Family Camps

Parents will ask, "My child is 7-1/2 years old. Can they come to Camp Quest?" The age limit of 8 years we have set is good for this camp because at that age they are more self-sufficient and responsible. At younger ages there are separation anxieties, both on the part of the child and the parent, leading to home sickness. Younger children need more supervision and personal attention. But with rising cost of facilities rental, camp budgets can't support additional staff. Yet a younger child can still profit from the activities and companionship of other children. Is there a solution?

Some of the Camp Quests have held short family camps that involve children and parents, families getting together for a day or weekend, sharing the camping experience. Some of these family camps have been held by new camps just starting and in preparation for a full week of camping.

Camp Quest of the Smoky Mountains is considering offering a few days of family-type camp in conjunction with our regular camp. This would be offered for six and seven year olds accompanied by a parent. The parent (or other adult family member) would be responsible for special needs of the child. The child would participate in age-appropriate activities with other campers, and the parent would assist the residential counselors as a learning process.

The parent would pay a reduced rate for two, and might be subject to the same background check required for counselors. This concept is still in the development stage. If there are interested parents, please contact the Camp Quest Director.

We have also been asked about camping for children with special needs. Understand that our facilities are rustic and cannot accomodate some needs. Further, our volunteers are not trained to deal with some behavioral problems. Recognizing these limitations and that this is a new program, we will consider including some special-needs children accompanied by parent into the Family Camp on a case-by-case basis.