EDITOR:

This was the 78th summer for the Iron County Youth Camp, Camp Batawagama. It was great to see all our campers return in 2022 after having to cancel due to the COVID epidemic in 2020 and 2021. This summer was very successful and according to many of our staff members, “one of the best ever!”

We were able to provide the youth of Iron County and surrounding areas with six full weeks of Youth Camp, while maintaining the same traditional programs that have made Batawagama so popular over the years. Our five water safety instructors were busy teaching swimming levels that ranged from beginners to advanced swimming and included introduction to scuba diving. When campers were not in the Red Cross-certified swimming lessons, they were learning watercraft safety and getting instruction in the use of rowboats, paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, and catamarans.

In additional to learning how to swim, our campers, boys and girls, ages 10 to 16 were able to experience a wide range of activities in an outdoor setting, free from the modern distractions of cell phones and electronics. Additional programs such as camp crafts, nature study, arts and crafts, music instruction, folk dancing, low ropes to name a few, all added to the camper’s experience.

Our 14 college-aged counselors were up to the task of planning and executing the out of camp adventures including hikes and river and lake canoe trips to remote sites for cookouts and overnights.

This summer we made special accommodations to comply with the CDC and the American Camping Association recommended COVID protocols.

The camp administration was able to streamline our camper registration process, which helped to make arrivals and departures for campers and parents much more efficient. We will be improving on many of these enrollment procedures for the future.

We would like to thank the residents of Iron County for being so supportive and understanding these past several years. Our primary concern during these two COVID cancelling years was always to safeguard the health and the wellbeing of our campers, of our campers’ parents, of our staff, and of our community.

We are so happy that we were able to accomplish this and return to the business of camping and all that Batawagama has to offer.

We are already making plans for the 2023 camping season and looking forward to welcoming back our senior campers and our many old and new Youth Camp campers. Visit our camp website at campbatawagama.com to view videos from previous summers and recent upgrades to our facilities.

Brian Schulze

Crystal Falls

ICYC director