Camps Leelanau & Kohahna is located in beautiful northern Michigan, just a four-hour drive from Detroit and a six-hour drive from Chicago. Campers can fly into Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) or Grand Rapids’ Gerald Ford Airport (GRR) for pick up and return by camp staff. Contact our Office Manager with questions regarding travel, including potential carpooling.

The 3-week, 4-week, and 7-week options of camp are an essential part of the mission of Camps Leelanau & Kohahna. Our mission is to “cultivate leadership qualities and Christian character….” Session lengths allow campers to relax and settle in and accomplish more character and skill development, form closer relationships at camp, and participate in more activities, all in a supportive Christian Science environment. This unhurried, intentional approach to learning and practicing new skills cement learning and promotes confidence, which spills over into other areas of campers’ lives. We find our longest sessions are the most popular with returning campers.

We have options for a Day Camp (during Week 1 only) for our youngest campers and a 2-week session (for Weeks 1 & 2 only) for first-time campers.

We acknowledge that other activities are competing for the involvement of campers. However, Camp Leelanau & Kohahna firmly believes camp is the best place for youth to grow in their confidence, team-building skills, character, and athleticism while also growing in their Christian Science application. A camp experience will develop campers to be stronger athletes, students, and members of their home community.

Many coaches are willing to prescribe a sports regimen for campers who value camp, which we can implement here. Camp is glad to accommodate weight training, adjust schedules for sports practice, and encourage participation in our Speed & Agility Training (during the 4-week session) and other sports clinics we offer. Contact the Leelanau or Kohahna Director so camp can accommodate those needs.

While Camps Leelanau & Kohahna have set rates, there should be no obstacles for children to attend camp. Camp provides various options to assist families in their demonstration of attending camp. Families are encouraged to:

- Take advantage of early enrollment and camp show sign-up discounts

- Contact our office and set up a pre-payment plan

- Apply for Campership Funds

There are scholarship resources, such as Sunnyside Foundation (for youth from Texas) and The Campership Fund.

In addition, we offer a $50 per child sibling discount. Contact the Office Manager if you have any questions.

Camps Leelanau & Kohahna builds independence, leadership qualities and allow campers to see Christian Science in action outside of the home environment while creating a support network of Christian Science peers and adults. Camp is located on Lake Michigan's shores and surrounded by Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. With 2,500 feet of sandy beachfront, 220 acres of pristine woods, and activities ranging from windsurfing and waterskiing to horseback riding and athletics, this experience creates lifelong memories and friendships. In 2011, Good Morning America named the Sleeping Bear Dunes area the “Most Beautiful Place in America.”

The Counselor Training (CT) Program is for campers entering their senior year in high school. This seven-week program focuses on developing leadership skills and Christian character.

The first three weeks are spent tuning into the teamwork elements of leadership. Then, together, these campers work for a week on a community service project where they learn about genuine service and work ethic and develop usable skills.

The second and third weeks are spent preparing for, participating in, and debriefing a 6-day wilderness trip, often in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula or Ontario, Canada. This experience focuses on looking to God for strength and direction under the guidance of experienced staff.

During the remaining four weeks, CTs move into camp cabins to put their new leadership skills while apprenticing under experienced cabin counselors, working with younger campers, and learning to teach regular camp activities.

The value of the CT summer at Camps Leelanau & Kohahna is profound. The CT program's true strength is developing leadership skills, taking initiative, and being a confident and dedicated Christian Scientist.

Any child who regularly attends a Christian Science Sunday School can attend camp. We love to see children introduced to camp, whether new to Christian Science or have grown up in it. There have been many instances where campers have introduced friends to Christian Science through Sunday School for them to attend camp. Attending a Christian Science Sunday School first is an important step to prepare campers for living Christian Science at camp.

A traditional activity that parents can help their kids prepare for before Summer Camp begins is The Bar Exam. This is our swim test at the beginning of each session.

We load the Big Blue Bus and head to North Bar Lake to administer the test. The test aims to determine each camper's swimming ability to ensure they do not end up in waterfront activities that demand more than their swimming ability would deem safe.

There are three levels in the Bar Exam, and remember these are not “Swimming Lessons;” stroke type, style, grace, and speed are not being assessed. Endurance and poise, however, are paramount to success in the Bar Exam.

The Three Levels are:

Level 1 – one minute back float, two minutes treading water, and a 25-yard swim.

Level 2 – two minute back float, five minutes treading water, and a 50-yard swim.

Level 3 – two minute back float, ten minutes treading water, and a 200-yard swim.

After passing Level 1, we are confident that the camper can participate in swimming class, beach period, and other activities along the water’s edge without wearing a lifejacket (all younger campers are required to wear lifejackets on wavy days).

Any Camper that does not pass Level 1 will be placed in Swim Class the first week of Camp to receive instruction and develop the necessary skill not to be required to wear a lifejacket at beach period all summer.

After passing Level 2, we are confident that the camper can participate in canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding activities, and canoeing trips.

Again, Campers are welcome to sign up for Swim Class if they want to develop the skill that would allow them to pass Level 3, thus qualifying them for more activities.

After passing Level 3, we are confident that the camper can participate in our waterfront activities, including sailing and waterskiing.

A final thought about the Bar Exam; all of our watercraft activities require the participants to wear a lifejacket, but it is the poise expressed during the bar exam that gives our staff the confidence that if in a large body of water the camper will have both the comfort and the presence of mind to either self-rescue (right a capsized boat) or await pick up (by the ski boat or our rescue boat in Lake Michigan).

A traditional activity that parents can help their kids prepare for before Summer Camp begins is the swim test at the beginning of each session.

We load the Big Blue Bus and head to North Bar Lake or Old Settler’s Park at Glen Lake to administer the test. The test aims to determine each camper's swimming ability to ensure they do not end up in waterfront activities that demand more than their swimming ability would deem safe.

There are four levels in the swim test, and remember these are not “Swimming Lessons;” stroke type, style, grace, and speed are not being assessed. Endurance and poise, however, are paramount to success in the test.

The Four Levels are:

Level 1 – one minute back float, five minutes treading water, and a 25-yard swim.

Level 2 – one minute back float, five minutes treading water, and a 100-yard swim.

Level 3 – one minute back float, five minutes treading water, and a 200-yard swim.

Level 4 – one minute back float, five minutes treading water, and a 400-yard swim.

After passing Level 1, we are confident that the camper can participate in swimming class, beach period, and other activities along the water’s edge without wearing a lifejacket (all younger campers are required to wear lifejackets on wavy days).

Any Camper that does not pass Level 1 will be placed in Swim Class the first week of Camp to receive instruction and develop the necessary so that they will not to be required to wear a lifejacket at beach period all summer.

After passing Level 2, we are confident that the camper can participate in canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding activities, and canoeing trips.

Again, Campers are welcome to sign up for Swim Class if they want to develop the skill that would allow them to pass Level 3, thus qualifying them for more activities.

After passing Level 3, we are confident that the camper can participate in our waterfront activities, including waterskiing.

After passing Level 4, we are confident that the camper can participate in our waterfront activities, including sailing.

A final thought about the swim test; all of our watercraft activities require the participants to wear a lifejacket, but it is the poise expressed during the bar exam that gives our staff the confidence that if in a large body of water the camper will have both the comfort and the presence of mind to either self-rescue (right a capsized boat) or await pick up (by the ski boat or our rescue boat in Lake Michigan).