​What happens at Camp when the campers go home?

First Family Campers fill the cabins, ski behind the boats, swoop off the rope swing, dive off the Big Floats, and enjoy s'mores around the campfire.
Then Creative Arts campers come for 8 days to paint, draw, sing, dance, and write in the lodges and art studios.
And then...
Dan and his team begin to put Camp to bed for the winter. The docks, lane lines, and Big Floats are all pulled ashore. Sailboats and canoes are stored in the boathouses. Cabins are boarded up in an attempt to keep the snow and mice outside. By late fall, the water level in Long Lake has dropped, so the sandbar from the Newfound Point to Hairbrush Island is exposed. And once the snow comes (soon!), you need tall winter boots, cross country skis, or snow shoes to visit the Newfound Cottage or Hilltop Lodge. Instead of swimming to Cherry Island, the water on the lake becomes thick enough by mid-winter for trucks to drive right around our islands (usually looking for a place to drill a hole to ice fish). And the hill from Owatonna's HQ to Alumni Field transforms from a summer slip 'n' slide to a perfect winter sledding hill. We'll continue to post pictures of the changing seasons at Camp!