Preparing For Camp

•Visiting Weekend: July 12-14, 2024.

• Camper Fund: covers personal expenses such as camper spending money for town days, camp store credit, day trips, transportation (excluding flights) to and from camp, laundry, megaphones, memory books and other misc expenses.

•Two-week Rookie Camps are only offered to first year or “rookie” campers finishing grade 4 and under. If your son attended camp a 2-week program in 2023, he must attend a 4-week or 8-week session in 2024.

We plan on having a full visiting weekend for 2023. Here’s how it works:

• Friday July 12: Parents will be allowed in camp at 3pm. Parents can hang out, see the cabins, meet the staff, and then take their boys off camp. Campers are free to stay out with their parents if they would like.
• Saturday July 13: Camp will open from 10:30am – 12:00pm then again from 2:00pm – 4:30pm for the entire family to enjoy! We’ll have all of our activities open including the waterfront. We will also have an excellent lunch planned for the group at 12:30pm. Campers can sleep out with their parents on Saturday as well.
• Sunday July 14: we ask that all campers be dropped back off in camp by 8:30am. We’ll say goodbye to parents then get going with second session! There will not be a meal served for parents.

If you are not able to make it, that is OK! We have a number of boys who will hang out with our staff and have our own fun weekend together at camp. We’ll also make sure the boys have the opportunity to call and FaceTime with you all from camp. Please reach out to info@campmenominee.com to discuss details as it gets closer.

• Early Bird Incentive: All campers enrolled with a $1000 deposit by September 15 will receive a special CM gift!
• Brother Discount: Each sibling will receive a $200 credit on enrollment fees.
• Lock-In: Remember, for those of you that have locked in your 8-week rate by paying in full for a previous summer , you must pay-in-full for 2024 by October 1, 2023. You must continue to pay in full each fall to receive this benefit.

Canteen Numbers: Remember parents and campers – we assign canteen numbers based on when you enroll. So enroll quickly to get a good number! Please note, for 2024, we will group the boys 50 enrollments at a time and do a lottery for canteen numbers. Therefore, if 50 people sign up on the same day, they will be put into a lottery for canteen numbers 1-50. 

• Current Families: Log-In to your CampInTouch account and fill out the Camper Application.
• New Families: Follow this link to Enroll Now and complete the enrollment application.
• Deposit: At the end of the enrollment application you will be prompted to submit a deposit of $1000. You can do so via ACH, check or credit card (all CC payments carry a 3.5% processing fee). Your enrollment will not be processed until we receive your deposit. 
• Monthly Installments: Pay remainder of camp fees in monthly installments, beginning November 1, 2023 and ending May, 2024. Every camper enrolled will need to have an ACH form or Credit Card on file with us at the time of enrollment, even if they are paying by check. Please download and fill out this ACH Authorization Form if you would like to pay via ACH. If you choose to pay the deposit and installments by check, your credit card on file will not be charged unless payments are not remitted at the time each installment is due. If a payment is late, we will charge your credit card for the installment, and each credit card payment will carry a 3.5% processing fee.

Many campers first discover Menominee from a friend or family. Please help us grow the Menominee family by connecting us with someone who may also love camp.

Option 1) Fill out our Referral Form: if you’re the first person to introduce us to this family, we will provide you with an enrollment discount when each new camper signs up:

• Two-Week Camper: $100 discount
• Four-Week Camper: $250 discount
• Eight-Week Camper: $500 discount

You can refer as many people as possible, but we must first hear about them from this form. 

Option 2) Host a Get-Together: Invite 2+ families to your home to meet a Menominee Director.  We will give you a $250 credit towards enrollment regardless if a family enrolls. For any family that enrolls you will also receive the applicable referral bonus/discount. Email Jason to coordinate.

New campers and their families may thank you for all of the friends and memories made. We greatly appreciate your support as well!

This will be your main hub for Forms, Financials and Emails with your Camper.

• Bookmark the CampInTouch Parent Login Page. You can log-in to your account by following the link, clicking “Log In” at the top right hand corner on the desktop site, or finding the Log In link under “Grow: Current Families” on the mobile site.
• Watch the Camp In Touch Intro Video

Each summer you will fill out important forms for your camper. You can find these by logging in to your account and navigating to “Forms and Documents”.

