The Best Part About Metro Parks’ Summer Camps—EVERYTHING!

UPDATE FOR 2018:  Details of Metro Parks Summer Camps for 2018 

Campfire cookouts and hot dogs are always relished by eager campers.
Campfire cookouts and hot dogs are always relished by eager campers.

Here at Metro Parks, we’re gearing up for summer and you know what that means—SUMMER CAMP! Trails are cleared, hot dogs are roasted, archery bows are strung, kayaks are docked on the bank, fishing line and friendship bracelet thread is untangled, and all of the wonders of your Metro Parks are waiting for you to discover.

If seeing your kids come home with muddy shoes and smiling faces after spending a week outside hiking, fishing, creekin’, playing games, making friends, and learning about the natural world sounds like it’s up your alley, then we’d love to invite you to spend your summer with us.

At Metro Parks, we love our parks and we love our Central Ohio community—but, what we love more than anything is when our two worlds connect and our community is using, experiencing and loving the 19 beautiful parks we have the pleasure of serving. And what more could we ask for than for our youngest community members to be the ones benefitting from them the most?

To make sure we have something for every camper this summer, you have the option to select from two styles of camps.

Traditional Day Camps
Our Traditional Day Camps are for campers in grades K-6 and generally offer a less structured agenda, more free time for exploration and camper-interest based activities. And also (working guardians-rejoice!) before and after care that make fitting drop-off and pick-up into a busy work schedule a breeze. These camps are located at three parks—Highbanks, Homestead and Scioto Grove—and occur weekly from June 5 to August 4. Full details of Traditional Day Camps here

Preschoolers have fun creeking in Spring Creek at Sharon Woods. (Michelle Boyd-Dailey)
Preschoolers have fun creeking in Spring Creek at Sharon Woods. (Michelle Boyd-Dailey)

Nature Adventure Camps
We also offer Nature Adventure Camps which include many of the same fun and recreational aspects of our Traditional Day Camps and are for campers ranging in age from preschool to Grade 9. These camps are age-specific and offer a more detailed agenda, with age-specific themes and activities and regular camp hours. Creature Features, Metro Parks Explorers and Teen Adventurers are just a few of the exciting themes we are offering this summer. Full details of our Nature Adventure Camps here

Registration for our summer camps opens at 8am on Wednesday March 1, 2017. Register online or in person at Metro Parks Headquarters, 1069 West Main Street, Westerville.

We see our summer camps as the perfect opportunity to introduce our community’s next generation of leaders, thinkers and explorers to the wonders of our parks (and our natural world) and are committed to making their experience at camp one they’ll be smiling about for years to come.

Come see why we’re so excited for our camps this summer, and why you and your camper should be too. Race you to the Parks!

Audrey Zimmerman
Camp & Special Events Coordinator