Day camps are held either at a location in the community or at a River Valleys camp and are planned, organized and run by volunteers that receive year-round support from River Valleys’ staff.

Most day camps are 3–5 days and have a theme for activities.

Activities offered:

• Outdoor cooking
• Archery
• Swimming
• Teambuilding
• Community service projects

Past themes:

• The environment
• Science
• Sports
• Creative arts

Browse the day camp opportunities offered this summer and register soon!

Christine Pearson

Christine will be attending the Lakamaga Conference for the sixth time this year. She originally signed up to complete required trainings, but the networking, enrichment activities and service projects have kept her coming back. “I really enjoy the conference as a way to learn fun skills that I can bring back to the girls,” she says.

Christine’s most memorable experience was an evening sing-along around a fireplace. Participants were invited to lead a song, and then everyone shared why they liked singing it.

Christine leads a group at the conference that works on quilts in the Old Lodge art studio during downtime. “I have only been leading the project for two years, but in that time, we have been able to donate eight quilts to Project Linus and another six quilts to Bundles of Love,” she says.

Liz Cooney

Liz found a great deal of camaraderie as a new attendee and staff member at the 2012 Lakamaga Conference. “I’m always looking for ways to learn more and grow. The conference sounded like a wonderful opportunity for me as a staff member to interact with volunteers in a fun, relaxed environment,” she says.

Liz also wanted to expand her outdoor knowledge and skills, which she accomplished by starting a fire using flint rock and steel. “I came away as a stronger person with more skills and a better understanding of our volunteers, their needs and the girls we are all working for,” she says. In addition to attending again in 2013, Liz plans to lead an enrichment workshop.

Christine + Liz’ Advice to New Participants

• Take advantage of all the conference has to offer
• Share ideas and stories
• Listen to others
• Complete required training sessions
• Get out of your comfort zone
• Introduce yourself to someone new
• Try something new—you might surprise yourself
• Have fun and see what Girl Scouts are capable of!

Horse Camp for Troops

Come to camp with your troop for a weekend to learn all about horses. Take lessons on grooming, equipment, riding skills and more. Join in other fun camp activities, too, like archery, swimming and making s’mores.

4-Day Hug a Horse (Non-Riding)

If you don’t have horse or riding experience, this program would be great for you! Spend time petting, grooming and learning about riding these awesome creatures.

6-Day Riding Connections

Learn at your own pace with this program. On the first day, you’ll take a short riding assessment and will then be matched with a riding level. Explore barn safety, horse care, tack and equipment, grooming and riding. You’ll receive a minimum of three hours of horse time each day.

13-Day Riding Connections

If you just can’t get enough horses, sign up for this program! You’ll spend 13 days learning about and taking care of horses. During your stay at Camp Northwoods, you’ll get at least one half-to full-day trail ride.

Space is limited. Learn more and sign up today!

Popular Troop + Family Programs

Outdoor Extravaganza Troop Camp

Troops get to choose what activities they are interested in trying, from canoeing and kayaking to art and archery. River Valleys provides all the food and programming, and the adults and girls come and have fun together. This program takes place Friday nights–Sunday mornings, and there is a session every weekend of the summer at one of five camps.

Horsing Around with Mom or Dad

Girls and their mom or dad get a chance visit the horse barn to learn about horses and go on a trail ride around camp. The rest of the time can be spent swimming, canoeing, practicing archery and crafts, and much more.

Thursday Discovery Day + Overnight

This session gives girls a taste of camp. Girls try a number of different activities, eat a camp meal and spend quality time with their troop or a family member.

Her decision to join TFA came during her senior year in college when she was looking for an opportunity to create a meaningful impact in the country. When Anna discovered TFA she thought it would be a great fit given her Girl Scouts background. To her, “The core values of the Girl Scouts are really aligned with Teach For America’s core values—transformational change, diversity, leadership, team, respect and humility.”

Years after completing her TFA term, Anna is now leading the effort to recruit young people into the program. She looks back on her experience with Girl Scouts and recognizes the integral role it played in encouraging her to become a strong leader. Some of her best memories are from summers at Camp Northwoods, where she camped and ventured out on canoe and backpacking trips.

“I think that the cumulative experiences at Camp Northwoods taught me about self-awareness, which I now know is critical to leadership,” reflects Anna. “I learned how to listen to others and to nature, how to be comfortable with myself (which is hard when you are in middle school), and how to have perspective and appreciate just how lucky and privileged I was growing up.”

This article was adapted from GSUSA’s original blog post. For the complete interview, visit GirlScouts.org.

Interested in attending a Robotics Day Camp? Programs are scheduled for Girl Scouts in grades 4–12, run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day, cost $95/girl, and include snacks, lunch and swimming.

• St. Paul, MN, Tuesday, July 31–Thursday, August 2 (now closed)
• Mankato, MN, Tuesday, August 7–Thursday, August 9
• Rochester, MN, Tuesday, August 14–Thursday, August 16

Here is her story of leadership with the Girl Scouts:

When Anne Marie’s daughters were old enough to participate in Girl Scouts, she volunteered to become a troop leader for both their troops. Anne Marie understands the value that Girl Scouts has in helping girls develop their potential and become leaders.

