A boy who attends Midwestern Christian Academy in Chicago for school was at the Roughriders elementary age boys camp. This was his first time sleeping away from home and he definitely had some nervousness at bedtime the first night. Shortly after 11 p.m., he woke up his Cabin Leader, Saul, who is an MCA alum. read more...
Kids Received Scholarships! Our scholarship donors provided $34,000 in camp scholarships to 74 different campers. Most families received a partial gift, other families receive the full amount. The average is 400 per camper ($600 is the typical camp fee). The other 45 camper scholarships were provided by Angel Tree, Tinaglia Fund, Corners of the Field, read more...
Cornerstone Youth Group Volunteers at Camp Cornerstone Church of Lincoln Way, has been joining our Winter Camps for the past several years. We have formed a strong relationship with him and the church over these years. Their students come to our summer camps and we hire some of their high schoolers. Our Volunteer Coordinator, scheduled read more...
Top 10 Reasons to Go to Summer Camp If you’ve been to camp, you’re not surprised to hear about the benefits of summer camp. Experiencing life at camp yourself as a child, you know the profound positive effects that still matter to you as an adult, and you also know that you want something just read more...
Story of a Long Lost Friend We love listening to guests reminisce when they return to Phantom Ranch after years away. Recently, we met our long lost friend Tim, a former camper and staff member, had not been to camp since 1975! He was a part of a retreat group from Chicago. Sharing a meal read more...
This summer was Amber’s 3rd summer on staff, she was hired as a Program Manager. One of her campers, attended in 2021 and returned for 2023. Amber and the camper were bummed but also OK with Amber not being the camper’s Cabin Leader because she was in charge of all the girls programming. During an read more...
Learn about Raul Salmeron’s camp story. We love it when alumni tell us about their favorite camp story from growing up.
Cornerstone Church of Lincoln Way, pastored by Caleb Goossen, has been joining our Winter Camps for the past several years. We have formed a strong relationship with him and the church over these years. Their students come to our summer camps and we hire some of their high schoolers. Dan Yonke, our Volunteer Coordinator, scheduled read more...
During an afternoon climbing session, a girl experienced growth in just one hour! On her first climb, she climbed 10 feet and came down. Practicing on the auto belay, she continued to climb between 15 and 20 feet on several attempts. After one attempt her belayer (the person holding the rope), asked why she did read more...