The first official day of summer is 157 days off, but many local parents are already thinking about how their kids will spend the warmer months. As The Ticker explored in 2024, competition for summer camp slots in Traverse City is fierce. With some camps already open for registration and others prepping for sign-ups in the coming weeks, The Ticker has your guide for how to get on the list for many local camps.

Grand Traverse Bay YMCA

Perhaps the most in-demand summer camp in Traverse City, the YMCA offers 200 camp slots and 10 weeks of programming, from June 16 to August 22. In recent years, parents have camped out in the YMCA parking lot the night before registration to give themselves the best chances of landing spots for their kids. This year, citing “increased demand and accessibility concerns,” the YMCA announced it will be dispensing with in-person registrations.

“Last year, we had people lining up as early as 10pm the night prior,” says YMCA Senior Program Director Thomas Graber. For reference, registration for the 2024 Y camp opened at 7am, nine hours after the line started to form. “After that, we knew we had to do something different. We really don’t want anybody standing out overnight in February.”

This year, the Y will open registration applications at 7am on Monday, February 17. As in the past, that application window will prioritize families with active YMCA family memberships. This time, though, everything will happen online.

“It’s not an online registration,” Graber stresses. “You're not hopping on and registering. You're hopping on and you're applying for registration. So really, this is going to be more of a virtual ‘getting in line’ type deal. We’re using a web form that's going to be submitting all the necessary information for registration. We’ll take that information, export it, and sort it by timestamp. Then we're going to manually register every single person in the order they submitted their application, until the camp fills.”

The change in protocol has had mixed reception among Y families. On one hand, Graber says parents are relieved they won’t have to camp out overnight in bitter cold weather to get their kids into summer camp. On the other hand, some families worry that losing the limiting factor of in-person queuing will mean more competition for spots – and lower chances of getting one.

“There’s no perfect system,” Graber admits. “This is clearly more of a community child care shortage issue than a process issue. We're doing everything we can to make this as fair and accessible and safe as possible. But the reality is, there's just aren’t enough summer camp spots to go around.”

In the spirit of accessibility, Graber says the YMCA is using a web form that is totally mobile-friendly, rather than one that favors desktop users. He also invites parents concerned about unreliable internet access to come into the YMCA and submit their application from the lobby.

“Our doors are going to be open,” he says.

Norte Youth Cycling

According to Norte Director of Communications Brinley Bruton, registration for the organization’s Summer Bike Camp will open to the public on Wednesday, January 29. This year, Norte will also offer early-access registration to families who had signed up to be monthly donors ahead of a January 8 deadline. Early registration starts Monday, January 27.

“Participants' families will want to join our newsletter as we'll be sending out instructions on how to access our new registration platform,” Bruton tells The Ticker.

Norte has expanded its Summer Bike Camp this year, with programming now running for 10 weeks. Those camps are geared toward riders in first through eighth grade, with activities ranging from 3.5-6 hours daily, Monday through Thursday. The nonprofit estimates it will “welcome and empower roughly 900 riders” this summer.

TCAPS Summer Explorers Club

Per Jessica Anderson, licensed child care director for Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS), the district is still “working on details” for its Summer Explorer's Program. That camp offers summertime programming for TCAPS students in grades K-5.

“We are still working through our registration process for this coming summer and don't currently have a lot of information to share with the public at this time,” Anderson says. “We are anticipating an early February registration date, but don't have a set date at this time. As for slots, we are looking at two sites with approximately 70 TCAPS students per site.”

Anderson encourages parents to keep an eye on the TCAPS page for the Summer Explorer's Program for further information.

Other summer camps

>Registration is now open for Interlochen’s Arts Discovery Camp. Sessions are one week in length and will be offered for seven weeks this summer, starting Monday, June 16 and ending Friday, August 1. All camps are for ages 7-12 and are held at the Interlochen Community School building.

>Grand Traverse Tennis Camps, offered by offered by long-time Traverse City Central High School tennis coach Larry Nykerk, will run four sessions this summer and include programming opportunities for all ages, including adults. The camp application is now live.

>Enrollment is also open for all nine summer 2025 sessions of Camp Carvela, which is geared toward kids aged 7-13 and runs weekly sessions from June 16 to August 22.

>Also open for registration: the YMCA’s Hayo-Went-Ha camps, which offer nine weeks of summer programming for kids aged 5-10.

>Sign-ups for this year's summer camp at Pathfinder opened on December 16. That camp offers programs for four age ranges – Explorers (ages 4-5), Discovery (6-7), Voyagers (8-9), and Adventure (10-12) – for eight week-long sessions running from June 23 to August 15.

>Registration is open for Traverse Area Community Sailing's summer 2025 camps, with programs available for ages 8-17.

>ELEV8 owner Nick Olson says the climbing gym will offer summer camps once again this summer, with opportunities available “for all age ranges.” Climbing is the “centerpiece” of those camps, but ELEV8 also partners with various nearby organizations – such as Norte and the Traverse Area District Library – to diversify its activity slate. ELEV8's camps will open for registration on Monday, January 27.

>Per Old Mission Peninsula School Principal Kaitlyn Bailey, the charter school will open sign-ups for its summer camps at 8am on January 31. Those camps all take place in July and are open to students heading into grades 1-6.

>Crooked Tree Arts Center in Traverse City will also open its summer camp registration window on January 31.

>Camp Invention, a nationally-recognized STEM-focused camp developed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, will be offered at multiple local schools this summer, including Old Mission (June 16-19), Cherry Knoll (June 16-20), Suttons Bay (August 4-8), and Westwoods (June 23-26). Programs can be searched here.

>The Human Nature School will open registration for its programs, for ages 5-12, on February 1.

>Registration for Northwestern Michigan College’s long-running College for Kids program opens February 3.

>Also opening registration on February 3: Grand Traverse Conservation District’s Nature Day Camp. Geared toward kids 6-11, that camp will run for 10 weeks, from June 16 to August 22, with each week following a different theme.

>New in 2024, Northern Blooms Montessori’s summer camp will be back for a second season this year. According to Head of School Samantha Gauthier, applications open to the public on February 11.

>Registration for Old Town Playhouse’s “Young Company” 2025 summer programs will open on March 1. This year’s programs include a four-week performing arts camp for ages 9-16, which will mount a production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance; a one-week musical theater intensive for ages 8-16, which will stage performances of Disney’s Frozen; and several non-musical theater workshops and classes.

>Grass River Natural Area will offer four non-consecutive weeks of summer camps this year (June 23-26, July 7-10, July 21-24, August 4-7), with openings for ages 6-11. Registration opens on March 12 at noon.

 Pictured: Scenes from last year's YMCA pre-registration campout.