Anne Marie has been a troop leader for more than five years now, with her eldest daughter in 6th grade. This is the time when girls decide between Girl Scouts, sports and other activities.

“When kids start becoming teenagers and enter into middle school, they start to listen to what their friends think more than their parents,” says Anne Marie. “This was one of the motivating factors for me to volunteer with the organization. The volunteer recruiters emphasized that, in reality, you have a short period of time to make the biggest impact on your kids, because eventually their friends will become the center of their world. I wanted to make sure I was involved early on so I would be in tune to their lives.”

In addition to serving as a troop leader, Anne Marie also donates her time as a New Member Night Coordinator, Girl Scout Delegate to Council, Service Unit Event coordinator and Service Unit Cookie Manager for all of Burnsville and Savage. Her work as an IT Continuity Analyst lends well to her volunteer time, as Anne Marie is working toward setting up a process for documenting events and activities so they are renewable, which makes getting volunteers easier.

“I ran into a former counselor at Camp Northwoods. We had lost touch for 41 years. We knew each other by our camp and last names. I was talking to her and said, ‘You look so familiar.’ Then I saw her eyes and said, ‘You’re “Beeg!”’ and she said, ‘You’re “Cutts!”’ McCoy said. The two met for lunch shortly after and reminisced over a photo album full of camp pictures.

McCoy discovered her passion for the outdoors early on in Girl Scouts; in fact, it was her first experience at day camp that sold her on the program as a girl. She became a “Troop and Stay Aide” in the 1960s at Camp Lakamaga. As a volunteer, McCoy became an outdoor trainer in 1976 after relocating to Rosemount. Shortly after, she also began running a day camp, which she continues to do today in addition to volunteering as a River Valleys facilitator and member of the Inclusion Committee. She has also served on the steering committee for the Board of Directors. Giving children and adults with disabilities opportunities to explore the outdoors is a passion of McCoy’s and one that relates to her professional work in inclusion.

As a River Valleys facilitator, she puts this knowledge to use and understands that everyone has differing levels of abilities. To be inclusive of all learners, she advises other facilitators to not “sweat the small stuff” and to play a mentoring role. She leads the Beyond the Troop modules in addition to multiple enrichment sessions at adult education conferences. McCoy has been a Master Naturalist since 2006 and uses her knowledge to lead sessions on topics such as: birding, wild flower identification, environmental awareness, and animal tracking for Girl Scout volunteers.

“I keep thinking I should retire, but I have a granddaughter who’s three and my daughter says, ‘If you just hang on until she is five…’ McCoy said, describing her many years as a troop leader and day camp director. She advises new volunteers to go with the flow, embrace the outdoors, and feel confident that they’ll always know more than the girls when teaching them new skills. Her favorite session to lead is “Girls Cook Out,” immersing people in true outdoor experiences such as making box oven and Dutch oven cakes, cooking a meal over a fire, and feeling comfortable in the outdoors.

“I enjoy meeting people, being able to give tricks of the trade, and enlightening people with things that might have never crossed their minds,” McCoy said. Outside of Girl Scouts, she is the employment manager for individuals with disabilities at ProAct Inc. She enjoys traveling up north with her husband, spending time with family, and her dog “Gus,” a four-year-old adopted Labrador retriever. She has also served as the Board Chair for both the Minnesota Valley Humane Society and Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

On June 4-5, 68 girls from Assisi Service Unit attended a Medieval Camp sponsored by Troop 40040. Girls did hands-on activities led by members of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). We did sessions of Archery, Medieval Cooking, and Fiber Arts (weaving, dying fabric, rope making, and spinning). We got a visit from an angora goat and an angora rabbit to show where the fibers came from – then how it’s washed, carded, spun, and woven into cloth! Pretty cool!

Some other demonstrations were armor to try on and learn about and a demonstration of knights fighting. Medieval dancing, music playing, jewelry making, glass bead making, book binding, and hand sewing were enjoyed by all girls.

After a fun day we enjoyed a medieval feast with authentic food. Homemade bread, almonds, and dried apricots were on the tables when we arrived at our dining hall, decorated with the banners of the SCA members.

Then we enjoyed the beef and barley soup made by the girls who did the cooking class, then macaroni & cheese and chicken (both medieval foods!), and a dessert of apple/raisin tart.

While there, we were instructed on medieval eating – did you know there were no forks in this time period? Two of the girls were also models of what a girl in medieval times would have worn and were dressed up in clothing from medieval times.

All of us had a great time learning about life in the medieval time!

Troop 40040
Hannah, Emma, Elizabeth, Nora and Victoria

Tune in

#CampChat
Tuesday, June 7
2-3 p.m. CST

We look forward to chatting with you!

Follow @GirlScoutsRV on Twitter