What Should I Pack for Day Camp?

While every camper should bring a positive attitude and willingness to try new things, we also ask that parents send along a backpack with some items that will help their camper make the most of their day. All items should be labeled with your camper’s name.

Apparel

We are at camp to be outside, which means campers play through all kinds of summer weather. We recommend you pay attention to the weather for the day and dress your camper appropriately. Most days this likely means a T-shirt and shorts. However, wet or cold days might require some extra apparel items:

• Sweatshirt

• Pants

• Rain coat

• Extra socks

We recommend that every camper plan on wearing sturdy footwear so their feet are protected while playing sports, running, hiking, and being active outside. Occasionally special events - such as creek walking - will require extra footwear such as a pair of water shoes or old sneakers. We will notify parents before an event that might require extra footwear.

Pool Items

We help campers beat the heat every day with an afternoon dip in our Olympic-sized pool. Several times a week their schedules will also include morning swim lessons to help them expand their swimming skills. We provide the water, pool, lifeguards, and any required flotation devices. Pack your camper’s bag with the following items from home:

• Swimsuit

• Towel

• Flip flops (for the locker room)

• Sunscreen

Extra Items

In general we believe the less your camper brings with them, the better. (Fewer items end up in Lost & Found that way!) But sometimes campers like to have some extra items at their finger tips. Some items campers enjoy include the following:

• Water bottle

• Small items purchased at the camp store

• Swim goggles

• Bug spray

• Hand sanitizer

• Hairbrush

• Baseball cap

Items that don’t make our packing list (but might be on lists for other camps) are technology and food. When campers are at camp, we want them to disconnect from technology and explore the world around them. This means we do not recommend sending headphones, earbuds, music devices, or cell phones with your camper. There won’t be any time to use them! Carson Simpson Farm is an all-inclusive camp, which means we provide a morning snack and a hot lunch every day, at no extra cost. We also have tasty food options for sale at the camp store in the afternoon. If you have a picky eater or dietary concerns, you can send a packed lunch and snack for your camper, and we will store it for them in the kitchen refrigerator. (See our FAQs page for more information.)

We look forward to seeing your campers at camp this summer!