Some class highlights in 2025 include:

- New: Guardians of the Galleries, taught in the Dennos Art Museum, an immersive experience where kids in grades 3-5 will learn “secrets of curating exhibitions, conserving treasures, and designing displays as you protect and celebrate the world of art”;
- New: Creative Calm: Spa Week, a course for grades 6-8 focused on self-care strategies; and
- Returning: New Orleans Street Band, in partnership with Dan Trahey and the Archipelago Project, a jam-band style ensemble for grades 6-12.

Matchett recommends setting up a household profile at nmc.edu/kids now so that it’s ready to go when registration opens Feb. 3, and then logging on to register promptly.

“College for Kids helps welcome kids to NMC, getting to know the campus and creating a sense of belonging” says Matchett. About 12 percent of current NMC students were College for Kids students in the past!

More Camps, More Choices

Here is a sampling of other camps that are now (or will soon be) open for registration around the North.

OPEN NOW

1. Interlochen’s Arts Discovery Camp: Sessions are one week in length and will be offered for seven weeks this summer, starting Monday, June 16 and ending Friday, Aug. 1. All camps are for ages 7-12 and are held at the Interlochen Community School building.

2. Grand Traverse Tennis Camps: Offered by long-time Traverse City Central High School tennis coach Larry Nykerk, this camp will run four sessions this summer and include programming opportunities for all ages, including adults.

3. Norte Youth Cycling: Norte has expanded its Summer Bike Camp this year, with programming now running for 10 weeks. Those camps are geared toward riders in first through eighth grade, with activities ranging from 3.5-6 hours daily, Monday through Thursday. The nonprofit estimates it will “welcome and empower roughly 900 riders” this summer.

4. Camp Carvela: Discover nine summer 2025 sessions geared toward kids aged 7-13 that run weekly from June 16 to Aug. 22.

5. YMCA’s Hayo-Went-Ha Camps: Nine weeks of summer programming for kids aged 5-10.

6. Pathfinder: This camp offers programs for four age ranges—Explorers (ages 4-5), Discovery (6-7), Voyagers (8-9), and Adventure (10-12)—for eight week-long sessions running from June 23 to Aug. 15.

7. Traverse Area Community Sailing: Summer 2025 camps have programs available for ages 8-17.

8. ELEV8: Owner Nick Olson says the climbing gym will offer summer camps once again this summer, with opportunities available “for all age ranges.” Climbing is the “centerpiece” of those camps, but ELEV8 also partners with various nearby organizations—such as Norte and the Traverse Area District Library—to diversify its activity slate.

9. Old Mission Peninsula School: The charter school’s camps all take place in July and are open to students heading into grades 1-6.

10. Crooked Tree Arts Center in Traverse City: Explore a slate of youth art camps for K-12 students.

11. Camp Invention: A nationally-recognized STEM-focused camp developed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame will be offered at multiple local schools this summer, including Old Mission (June 16-19), Cherry Knoll (June 16-20), Suttons Bay (Aug. 4-8), and Westwoods (June 23-26). Programs can be searched at invent.org/program-search.

12. The Human Nature School: Get outdoors with their programs for ages 5-12.

13. Grand Traverse Conservation District’s Nature Day Camp: Geared toward kids 6-11, the camp will run for 10 weeks, from June 16 to Aug. 22, with each week following a different theme.

14. City of Petoskey Kids Camp: This camp for local Petoskey children offers recreational fun, nature and creative exploration, plus field trips! Currently accepting limited full-time enrollment.

15. Camp Lookout: Registration is currently open for this overnight camp in Frankfort focused on experiential learning and camper-led experiences.

COMING SOON

16. TCAPS Summer Explorers Club: This camp is for TCAPS students in grades K-5. The camp has two sites with approximately 70 TCAPS students per site. Registration opens Feb. 6.

17. Northern Blooms Montessori: The school’s summer camp will be back for a second season this year. According to Head of School Samantha Gauthier, applications open to the public on Feb. 11.

18. Camp Torenta: Cadillac YMCA’s annual camp opens registration on Feb. 15. This day camp’s activities include swimming, boating, hiking, archery, sports, games, arts & crafts, and special events.

19. Camp Daggett: This camp in Petoskey offers both day and overnight camp options for children who have completed kindergarten and up. Registration opens Feb. 18 for new local campers.

20. Shady Trails Camp: Registration for summer 2025 programs in Northport will open in February. This day camp serves children aged 5-14 and allows campers and counselors to co-create their programming and schedule.

21. Old Town Playhouse’s “Young Company”: 2025 summer programs will open on March 1. This year’s programs include a four-week performing arts camp for ages 9-16, which will mount a production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance; a one-week musical theater intensive for ages 8-16, which will stage performances of Disney’s Frozen; and several non-musical theater workshops and classes.

22. Grass River Natural Area: The Bellaire-area nonprofit will offer four non-consecutive weeks of summer camps this year (June 23-26, July 7-10, July 21-24, Aug. 4-7), with openings for ages 6-11. Registration opens on March 12 at noon.

23. Elk Rapids Schools Summer Kids’ Club: Registration packets for this program have historically been sent in April. Open to school-age students, entering kindergarten through 5th grade.

24. Camp Tanuga: This camp in Kalkaska offers mini sessions, partial, and full overnight camps for children.

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