Alright, parents. We know that packing can be difficult. Should you send your camper with the blue tennis shoes or the red ones? What should you avoid packing? Are eight shirts enough? Too much? These are just a few of the questions that are likely running through your mind. That’s why we’ve made you a comprehensive guide to packing for youth camp. By the end of this guide you’ll be more informed than you are at the end of a Schoolhouse Rock episode.

Before we begin, take a look at our suggested packing list. We think it’s a pretty good list. (At least our moms think so.)

Our all-inclusive Camp Essentials kit comes with everything you need for your week at camp—just add clothes! These kits include more than twenty Pine Cove-branded items straight from our packing list, including bags pre-labeled for each day. See the complete item list and order in the webstore! Kits begin shipping in early May.

Packing Pro Tips

Flexibility is key

It’s not that the clothing itself needs to be flexible (although that is helpful!), but campers wear the same clothes for a variety of different activities. For the purposes of clothing, camp is divided into two areas: water or not water. Campers pretty much wear the same thing for all activities that don’t involve water except for some camps which require long pants for horses.

So with that in mind, modest, lightweight athletic clothing is the best option. Campers are outside going from activity to activity for the majority of the day. We think it works best to send a clean shirt for every morning they are at camp, plus an extra three (for a total of nine for a typical one week camper). We also recommend a fresh pair of shorts for each day of camp.

Snacks

Snacks are not needed since campers get three full meals a day, plus any snacks they decide to purchase in the camp store. However, many campers like to have some of their favorite snacks with them. We talk more about this in our care packages guide. Three things are important to remember about sending snacks: food must be packed in resealable containers (hello, ants!), it must be in their trunk, and can only be eaten at set times during the day.

What Not to Pack

Leave those phones, tablets, or other electronics home! Camp is the perfect opportunity for everyone—counselors and campers alike—to get a break from screens. Leaving electronic devices at home allows for campers to get a chance to spend time outdoors, build connections with friends, and experience undistracted moments. If a camper is found to be in possession of an electronic item, it will be taken up by our staff and returned at the end of the session. But don’t worry—you’ll be able to send two letters back and forth with your camper on the CampLife App, so the communication lines between you will remain open!

Outside of electronics, our general rule is that if you would not bring something to a school setting, you should not bring it to camp. So this includes alcohol, firearms, tobacco, fireworks, “prank” supplies like shaving cream or silly string, gum, or e-cigarettes or juuls.

Some parents get confused by our restriction on books, magazines, and eReaders. “Don’t you want my camper to read!?” Yes. We fully support reading—during the rest of the summer. It’s too easy for books and magazines to be distractions that prevent campers from engaging with the rest of their cabin and in camp activities. We also want campers to be able to focus on God’s Word. So even if the reading material raises no objections, if it gets packed we’re going to hang on to it to reduce distractions.

That goes for everything on our “what not to pack” list: if ours staffers see an item that campers are not supposed to have with them at Pine Cove, they’re going to go ahead and remove it from the camper and keep it in a safe place. It won’t be gone forever—we’ll return it at the end of the week.

All medication and related supplies go to the nurse and are kept at the nurse’s office. See more details in our in-depth guide to medication. Please do not pack meds with the rest of your camper’s things.

Ziplock baggies

Try packing your camper’s clothes into large ziplock baggies and labeling them by day. We try to prevent it from happening, but sometimes you see photos of younger campers in the same outfit a couple days in a row. When everything is in one bag it’s so easy to grab it in the morning, get changed, and go.

Label Everything

We know it sounds crazy, but sometimes campers lose items. We want to prevent this as much as possible! If you label initials on clothing tags, inside backpacks, inside shoes, on the exterior of laundry bags, and anywhere else you can, you’ll ensure your camper gets home with (hopefully) everything they brought.

Plastic Trunk

It’s certainly not required, but we recommend using a plastic trunk (they’re about $20 at Academy and Walmart) rather than a suitcase or duffle bag. It’s easier to organize and clean after camp is over. Plus, if they are fifteen inches or shorter, they slip under our bunk beds easily. Many campers choose to decorate their trunks for camp with paint pens, which is a fun project for a summer’s day before camp starts!

Wet Clothes Trash Bag

Send a trash bag for wet clothes. There’s nothing worse than opening your camper’s trunk and being bombarded by the smell of mildew and wet clothes. Try and save yourself the hassle by packing some trash bags for wet clothes and explaining how to use them to your camper.

Shoes

The most important thing about shoes is making sure your camper has at least one if not two pairs of closed-toed options. Because of terrain, all of our camps (except the Shores) only allow closed-toed shoes to be worn during the day, including when walking to and from the pool. Crocs count as closed-toe shoes for everything except for the ropes course and horses, so those can be an option in addition to tennis shoes. Shoes get dirty quickly at camp, so avoid packing brand-new shoes. They will not look new by the end of the week!

