Updated Friday, March 17, 2023
ABOUT CAMP
Chester Bowl Camps are based on a philosophy of nature play, positive social interaction with peers, teen mentors, and adult staff, and immersion in nature. We see campers thrive in an environment where they are given age-appropriate amounts of choice, responsibility, and risk. A typical day may include unstructured play time on the playground, group games and activities with both the full group and smaller groups, arts and crafts, hiking through Chester on the way to a local field trip, fort building, making boats from natural materials, playing in the creek, smiling, laughing, making new friends, and asking “do I really need to go home now?” at the end of the day
REGISTRATION TIMELINE & AVAILABILITY
Registration opened first to returning families on Thursday, March 9, 2023. New families can register starting Thursday, March 16 at 2pm. The registration link is posted on this webpage and will remain posted.
CAMP IS FULL: As of 3/17/23 camp is sold out with the exception of the week of July 3 at Lower Chester. We do have waitlists available for each week and camp location but some waitlists have 10 or more campers on them. If you would like to sign up for the waitlists in the hopes of getting into camp we encourage you to do so. However, the only way we can register campers from the waitlist is by having campers cancel from camp registration which allows us to fill their spots. We have no way to predict this happening and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to move people from the waitlists to registration.
If a family is signed up for a waitlist and isn’t able to get into camp, the $75 registration fee will be refunded to that family.
AGE REQUIREMENT & HOURS
Camp is Monday through Thursday, June 12 through August 17. There is no camp on July 4. Campers can be dropped off starting at 8am and must be picked up before 5pm each day. There are no early drop-off or late pick-up options at Chester Bowl. Parents are required to adhere to the camp drop-off & pick-up times and there will be no exceptions made to the times listed above.
Campers must be between 6 years old (or have completed kindergarten) and 12 years old at the start of camp in order to attend.
COST & SCHOLARSHIPS
Each week of camp costs $160 per camper ($120 week of July 3) and there is one-time $75 family registration fee. Scholarships are available and can be requested at the time of registration. We offer several ways to pay. Parents may pay in full at the time of registration, select a monthly payment plan, or request a scholarship. If you are requesting a scholarship, checkout without making a payment and Sam Luoma will contact you regarding the your request. We award every scholarship that is requested so if money is an issue do not let it be a barrier to your child attending camp at Chester Bowl.
Parents have until May 1 to have camp paid in full or have requested a scholarship. After May 1, 2023 campers that have an open balance will be removed from camp and their spaces will be offered to campers who are on our waitlist. If you have questions about this please email sam@chesterbowl.org.
May 1, 2023 is also the deadline to make schedule changes for your camper and receive a partial refund. Parents have until May 1 to cancel registration and receive a refund minus a $20 admin fee for each week that is being canceled. After May 1, 2023 no refunds will be provided for camp.
CAMP LOCATIONS
The day camp is offered in three locations all within Chester Park.
- Lower Chester is located at the Rip Williams ice rink and Lower Chester community center, 1417 E 5th St, Duluth MN, 55805. Lower Chester offers a paved play surface where campers can skateboard, roller blade, bike and play games. It’s also close to the beloved “Lava Beach” swimming hole.
- The Thom Storm Chalet or “Middle Chester” is located at the foot of the ski hill in Chester Park, 1801 E. Skyline Parkway, Duluth MN, 55812. Located in Chester Bowl Park, the chalet offers campers a chance to play on the ski hill and an opportunity to play on the playground.
- The Soccer Field or “Upper Chester” is located at the end of the road in Chester Park (same address as the chalet). There, we take advantage of a huge garage which serves as home base. Campers at Upper Chester get the opportunity to play in the giant soccer field, build forts in the corner of the park, and are a close hiking distance from Saint Scholastica’s campus.
Each camp location offers unique opportunities for play but all three sites offer very similar programming built around the Peace in the Park philosophy. Campers at all three locations will be able to experience all the great things that the park has to offer and will spend time each week in the different park locations. For example, Lower Chester may hike up to Upper Chester to play on the playground and Chalet and Upper Chester groups may hike down to Lower Chester to play on the hockey rink. No matter where your camper is signed up they will have an awesome experience!
HOW TO REGISTER
We use the online registration software provided by Regpack to manage our registration for summer camp. Following the timeline above, a link will be emailed out to returning families on March 9th. Families will then follow this link to our online registration where they can register their children, complete our required forms, and select a payment option. Starting March 16th, the registration link will be posted here for new families.
Please note that our registration software automatically adds a “registration protection” option to your order. This is a fee from Regpack, not Chester, and may be a “defaulted on” selection. If you do not want to pay that fee, please be sure to check that you have opted out before completing your registration! Also, if you make changes and go back to the checkout page, please confirm that this fee has not been re-added to your cart.
Follow this link to our registration guide for step-by-step instructions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19JL404jIIHay1X5wUf9OdQHBX7EDhzDBDGUgpnhfRvk/edit?usp=sharing
HERE IS THE LINK TO REGISTER FOR CAMP: https://www.regpack.com/reg/templates/build/?g_id=100911872
PARENT HANDBOOK
It is important that each family understands what Chester Bowl camp is about and the policies we have in place at camp. Parents are expected to review the parent handbook prior to the first day of camp, preferably before registering their children for camp. To view the parent handbook follow this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xh8CIylbZdjwZ_f2vM2VN_mKuv5Ju0y6/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103099477608474867310&rtpof=true&sd=true
SUMMER CADET PROGRAM
We will be offering the Summer Cadet Program, a teen volunteer opportunity, again this summer for those that have completed 7th grade up through those who are 15 years old. Find out all of the details and register here: https://www.chesterbowl.org/summer-cadet-program/
QUESTIONS
Getting registered for camp can be challenging especially for new families. If you have questions about camp, registration, or anything else please email sam@chesterbowl.org.
