Send my child to a Summer Camp in Minnesota? I love my kid! Why would I ever do that? Because kids all over this country are deprived of simple pleasures, unstructured time and the self affirmation of being in Nature. Recent studies show that experiences in the wilderness and time spent in natural outdoor areas produce positive psychological and physiological responses in children. These include but are not limited to reduced stress and a general feeling of well-being. Our modern, increasingly artificial man-made world is not a kind environment for children. Historically, children have naturally felt comfortable being outdoors. Minnesota summer camps are among the best suited anywhere for getting kids safely back to the country and into direct contact with nature.

Canoeing can begin as a challenge, but for children a canoe is an opportunity to develop new skills and to become proficient at directing the adventures they have only watched before. A Minnesota lake or river gives a child at summer camp a feeling unlike any other. A feeling of freedom and accomplishment and confidence. A canoe becomes much more than a mode of transport: it’s a way to explore and discover nature, and discover oneself in the process.

Minnesota is known for the famous “Muskie”, but the lakes are also teeming with bass, pike and pan fish. Fishing at a children’s summer camp is always among the most popular activities. Even if the fish are not biting, campers are learning patience and the way just sitting in a boat in the sun with a good friend can be the best part of a summer day.

Swift Nature Camp is among the most fortunate of Minnesota summer camps, with 8 pairs of mating loons on their lake. These amazing water birds only come ashore to mate and incubate eggs. With legs placed far back on their bodies for efficient swimming, they are awkward on land. But it is the sound of the plaintive wail of the loon that no child will ever forget.

Life is busy! Nature offers all of us so much if we just allow ourselves a willingness to stop and slow down. At Swift Nature Camp, it is a treasured nightly ritual to head to the lake shore and watch the sun slowly lower itself behind what looks like the distant horizon. Time is taken to relax and just BE in nature.

A forest in the Northwoods of Minnesota is blanketed with all sorts of pines trees. White, Red and Jack Pines are all prevalent. The scent is unmistakeable and unforgettable. Imagine a Christmas tree multiplied by a thousand. The memory of this smell will send an adult back to their childhood days in the forest in a instant.

Has your child seen a wild eagle? Few have. At Swift Nature Camp in Minnesota, eagles are a common sight. Every day you can see them soar in ever higher circles. Or, just as quickly, one might head out over the lake and with its claws reaching down to catch some unsuspecting fish swimming by. This is just one example of what nature in Minnesota is all about. This is all just part of an Overnight Summer Camp experience.

Nature is a wonderful place to play, but it is a place to gain unique hands-on experience walking through a pine forest learning forestry practices or boating on the lake learning about fish habitat. At Swift Nature Camp’s Beaver Pond, campers catch a variety of critters, including insects, leeches, frogs and turtles, learning and having fun every step of the way . At Swift Nature Camp located in Minnesota, campers also get to care for the critters in our very own Nature Center, reconnecting with nature in a variety of ways.

Picking a summer camp is no easy task so visit Summer Camp Advice.com A FREE informational website about Summer Camp for you.

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