From STEM to swim and everything in between, there’s a summer camp experience in metro Detroit just waiting for your child. Fun summer camps are the perfect place for your child to grow, learn, make friends and just have a great time.
Should you go for what you know your kid will love? Or should you try something new? With so many quality summer camps to choose from, why not do both? No matter what, Metro Parent’s advertising partners have just what you are looking for. But spots fill up quickly, so register your child now — then put your feet up and let summer arrive in all its glory.
Looking for more summer camps? Check out our interactive map to find the best summer camps for Metro Detroit kids.
LTU Marburger STEM Center Summer Camps
July 8-12, July 15-19, July 22-26, July 29-Aug 2, 2024
- Address: 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield
- Phone: 248-204-2120
- Cost: $750-950 for the week
- Best for ages: High school sophomores, juniors and seniors
The Marburger STEM Center at LTU offers innovative academic camps for students interested in engineering, technology, design and science. Expert instructors will introduce you to the latest advancements in modern labs and studios on campus. It provides students an opportunity to explore their passion, hands-on experiences in STEM fields in state-of-the-art labs and studios with industry experts as well as faculty mentoring.
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
June 26 – Aug. 18, 2024 (four two-week sessions)
- Address: 300 E. Crystal Lake Road, Twin Lake
- Phone: 800-221-3796
- Cost: $1,730-$1,830 (varies depending on major, significant scholarships available for any motivated student, discounts for siblings and enrolling in more than one session)
- Best for ages: 11-18 (Grades 5-12)
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp is a summer school of the arts serving students in Grades 5-12 through programs in music, art, theater, dance and writing. Blue Lake strives to maintain an atmosphere where students who want to learn may do so in an environment which encourages creativity and recognizes the importance of each individual. Students are accepted at whatever their proficiency level may be and are encouraged to grow. Faculty and staff strive to motivate campers and share with them the joy of achievement in the fine arts. Enthusiasm is contagious at Blue Lake as campers discover, learn, experience, and succeed.
Blue Lake’s mission to inspire young artists to achieve their best has not wavered since their first day of camp in 1966. Blue Lake offers a unique opportunity for students to look up, get inspired, and discover their potential as individuals and as musicians, dancers, writers, actors, and artists. It is their tradition. At Blue Lake, they celebrate creativity, artistry, personal growth, and fun, in a special place where you can be yourself and do what you love.
Blue Lake offers two-week sessions in band, orchestra, jazz, choir, theater, dance, art, creative writing, piano and harp. Blue Lake aims to take students at their current proficiency and help them reach the next level, regardless of their ability or experience. Programs are available for all levels, beginning to advanced. Enrollment is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and there is no audition required for acceptance. Substantial scholarships to assist with camp tuition are available for motivated students, based upon both merit and financial need.
A session at Blue Lake is filled with arts-focused inspiration, accomplishment, motivation and traditional camp fun. Campers spend approximately six hours a day in instructional activities relating to the major and minor of their choice. The day is complemented with recreation, free time, and evenings full of concerts and recitals, master classes and workshops, campfires and friends. Campers stay in rustic one-room cabins with ten other students, led by college-aged cabin counselors.
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp welcomes 4,000 campers a summer, led by an esteemed faculty of 175 arts professionals, specialists, college professors and secondary school instructors, with 200 college students ensuring camper care, safety and endless camp fun. Blue Lake’s campus is located on 1,600 acres of rustic wilderness near the Manistee National Forest in West Michigan. Blue Lake’s campgrounds are 3 hours from Detroit, 45 minutes from Grand Rapids, and 15 minutes from the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline, White Lake area and Muskegon.
Community Sailing School
June 10 – Aug. 23, 2024
- Address: 3270 Wards Point Drive, West Bloomfield Township
- Phone: 586-291-4802
- Cost: $400 for half day (9 a.m.-noon), $700 for one week (9 a.m.-3 p.m.), $1200 for two weeks 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
- Best for ages: 6-18
The Community Sailing School Foundation, CSSF, formerly known as Pontiac Sailing Education Foundation, PSEF, is Southeast Michigan’s premiere Junior Sailing Program. The program is hosted at Pontiac Yacht Club on Cass Lake in Keego Harbor.
CSSF youth programs provide a full spectrum of daily sailing instruction including:
- June 10-Aug. 23, 2024: Learn to sail, weekly and biweekly
- June 10-Aug. 23, 2024: Intermediate summer program, weekly and biweekly
- June 10-Aug. 16, 2024: Junior racing team, full summer and nine weeks of training
CSSF is the home of more than 14 local high school teams, in both the fall and spring seasons each year. This program is a great way to enhance your sailing ability for all school programs and beyond, a skill that can be used for a lifetime.
