If you’re a first-time camper you might be wondering “what’s a typical day at camp?” While there’s no such thing as a “typical day” here, our daily schedule provides a consistent routine that helps us all make the most of our time together. Check out our daily schedule below for an example of how you might spend a day at camp! 8:00 AM – Wake Up Bell Rise and shine! It’s time to get ready for a fun-filled day at camp! 8:30 AM – Breakfast Time Stroll on over to the dining hall to fuel up on your favorite breakfast foods. You’ll need plenty of energy for your busy day ahead! 9:30 AM – Morning Pro ..read more

After a long, cold winter, there’s nothing sweeter than arriving at camp for a week (or two!) of fun, friends, and new adventures. We’ve missed our camp community SO much since the last time we were all together and we can’t wait to welcome you back to your home away from home. Please indulge us as we daydream about summer and share these 3 simple reasons we LOVE camp. 1. Fresh Air Need we say more? From the lake to the forest, we love swimming, running, climbing, and playing in that crisp, clean camp air! Every deep breath puts us right at ease. 2. Free Time Our summer “schedule” is relaxed ..read more

Summer is just around the corner and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome campers back to camp. At Camp Carvela, Camp Lookout, and Crystalaire Adventures, we’re committed to building connections to self, others, and the natural world. This year, it feels more important than ever before. After a year marked by stress and upheaval, we know our kids need time and space to unplug, play, and explore!    3 Reasons to Join us at Camp this Summer   1. We help kids unplug and reconnect After a year+ of virtual learning, virtual hangouts, and virtual celebrations, we’re craving some fa ..read more

Have you been a camper or sent your children to camp?  If so, we suspect you’ve found it challenging  to put what we do with our participants into words.  You’re not alone. Have you been wondering what Camp Lookout or Crystalaire is all about? Is this your first time here?  Read on! We have created this blog as a space to talk about our programs and dive freely into the depths of our philosophy to better explain who we are, what we’re doing, and what we’re trying to accomplish with our programs. This first entry lays out some basics about camp and our philosophy, as well as ..read more

On Identity Based Leadership If you’ve been on a Crystalaire trip you know we talk about a lot of boxes. We draw them in the sand, lay them out in rocks and twigs, or draw them on small portable whiteboards. And then, often, we break them. It’s part of what we call “identity-based dynamics,” and it’s our own twist on the leadership education dialogue taking place nationwide. One of the things that we really believe in is that people’s perceived identity influences the way that they behave. Who you believe you are shapes how you respond to where you are.   We sometimes work with very young ..read more

Dear Families of Lookout and Crystalaire, We want to thank you for another wonderful summer season at Camp Lookout and Crystalaire Adventures! This summer had many memorable moments, and we are grateful we got to share and create them with your children. The weather was as close to perfect as it will ever be, the waters were (mostly) warm, and everyone’s spirits were high. Thanks to you and your children, we had an incredible summer season and hopefully you did as well! This past January we welcomed Izzy Cooper to our year round team as the assistant director for Lookout. Izzy, a Traverse City ..read more

Perhaps one of the biggest bummers I can remember from being a teenager was feeling that my emotions were not valid, being made to feel invalid or just young and naȉve,’ as some might say. I was a gawky, semi- (or not so semi) dorky kid; I wore t-shirts that read “Metallica” and “Black Sabbath,” under-excelled in most school and academic functions as well as team sports, and in general was not always running with the rest of the herd. And when it came to my superiors, whether teachers, camp counselors, parents’ friends, friends’ siblings, ect., I was regarded in a somewhat similar manner. It w ..read more

A few summers ago a group of older campers approached me. They had created a new game—Empires—and wanted to play it for evening program. I sat down with them and we talked over the rules and how they wanted their game to look and feel. Empires is based on two classic Camp Lookout programs: Capture the Flag and Conquest. The campers envisioned five teams, each representing a different historical empire, such as Rome or Persia. Teams have a leader, usually a counselor, and a king that the group selects. Each team hides a colorful ball in its home-base. If a team can capture another team’s ball a ..read more

Almost three months ago to the day I woke up, brushed my teeth, and put my clothes on backwards. It was Reverse Day, a camp-wide, camper-created theme day. We started our day with Evening Program, ate a delicious breakfast of waffles around 6:00 p.m., and ended it all with Morning Program as the sun was setting. What started as a joking conversation between campers and staff—why do we follow the same schedule every day? What would happen if we flipped it around?—became a silly, shared reality for everyone at camp. I went to Camp Lookout for the first time when I was going into seventh grade. I ..read more