• Health Forms:
  • Health History Form – This is an ONLINE form you will use to fill out a full medical profile of your son. This is also the form where you initially inform us of any and all medications your son is taking. If your son is taking medications, you will be contacted regarding our medication procedures.
  • Printed Forms (will need to be signed by doctors/parents)
    • Physical and Immunizations – Records to be provided to us by your son’s doctor, or by parents with a as long as the forms are signed by a licensed physician. Note: It is OK to provide us with forms used by your doctor or school for your camper’s physical and immunization records. If you do not have those forms, please use ours. This should include COVID vaccination status.
    • Parent Consent to Treat Forms – Gives camp permission to treat your son in the case of an emergency and to utilize PediaTrust, our telemedicine partner for the summer. Please include a copy of your insurance card and medications card (if applicable).
• Camper Profile Form – This form is very important as it is your chance to tell us everything we need to know about your son coming into the summer. This online form asks for the following:
  • • Personal, emotional and social information about your camper
    • Cabin Requests
    • Name, number and size request for his special camp jersey (no additional cost)
• Goals Form – This is where you and your camper will fill out goals that he (and you) have for this summer. We will ask you about Physical/Skill, Character and Social/Emotional goals. Please take your time and fill this out with a lot of thought. We will use this to help guide you son this summer!
• Transportation Form – please see the section on Travel and Baggage below.

• Scan all of the documents to your computer and save as individual files. Log into your forms dashboard and next to the “Required Medical Forms” link there will be an “Upload” button. Find the saved document and upload to the dashboard. This is the preferred method for camp.
• You can also scan and email the documents to info@campmenominee.com.

Here is everything you need to know. When you decide on mode of transportation, you will fill out the online travel form in your CampInTouch Account (form will be available in April 2023):

1. Coach Bus Service to and from the Chicagoland area: Camp will provide coach buses to and from Staples in Highland Park, IL. The buses will leave at 8:30am sharp so please arrive by 8:10.
2. Parent Drop-Off and Pick Up: If you’d like to make the drive you are more than welcome to drop your son off at camp.  Our address is 5035 County Road D Eagle River, WI 54521.
3. Air Travel: If you are coming from outside the midwest, we are working on updating our full 2023 protocols, but for now you can view our 2023 Out of State Travel Guide which should closely reflect 2023 procedures. Please read this document in full for information on Flights,  Travel Days, Rules, Hotels, Bags and everything else that is required for summer 203 travel. Please note: for all families that have traveled with us before, we have updated our travel plans and modified our approach this year. Please read this document in full!

Travel to Camp:

Please arrive at Staples (1931 Skokie Valley Rd, Highland Park, IL 60035) no later than 8:10am. The buses will be departing at 8:30am sharp!

Each camper will be pre-assigned to a bus. He’ll receive his bus number one week prior to departure. Please provide your camper with a lunch and drink for the trip. We will stop half way through the trip to stretch our legs and eat our lunches outside. Please refer back to this page of our site in early June when we update our and testing policy for travel. 

All buses are provided by Lamers Bus Company.

Travel Home from Camp:

All motorcoaches and vans will arrive back in Chicago at Staples around 3:00pm on the last day of the session indicated above. We will email you when the vehicles have departed camp and when our expected arrival is.

Parent drop-off and pick-up:

If you elect to drive your child to camp please check your emails as it gets closer and we will give you a window of time for your drop off.

If you elect to pick your child up from camp please arrive by 8:00am on the last day of camp. We will coordinate pick up procedures with you as the time gets closer.

Out of State Travel:

If your camper is traveling from out of the state of Illinois or Wisconsin, please see the updated 2023 Out-of-State Travel Guide (will be updated March ’23 for this summer) for important information, and reach out to the office to coordinate your son’s travel.

Food Allergies: At camp we have a very strict no-nut policy. DO NOT send your camper on the bus with any products that contain nuts of any kind. Do not put someone else’s son in jeopardy just so your son can have a snack. There are plenty of alternatives! Additionally please be prepared with a list of ingredients if you are sending any baked goods on the bus. If you have any questions about what is acceptable please contract the office.

Technology: Please do not send phones on the bus! We will take phones at the beginning of the bus ride if your boys have them.

Emergency Procedures: each vehicle transporting campers will have at least one Camp Menominee staff member who has been trained to follow written accident procedures for. In case of emergency, the staff member will follow protocol and inform the Camp Director immediately. If you have any questions on our procedures, please call the office at 715-479-2267.

Step 1: Download the Packing List

Step 2: Visit the Camp Store and Start Shopping!