CSSF coaches are trained to keep children safe while having fun. Coach instructors are U.S. Sailing Level 1 certified. Campers bring lunch in an insulated bag, a life jacket and everything else you would need for a day at the beach.
Camp Carvela
June 16 – Aug. 16, 2024
- Address: 33 Bass Lake Road, Traverse City
- Phone: 231-299-0005
- Cost: Cost varies, see website for details
- Best for ages: 7-13 day camp, 7-15 overnight camp; 16-17 teen leadership
Camp Carvela is a co-ed summer camp located in Traverse City, Michigan. They offer overnight camp for kids ages 7-17 and day camp for kids ages 7-13. Camp Carvela sits on 80 forested acres on the shores of Bass Lake, giving campers seemingly boundless space to adventure, build and create!
No two days at Camp Carvela are ever the same, thanks to their unique way of doing things — campers help design and lead through daily activities. So, in addition to “regular” camp activities like swimming, canoeing and crafts, campers might find themselves on a dinosaur safari in the wilderness, building a transformer out of found objects or organizing a camp-wide music festival! There is no shortage of inspiration at Carvela and their staff work closely with campers to bring their most unique, wacky and wonderful activity ideas to life.
Their staff members hail from all over the U.S. and the world, creating a rich and unique community here at Camp Carvela that blends languages, traditions and cultures. Carvela prides themselves on hiring staff that prioritize safety, inclusion, playfulness and creativity. All of their staff are CPR and First Aid certified and participate in an extensive multi-week training before each summer begins.
YMCA Camp Nissokone
June 16 – Aug. 18, 2024
- Address: 6836 F41, Oscoda, 48750
- Phone: 248-887-4533
- Cost: Cost varies, see website for details
- Best for ages: 5-17
YMCA Camp Nissokone Oscoda is located on 170 acres of spectacular lakefront near Lake Huron. Nissokone is best known for its sailing, horseback riding, Teen Leadership Development (Wi-LD) programs and family camps. Camp Nissokone has been Michigan’s premier northern adventure camp connecting youth, teens and families to the outdoors since 1914. Nissokone has over 100 years of experience helping campers discover self-confidence while celebrating new friendships and accomplishments.
Our caring, responsible staff empowers campers to learn about the world, develop interpersonal skills and try new and creative activities, whether a child is spending the night away from home for the first time or a teen is building leadership skills year after year. Nissokone was featured in Outside as a “Top 10 Camp in the US for Outdoor Adventure.” YMCA Camp Nissokone is an ACA-accredited, licensed summer camp. Transportation is available weekly from Birmingham and Plymouth.
CCS Summer Youth and Teen Programs
June 17-Aug. 2, 2024
- Address: 201 East Kirby, Detroit
- Phone: 313-664-7456
- Cost: $350 per week. $95 for before and after enrichment. Some teen classes have additional fees for materials, models, etc.
- Best for ages: 8-18
Each week young artists can choose from four different art and design camps developed to keep them engaged and having fun. Try animation, game design, fashion, stop motion Lego animation, drawing, painting and more.
Roeper Summer Programs
June 24-Aug. 16, 2024
- Address: 41190 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills
- Phone: 248-203-7370
- Cost: Two-week sessions from $910 including daily hot lunch and snack
- Best for ages: 3-12
The Roeper School has been offering enriching summer camps to children since 1947. Programs are available for children ages 3-12. Camps include a Day Camp, Hybrid Day Camp + Specialty Camps, Theatre Camp, a Counselor-in-Training(CIT) program, and a Specialty Camp for middle schoolers.
Roeper camps put the campers first! Roeper’s 13-acre Bloomfield Hills campus is the setting for their summer camps offering campers the opportunity to try new things and customize their schedule, with activities taking place indoors and out. Amenities include woodlands, an athletic field, two swimming pools, three playgrounds, nature trails, and numerous buildings containing art, music and tech classrooms, gymnasium, locker rooms and lunchroom.
Roeper’s Day Camp + Specialty Camps allow campers to spend the mornings delving in-depth into select activities and the afternoons enjoying the regular camp activities. Roeper’s Theatre Camp, located on the Birmingham campus, introduces and helps campers holistically develop theatrical skills.
Experience the Roeper difference!
