On Activity Days you can sign up for:

On Activity Days, YOU decide how you would like to spend your time and what new things you want to try. The day before an activity day, you get to choose from more than 30 activities, from sailing to hiking to horseback riding, to plan your own schedules. We encourage you to experiment with new activities and then focus on your favorites to build skills in those areas. So if it’s water skiing you love, you might learn how to slalom. If you’re just learning to canoe at the beginning of the summer, you might be solo portaging a canoe by the end.

Specialty Day

Once a week, we have Specialty Day, a day of themed events that you and other kids your age plan and implement. You plan the meals, activities, costumes and food for that entire day. Some recent themes have been “Harry Potter Day”, “Dinosaur Day” and “Spy day”. Specialty Day is a great way for you to learn how to work together, be creative and put on an awesome day for the whole camp.

Adventure Day

If you’re in the lodge and you hear 150 kids call out, “What day is it today?” you’ll know, “It’s Adventure Day!” Adventure Day is another Thunderbird tradition. Every Thursday, we pack a sack lunch; leave camp with our village groups, and go to explore the surrounding areas. We might check out the headwaters of the Mississippi, or spend a day playing on the beach. It’s a chance for you to relax, have fun and get to know other kids in your village.

Wilderness Tripping

Wilderness tripping has been an integral part of the Thunderbird program since our inception in 1946. We believe that the backcountry experience helps campers to build self-confidence while developing an appreciation for the wilderness and the necessity of ongoing preservation efforts. Our goal is to educate campers on the "Leave No Trace" (LNT) practices while we provide them with a safe environment to experience the adventure, thrill and challenge of self-sufficiency in the wilderness.

All campers who express an interest, either as individuals or as a cabin group, can participate in overnight trips by backpack, canoe, bike, horseback, sailboat, van or kayak. Campers in groups of 6-10, along with a minimum of two trained staff, begin with day and overnight trips, progressing to longer experiences as their skills improve. A common progression is several half days, an overnight, a 3-day, 5-day, 7-day and a 9-day trip. Prior to departing on trips each camper participates in a program called "Outdoor Living Skills" where they learn LNT practices, weather and safety techniques and trip planning tools. By completing this program prior to departing on a trip we ensure that our campers have the necessary wilderness skills to gain the most from this experience.

Our 8, 9 and 10 th grade campers can choose to participate in our adventure program. We offer extended adventure trips in Minnesota and Wisconsin, the Western States and the Canadian Rockies as well as in the Pacific Northwest.