Summer camp is serious business in Eastern Iowa

Suz Welch ticks off on her fingertips the things Camp Hitaga has to offer.

Swimming. Archery. Canoeing. Camping. Horseback riding.

“What you want kids to do today is be outdoors,” said Welch, 69, camp coordinator at the rural Walker camp.

What she wants, though, is to have kids at camp. The Camp Fire USA camp offers six one-week sessions throughout June and July, with room for 100 kids in each session. As of last week, 100 kids had registered for the whole summer.

“I just don't think too many parents understand what a camp experience can do for their children,” said Welch.

Summer camp can be a tough business. While Camp Hitaga is struggling to fill cabins, though, a variety of other camps in Eastern Iowa are seeing steady registration numbers, with some even seeing an increase.

At the Kirkwood Interactive Camps for Kids, or KICK, program, coordinators said registrations are up 15 percent from last year.

Coordinator Cheri Kampman, 33, said part of the increase can be attributed to scholarships - the Cedar Rapids community college program gave out $7,000 in scholarship money this year - as well as to a slight increase in the number of camps offered.

Mostly, she said, it's because kids are coming back for more than one session.

At Willowwind School, 950 Dover St. in Iowa City, enrollment in summer day camps has remained steady over the past few years, said Nicole Engelbart, 23, director of recruitment and development for the school.

“We are definitely sitting right where we were last year,” she said. “We haven't seen as much growth, but we haven't seen any loss at all.”

It's not a case of residential vs. day camp popularity. Although Hitaga is struggling, other residential camps, such as the YMCA's Camp Wapsie near Coggon, are filling their registration rolls.

“For girls, we're completely booked up. We actually opened an additional cabin for one of our sessions,” said director Paul Denowski, 38. “We did notice we're down a little for the boys, but over half our sessions are already full there, too.”

Camp Hitaga's Welch has found alternate means to fill budget shortfalls, including letting groups like Big Brothers/Big Sisters and 4-H use the facilities for their camps, as well.

“You have to find some way to make it all work,” she said.