Important Packing Tips:

• We recommend each camper have a maximum of 2 soft duffel bags
• We send out laundry once a week for the boys. So you only need to pack for 9 days.
• Please pay attention to the required items and advice on the packing list.

Camper luggage can get to camp in a number of different ways:

Campers FLYING to Camp:

If you are flying from out of state but,  a) bringing your son to Chicago and putting him on the bus, b) flying him directly to Rhinelander, or c) dropping him off at camp then your son’s bags can travel with him on the plane.

IF YOUR SON IS FLYING TO/FROM CAMP ALONE PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BAGGAGE POLICY: We are lucky enough to have a lot of boys traveling from all over the country to camp this summer. However, we do not have the vehicles or staff to manage all the campers’ luggage on travel day. So, if your son is flying to Chicago alone and staying with us in Chicago, HE CANNOT TRAVEL WITH HIS CAMP LUGGAGE. YOU MUST USE SHIPCAMPS TO SHIP HIS BAGS AHEAD OF TIME. We have partnered with ShipCamps to give you preferred shipping rates. Please visit the Camp Menominee ShipCamps page to book your shipments.

Baggage Home: Your son’s bags may fly home with him, but all bags need to be pre-paid. This includes southwest as they do charge for overweight bags.

Your son can travel with a small overnight carry-on so he has things for the evening in Chicago and the bus ride the next day.

Shipping Dates:  Please schedule your son’s bags to arrive on Saturday June 17 (Session I, Rookie I, Full Season) or Saturday July 15 (Rookie II, Session II) at the LATEST. Please have your son’s bags be picked up to ship home on the last day of the session.

Campers from the Chicagoland area RIDING THE BUS: we DO NOT allow bags to be brought on the bus. There is simply not enough room for it. This summer we will be working with Camp Baggage Express to transport the boys bags to and from camp. CBE will have a designated drop off day/time window and a pick-up day/time window in Deerfield. All parents must visit the Camp Baggage Express website to sign-up and pay for baggage service ahead of time. Please read this Camp Baggage Info Sheet for cost, pick up/drop off windows, bag size limits, and more information. 

Campers traveling via PARENT DROP OFF/PICK UP: Bags can travel with the camper or shipped via ShipCamps.

Once you decide how your camper’s bags will travel to and from camp, please fill out the Travel form on your CampInTouch dashboard (available April 2023).

Camp Menominee’s Health Club is staffed by at least one full time nurse throughout the summer, and we have MDs on call via telemed through our partnership with Pediatrust. Often times we employ multiple nurses, a CNA and Camp Doctors each week. Should your camper should become ill or injured during his stay at camp, here is how we will communicate with you:

If your camper comes to the health cabin with a minor injury or illness (i.e. headache, nausea, sore throat, scrape, etc.) we will provide the necessary medical care and allow him to continue with his activities at camp without interruption if possible. In this instance we will NOT contact you. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide follow up care as necessary.

In the event of a more significant injury or illness (i.e. fractures or anything that may require antibiotics) we will contact you immediately without compromising rapid assessment, care and treatment. In addition, you will be notified if your camper is going to be sleeping in the health center overnight. You will have a chance to speak to the Doctor or Nurse to discuss your son’s treatment and diagnosis.

We get a lot of questions about money at camp, town day and the bank. Here is all you need to know:

• Your son does not need more than a couple dollars at camp for a sparkling water or the occasional soda during canteen. We do not recommend having cash in the cabin, so you can add a few dollars to your son’s additional spending account that he can withdraw from during the summer. To do this contact the office at info@campmenominee.com.

Camp Menominee is a SCREEN FREE camp! No devices please. We are fans of music, however, so if you’d like to send your son with an ipod shuffle or older device we are just fine with that.

One of the best things about summer camp is that the campers can be completely unplugged. Today’s youth spends so much time glued to their screens, and while technology provides a lot of educational advantages, it does not align with our goals for Menominee campers. We want to promote collaboration, teamwork, interpersonal growth and development and so much more. All of which is hindered by technology in a camp setting. As such, Menominee is proud to promote itself as a TECHNOLOGY FREE CAMP. Please help us help your son rid himself of the stresses of technology and support our policy.

All of the following items are prohibited at Camp Menominee: Cell phones, tablets, handheld email devices, computers, video players, iPOD touches and any other electronic equipment. Any of these items brought to camp will be confiscated on the first day and returned at the end of the summer. Camp is NOT responsible for losses. Any camper found with these items after the first day of camp will face appropriate consequences.