Bedding

This ultimately is a matter of personal preference, but we recommend regular twin-sized sheets (unless another mattress size is listed in your camp’s packing list) and a blanket over a sleeping bag. They’re a little more work to set up, but so much more comfortable for six (or thirteen) nights. If you do opt for a sleeping bag, make sure it is warm enough for normal A/C, but not meant for sleeping outside in really low temperatures and therefore too warm.

What about bedwetters?

For campers who struggle with bedwetting, staying overnight can be anxiety inducing. Our staff are trained to be discreet when they discover bedwetting to make sure it does not become a distraction within the cabin. It’s always helpful to discreetly let your counselor know this might happen. One camper mom has a great system that we thought we’d share as an option to talk through with your camper:

“The good thing is that the bathroom stalls are private so other campers can’t see him with pull-ups. We have a system where I would pack each day’s change of clothes in a ziplock with clean underwear and a paper lunch sack hidden inside. In the morning he would bring his ziplock into the bathroom stall while wearing his pajamas and pull-up. He’d change and put his wet pull-up into the paper bag so it wasn’t obvious what was inside, then come out of the stall and throw the paper bag in the trash.”

Meds

We put together a guide with all medication guidelines. Here’s the three biggest “gotchas” for parents when it comes to meds:

1. Forgetting to put meds on their camper’s medical form. Any med (including an OTC allergy pill) that you are checking into the nurse must be on the camper’s medical form.
2. Taking meds out of their original packaging. We cannot take medication unless it is in the original container (it’s a legal thing) with proper dosing instructions.
3. Bringing way more meds than needed. If you have a pill bottle with thirty pills and you only need six for the week, leave the twenty-four unnecessary pills at home and just turn in six in the original container. We legally can’t mail medication, so if you forget to pick up their med you’re not out a bunch of meds.

For more details on packing meds, see our guide.

Theme Night Costumes

Don’t forget about theme nights! They’re one of the best parts of camp. Before you start stressing out, check out our in-depth guide to theme night costumes. In regard to packing, our recommendation is the same: put costume pieces in ziplock bags labeled by night. Want to skip the shopping? Our theme night packs have something to wear for every theme night this summer.

What kind of Bible?

Campers participate in a Bible study every day, and as they get older they may also have an individual reading and reflection time. So bringing a Bible is important! We are occasionally asked what kind of Bible we recommend campers bring. This is a challenging question to answer since there is not one Bible or translation we recommend, and we certainly do not want parents feeling like they need to go buy a new Bible just for camp. Whatever Bible you have is probably great as long as it is age-appropriate for your child and is a translation that is easy to read (we love our KJV at times, but all those “thees” and “thous” are really hard for campers to understand!).

Care Packs

Many campers love having some of their favorite snacks and some other fun things from home during their indoor FOB rest time in the heat of the day. If you’d like to put together packages for them to open from home, go for it! All packages should be packed in their luggage. It’s helpful to clearly label them with the day you want them to open them, and if they contain any food, they need to be in a plastic container (ziplock baggie or other airtight container) to not attract bugs.

Want to save the space in their trunk? We have pre-made care packs you can order in your account! Or send your camper a custom package full of Pine Cove merch that YOU pick out for them with a Bunk Box! These seriously fun boxes are the perfect way to select the stickers, hats, and shirts you know your camper will love and have them delivered straight to their cabin while they’re at camp! Deliveries are available Monday through Thursday.

Order here for Towers, Ranch, Timbers, and Shores
Order here for Silverado, Outback, and Ridge
Order here for Springs

Letters

Nothing beats a letter from mom and dad! You will be able to send digital mail to your camper in the CampLife app twice during the week–you type it out, we print it out and give it to them. Then they’ll have the opportunity to hand-write you a letter back! We’ll scan it and deliver it to you in the app.

But if you want them to have more letters (or maybe don’t want to share space in your digital letter with siblings, grandparents, uncles, and aunts) have them packed in their truck before you leave the house. It’s helpful to clearly label any letters with the day of the week you’d like them to open them. Since campers aren’t on property for long, sending physical mail to camp typically doesn’t work out well. It usually takes too long to arrive and gets missed!

How to have it packed when you leave the house

We go into more detail in our opening day guide, but here’s how we recommend having your stuff organized when you leave the house:

• Main area of the vehicle
  • Laundry bag with pillow, bedding, towel, and swimsuit (or just have your camper wear their swimsuit)
  • Meds in a bag separate from everything else (see guidelines in our meds guide)
• Back of vehicle / trunk area
  • Trunk or suitcase (with any pre-written letters or care packages)

When you arrive, our staff will open your car trunk and grab your trunk to send it on its way to your cabin. No lugging trunks across camp at Pine Cove! But keep the rest of your items with you. When you get to the cabin, you can make the bed with your camper to get them settled, and they can change for their swim test (or just take off their outer layer of clothes) without needing to wait for their trunk to arrive. You’ll also have all your meds handy to turn in at the nurse’s station.

We hope this guide was helpful in giving you an in-depth understanding of packing for camp. Have more questions? We’d love to help! Contact us here.