Special Needs Camps
Camp Wonder and Camp Joy offers campers with special needs the opportunity to experience the joy of camp in a welcoming, supportive environment. Campers enjoy activities, crafts, worship, and opportunities to build friendships while being part of the Lakeshore community. With a focus on belonging, connection, and meaningful experiences, these camps create space for every camper to be celebrated, make memories, and experience life, love, and the God of grace.
To provide the best experience for our campers at Camp Joy and Camp Wonder, we place campers in cabins with a higher counselor-to-camper ratio. Typically, cabins have fewer campers and more counselors, allowing for more intentional care; however, we cannot provide one-on-one care for each camper. When deciding if Lakeshore is a good fit for your camper, please consider the following:
- Campers should be willing and able to follow basic safety skills, including but not limited to:
- staying with their group
- following verbal directions
- respecting others’ personal space
- exhibit no aggressive behavior towards self or others
- Campers should require no help with hygiene routines.
- Please note our current staffing and facilities do not allow us to provide the level of personal care needed for campers who wear diapers or pull-ups (even if only at night), require assistance with toileting, or experience more than two bathroom accidents per day.
- Campers will be required to sleep and eat in a community setting.
- Campers will sleep in a bunk room-style cabin with at least 5 other campers and a few counselors.
- Meal times will be in a large dining hall with the entire camp.
- Campers should be able to communicate their needs and when they are in need of help.
- Please note that if they use a communication device at home, we encourage them to bring it to camp for them to use.
Camp Joy
Ages 30+
June 14-18, 2027
Camp Wonder
Ages 16-40
July 26-30, 2027
Registration
Campers will complete the Joy & Wonder registration process as usual. We will initially place all campers on a waitlist while we assess available space, staffing, and resources. This process will help us ensure that we have the capacity to provide appropriate care, supervision, and a meaningful camp experience for each camper. We will communicate with those who registered as we determine placement availability.
Please register your camper for a session within the designated age range for that camp. Following the age requirements helps us maintain appropriate group sizes and provide programming that best meets our campers' needs. If your camper falls in the 30-40 age range, they may choose between Camp Joy or Camp Wonder. The biggest difference between the camps is that Camp Joy is typically slower-paced and offers more accommodations for walking around camp.
At this time, families may register each camper for either Camp Joy or Camp Wonder. As summer approaches, if we have additional space and staffing available, we will contact families with the opportunity to register for a second session. This will allow us to give as many campers as possible the opportunity to attend camp.