Kids on Campus – Schoolcraft College
July 8 – Aug. 16, 2024
- Address: 18600 Haggerty Road, Livonia
- Phone: 734-462-4448
- Cost: $249, cost of specialty camps may vary
- Best for ages: 5-18
Enjoy hands-on learning experiences led by skilled, professional instructors that will bring out the inquisitive side of every kid! Kids ages 5-18 will engage in career-oriented summer camps that focus on technology, the arts, science and more, all in Schoolcraft College’s welcoming campus environment. Scholarships are available!
Michigan State University Gifted and Talented Education (GATE)
June 17 – July 12, 2024
- Address: 426 Auditorium Road, East Lansing
- Cost: Cost varies, see website for details
- Best for ages: Grades 3-11
Experience accelerated STE(A)M camps for students in grades 3-11. Topics include archaeology, anthropology, meteorology, art, pre-med, various mathematics, AI, engineering, various biological and physical sciences, and so much more.
Cranbrook Schools Summer Camps
June 17 – Aug. 8, 2024
- Address: 39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills
- Phone: 248-645-3674
- Cost: Full Session (8 weeks): $2,960, Half Session (4 weeks): $1,610, Partial Session (1 week): $445
- Best for ages: 3-18
Cranbrook Schools offers traditional day camps and specialty camps for kids of all ages on their beautiful Bloomfield Hills campus. For years, Cranbrook Schools Summer Camps have been a tradition of fun and learning for campers of all ages.
Hosted across the beautiful, historic campus, their hands-on summer programs offer a true Cranbrook experience through multi-activity traditional camps, specialty camps in art, robotics, sports, STEM, theater, writing, and sports camps in soccer, field hockey, ice hockey and flag football.
Camps operate for up to eight weeks from kids age three through entering 12th grade. The camps are accredited by the American Camp Association and licensed through the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Lunches and snacks are included for most camps. Transportation service, extended care, after-camp enrichments, and a monthly payment plan are available as options.
WCC Summer Camp- Future U
June 24 – Aug. 9, 2024
- Address: 4800 East Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor
- Cost: $89-$300 (see websites for details)
- Best for ages: 5-18
Future U summer camps at Washtenaw Community College provide a perfect platform for kids ages 5-18 to explore and develop skills in a fun-filled environment, designed to engage and motivate kids to learn.
Summer Youth Programs (K-12) at Macomb Community College
June – August 2024
- Address: Locations vary in Warren and Clinton Township
- Phone: 586-349-8712
- Cost: Costs vary, see website for details.
- Best for ages: 3-17
Macomb offers kids experiences to grow on. From College 4 Kids (C4K) to Career Academies to Camp Scrubs, Macomb Community College offers K-12 students a Mary Poppins’ carpet bag full of opportunities for exploration and intellectual growth this summer.
Camp Scrubs is one of nine career academies and is designed for students in Grades 6-10. It provides a four-day interactive experience in the college’s laboratories and Simulation Learning Center on Center Campus. Students wear scrubs, listen to their heartbeat through a stethoscope and explore health care careers that include laboratory science, medical assisting, nursing, respiratory therapy and surgical technology.
There are eight other career academies designed for students in Grades 6-11. They run from two to five days and are held in the same labs and classrooms occupied by college students the rest of the year. Through a variety of hands-on activities, students can learn about crime scene investigation or 3D printing, media arts or law enforcement, architecture and construction or graphic design and illustration, culinary arts or modern-day blacksmithing.
The C4K classes run from one day to five and come with names like The Science of Slime, Cyber Spies and Secret Agent Camp. Students can hone their Pokemon skills, visit the LegaSea Aquarium and Reptarium in Utica, serve as an ambassador in a Model United Nations, undertake an engineering project using Legos, crack a computer code, compose digital music and much more.
To learn more about the K-12 Programs offered at Macomb Community College, visit macomb.edu and search K-12.
Mosaic Summer Camp
June 24-July 3, July 8-18, July 22-Aug. 1, 2024
- Address: 2 Locations: Detroit Community Schools, 12675 Burt Road, Detroit; Detroit Waldorf School, 2555 Burns Ave., Detroit
- Phone: 313-872-6910
- Cost: Summer camp is priced at $300 for a two-week session with scholarships available. $25 non-refundable registration fee applied to the final registration costs.
- Best for ages: Grades 3-8
Mosaic summer camp is available for kids in Grades 3-8 allowing young artists to garner the attention and instruction they deserve at a pace that best suits their needs.
Through theater and music games, craft projects, dance breaks, mindfulness moments and play rehearsals each session provides young artists with an opportunity to create incredible memories that will last a lifetime. At the end of each two-week session, families are invited to a special performance created by the young artists and the teaching artists. This year, Mosaic offers six two-week sessions.
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