The Magic of Opening Up Camp- GRP Spring Events
One of the most joyful, magical parts of summer camp is watching it come alive in the Spring. All of the waiting, anticipating and planning starts to come to life right before our eyes. The Spring months are when we start to become restless. Restless for the smell of campfire, the sound of our favorite camp songs. We start to count the minutes until we see our summer staff arrive. And then we count the minutes until we open those gates for our first campers. Spring is a time of celebration and community at GRP, when we can truly prepare camp to welcome you all. This is why we believe in the importance of our Spring events and highlighting why you should join us for a little bit of pre-summer GRP magic!
Our first event of the Spring is Volunteer Week! From April 7-12, we invite any and all GRP community members (including alumni, current staff, GRP families) to join us in opening up camp for our 2026 season. With SEE (School of Environmental Education) programming beginning on April 20, we want to ensure everything is ready to go for our staff to arrive for training. We are anticipating a full week of hands-on projects and volunteer opportunities. Without support from our community members during this week, we would not be able to fully open camp for our program staff and participants. Even if you are unable to attend for the whole week, we would love to see you for just a day or two!
Next up is our Spring Picnic Open House on Saturday, May 2nd! Are you a first time camp parent nervous about sending your child to GRP this summer? Is your camper already talking about feelings of ‘missing home’ while they are at camp? This is the perfect opportunity to ease some of those nervous feelings and see the magic of GRP in action. Spring Picnic is a drop-in event open to all GRP families- new and returning. Parents will have the chance to meet our year round staff, including our Executive Director, Catherine, and ask any camp-related questions. Campers will also be able to get to know some of our seasonal counselors, mentors and expedition leaders. During Spring Picnic you will have access to some of GRP’s best trails as well as our zipline and lakefront. Get a sneak peek inside our cabins and see where your camper will be staying this summer. This event will run from 11:00 AM- 1:00 PM.
Finally, our Family Camp from May 15-17! This might just be THE most fun event of the whole Spring season in our opinion. All camp abilities and experience levels are welcome at Family Camp, however, our priority is introducing our new/beginner families to GRP programming. Over the course of the weekend, you will have the opportunity to try your first Mentor Hike, take your very first GRP bus ride, join the illustrious Polar Bear Club and learn some fun camp songs & traditions along the way. Our schedule is just like a ‘typical day’ at summer camp, complete with afternoon activities and an Evening Program. Family Camp starts just before dinner time on Friday evening and concludes after lunch on Sunday afternoon. Families will either stay in their own living space in our cabins or if registration fills, we will ask families if they are comfortable sharing with another family. You will also have the option to request a specific family if you are attending with friends!
Whether you are brand new to GRP, a multi-generational camp family with up-and-coming campers, a collection of friends and kiddos trying things out, or something in between, you belong at Family Camp. We can’t wait to show you how much there is to love on the Preserve!
Our 2026 Family Camp is now FULL but we would love to see you next year!
You’ll see that registration is currently open for many events already! We have moved our event sign-ups to Gazebo. That being said, if you see something here that you are looking forward to attending and do not see a registration option yet, please feel free to reach out to us with questions or to voice your interest.
We hope to see you this Spring!