Why Overnight Camp? Why Camp Immokalee?
A Different Kind of Summer
At home, summers fly by in a blur of sports practices, screen time, and carpool lines. At camp, time slows down.
Your child wakes up to laughter drifting through the oaks of North Florida. They head with their cabin to the flagpole, where camp starts with cheers and silly songs. By afternoon, they’ve learned archery, paddled a canoe across Lake Brooklyn, and tried tie-dye for the first time. That evening, they sit shoulder-to-shoulder in our amphitheater, watching the sunset over the lake and singing with friends at the closing campfire.
When you pick them up, they’re taller somehow — not in inches, but in confidence. They’ve learned how to try, how to fail, how to succeed, and how to belong.
That’s the power of overnight camp.
Why Overnight Camp Matters
Overnight camp isn’t just a week away — it’s a place where kids practice real life in ways home and school can’t always give them.
Where else will your child have 13 roommates? In a cabin, kids learn to share space, take turns, and be part of something bigger than themselves. They clean together, encourage each other, and discover that community is strongest when everyone contributes.
Where else will they spend a week making their own choices? From picking which activities to try to deciding how to use rest time, campers practice independence in a safe space where it’s okay to try, stumble, and try again.
Where else will “nothing to do” turn into creativity? Without screens, kids invent games, make up silly skits, and rediscover how good it feels to just play.
Where else will homesickness turn into bravery? Almost every child feels it, and almost every child discovers they can get through it — and that bravery changes them.
And where else will the little wins matter just as much as the big ones? At camp, making it halfway up the climbing wall earns just as much cheering as ringing the bell at the top. Every effort is noticed, and every camper is celebrated.
And through it all, your child isn’t alone. Counselors live right there in the cabin — like family for the week — guiding, encouraging, and celebrating kids in every moment, big or small. And our director team? They’re steady, experienced, and love campers like parents do — watching over the whole community, making sure every child is safe, cared for, and thriving.
Why Camp Immokalee?
What makes Camp Immokalee different isn’t just our oaks, our lake, or even our activities. It’s the people and the purpose behind it all.
We see ourselves as partners to families at home. When you trust us with your child, we don’t take it lightly. We do everything we can to make sure you have what you need — before, during, and even between summers. Clear communication, parent support, and a genuine desire to walk alongside you are baked into how we operate.
We’re not just a camp — we’re part of the YMCA, which means we carry more than 100 years of experience in youth development and the values that shape it: Caring, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility. Those values aren’t words on a banner. They’re the way we encourage a shy camper to join the game, celebrate effort as much as achievement, and teach kids that kindness and courage matter more than winning.
Yes, we have incredible activities — tubing and banana boating on Lake Brooklyn, horseback riding, pottery, ziplines, archery, Color Wars, and more. But what families tell us again and again is that the real difference is this: their child is known here, cared for here, and believed in here.
Camp Immokalee isn’t just camp. It’s a second home.
Your Next Step
If you’re just beginning to explore overnight camp, know this: many of our families were first-timers once, too. Now they’ll tell you it was the best decision they ever made.
Ready to see what camp could mean for your child?