PROHIBITED ITEMS:

As youth development professionals we take our jobs at camp very seriously. As such, there are a few things that we ABSOLUTELY prohibit at camp as we feel they hinder development and growth as well as potentially risk the safety of your children:

Gum, candy and other food items – we provide the kids with very good food during our meals as well as canteen. We also are incredibly accommodating of special diets and do all of our food purchasing with every camper in mind. We do not allow any nuts or nut products at camp. As such, we do not allow any gum, candy or other food items in our cabins. WE CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. Please abide by this policy to ensure the safety of some of our campers who have severe food allergies as well as keep our cabins free of ants and rodents as they have always been. Any items found will be taken and discarded.

Airsoft guns, knives, squirt guns, fireworks and other like items – these items will be taken from the campers and not returned.

Electric fans – we do not have enough outlets in the cabins to accommodate this. Each cabin will have a large window fan provided by camp. If you would like to send an additional fan please make sure it is battery powered.

Drugs, Alcohol, Perephenalia, Vaping Devices and other related items – These will be confiscated, parents will be notified and the local police department will be contacted when necessary.

Animals – All animals/pets are strictly prohibited.

Other than tennis racquets, baseball gloves and proper clothes/footwear, camp has all the sports equipment on site that campers need. However, we understand that boys like to bring their own equipment like golf clubs, and of course campers and staff bring a number of personal items with them each summer. Therefore, campers and staff must abide by the following policies for personal equipment.

1. Participants are allowed to bring their own personal sports equipment with the exception of: Archery/Riflery equipment and anything that would fall under “prohibited items”.
2. All sports equipment, including personal sports equipment belonging to campers, must be stored in a designated, secure area when not in use.
3. Campers must use sports equipment, including personal sports equipment, in a safe and responsible manner, as instructed by staff members. Staff have the right to confiscate equipment if it is not used properly and safely.
4. Any damage to sports equipment, including personal sports equipment, must be reported to a staff member immediately, but Personal sports equipment, such as cleats or golf clubs, may be used at the camper’s own risk. The camp is not responsible for any damages or injuries resulting from the use of personal sports equipment.
5. Camp does not allow metal cleats for any activities.
6. Any camper who violates these policies may have their privileges to use sports equipment, including personal sports equipment, revoked.
7. Staff members are allowed to bring their personal vehicles to camp, as are rental group participants. Campers and CIT are prohibited from bringing personal vehicles to camp. All vehicles at camp must remain locked and parked in the designated parking areas while on site.

BIRTHDAYS:

Hail, hail the gangs all here!! We LOVE birthdays!!! It can be tough for a boy to be away from his family on his birthday so we make sure the Menominee family makes it a special day. Each boy will get a special cake made by our chefs and the entire camp will sing our unique birthday song to the birthday boy. We’d be lying if we told you we didn’t jump and scream and dance around the mess hall while we celebrate! This is also the only time you can talk to your son on the phone. We set a time to have a quick happy birthday call with his family.

Does your son have a birthday at camp? Let us know and we can set up something special.

Camp Menominee has a program in place to ensure there is an appropriate and safe environment at each of the activities. While we like to challenge our campers to try new activities and achieve various goals throughout the summer, it is very important that we put them in a position to do so while mitigating any potential risk. As such, Camp Menominee has developed various eligibility requirements for certain activities at camp:

Waterfront – every camper needs to pass a swimming test that includes swimming ten lengths (from dock to dock). Those who pass are eligible to participate in all of our activities at the waterfront and are not required to wear a life jacket in the swimming area. Those who do not are given the opportunity to take swimming lessons until they can pass the test. 

Weight Room – you must be at least 13 years old in order to use our weight room. Every camper in camp, regardless of age, must be given written permission by his parents AND be supervised by a counselor while using the weight room. 

Target Sports and the Climbing Wall – There are no age restrictions as it relates to these activities, however, each camper must sit through an extensive safety orientation before participating. If a staff member deems that the camper can not follow the rules or the camper has violated any of our rules, the camper will be banned from the activity at the Activity Leader’s discretion.

Other Activities –during our instructional periods where there might be a broad demographic of campers participating, the coaches are encouraged to split up the group by age and ability in order to provide a competitive but safe environment for the campers.

Please visit our FAQs page for an extensive list of camp policies and important notes.