Summer camp season has arrived. Here is what it looks like
After two years of limitations and modifications due to COVID-19, summer camp season is returning to normal. Local organizations are expecting their biggest turnouts since 2019.
“This seems to be the year youth sports and camps are all very, very full,” said Katie Lyle, chief operating officer of Volusia Flagler Family YMCA.
Starting June 6, the YMCA will offer day camps at its Port Orange, Ormond Beach, Southeast Volusia and DeLand locations. They cost $115, but YMCA members receive a discounted rate of $95.
The Y will also run Camp Winona, its annual resident camp, in De Leon Springs, and some branch locations will host specialty camps — focused on activities like dance or cheer — throughout the summer. Many of the specialty camps have not yet been decided, but information will be posted on the Volusia Flagler Family YMCA’s website when confirmed.
Although Lyle said most YMCA camps are currently full, those interested should call their local branch to claim a spot on the waiting list.
“Every day, someone drops off and we add (the spot),” Lyle said.
According to Lyle, the YMCA estimates 650 kids will participate in the day camps across the association this summer, plus more than 200 each week at Camp Winona.
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Volusia County Parks, Recreation and Culture will manage day camps beginning June 13 at 13 locations around the area, but only the Oak Hill and Pierson sites still have openings. Parents and guardians can register for those two sites or get on the waiting lists at the other locations by emailing summercamp@volusia.org.
The county also has camps operated by the Marine Science Center and 4-H throughout the summer and a photography camp from June 27-29 at the Volusia County Agricultural Center.
“We really hope that residents and visitors alike have a great time exploring our county this summer,” said Heather Belden, a marketing specialist in Volusia County’s Community Information Division. “And although there may not be spots in some summer camps, there are still a lot of things that families can do on their own.”
In Flagler County, the city of Palm Coast will run its annual Fun in the Sun camp, its largest offering. Fun in the Sun has a waiting list until Week 8.
Palm Coast also will put on two one-week sessions of Teen Adventure camp, featuring different field trips every day, for middle schoolers.
For Teen Adventure camp and the YMCA’s day camps, field trips are full go after being limited or nonexistent the past two years.
Palm Coast has specialty camps — like Firefighters Kids camp, a soccer camp, golf camp and tennis camp — and, for toddlers, a Mini Munchkin parent-child camp that meets at the community center on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Palm Coast Youth Recreational Specialist Ashley Lewis said the summer is “easily” the city’s busiest time of year.
Daytona Beach’s Halifax Sailing Club has available spots for its SailCamp the weeks of July 18-22, July 25-29 and Aug. 1-5. Kids aged 10-17 are eligible to attend. The cost is $275 per week.
The Volusia County Youth Lifeguard Program began tryouts in March. Those run through June 18, and potential campers must pass tryouts before registering. The first session of the program kicks off June 13 at Andy Romano Beachfront Park in Ormond Beach at a price of $150.
New Smyrna Beach’s Marine Discovery Center offers multiple camps for ages ranging from 4 to 16.
The iBuild Academy in Orange City has camps from June 6 through Aug. 12.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Summer camp season has arrived. Here is what it looks like
