Mid-Michigan summer camps 2022 season filling up fast

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - It might not feel like it yet, but believe it or not, summer is just around the corner. Summer camps are getting ready to welcome campers and spots are filling up fast.

That means schools will also be out soon. Summer camps across Michigan are already preparing for campers -- and they’re expecting a lot and spots are filling up quickly at record speed.

Woldumar Nature Center Executive Director Kevin Wernet said many spots were taken as soon as registration opened.

“We opened our summer camp registration on March 1 and we had sessions that filled up on the first day of registration,” Wernet said.

The summers of 2021 and 2020 did have camps, but COVID impacted how they were ran. This year will be different.

“This year we can open things back up again, do more large group games, do more special activities where maybe kids are not with the same counselor all week,” Wenet said.

Jackson YMCA director Megan Hunt said she’s excited to get back to the fun stuff.

“We also do bigger trips to museums -- zoos are really popular,” Hunt said. “We’re very excited to get back to some amusement parks this summer like Cedar Pointe and Michigan Adventure.”

In 2021, summer camps saw a major uptick in enrollment and that carried over into 2022, but there’s just one problem -- some camps are having a hard time hiring enough people to keep up with the number of kids signing up.

“This is the slowest year of hiring, to be honest with you,” Wernet said. “We are currently adequately staffed. I am hearing from other camp directors that they’re practically in panic mode at this point.”

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Hiring has become a major hassle and, as more children sign up for camp, directors said they need all hands on deck.

“We need big numbers to support the numbers of campers that we get,” Hunt said. “So we’re using all of our of our efforts.”

That’s why directors recommend signing your children up sooner rather than later and to keep your options open. Both the YMCA of Jackson and the Woldumar Nature Center said spots are filling up fast.

At the YMCA, masks will be optional and they will be paying attention to COVID, but after being on screens for two years, they’re excited to get outside.

“One of the benefits of our day camp is that so much of it is outdoors,” Hunt said.

“They’re going to be just working through some regular human experiences that you don’t get behind the screen,” Wernet said.

And camp directors are expecting some very happy campers.

If you’d like to apply for a job at Jackson YMCA or to find more information on its services, visit its official website here.

More information on Woldumar’s events this summer can be found on its official website here.

There are more than just the Y and Woldumar. There are a number of fun summer events across Mid-Michigan, including:

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