YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha Camps is an arm of the State YMCA of Michigan which administers a pair of camps in northwestern

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Started in 1904 with the founding of YMCA Camp Hayo-Went-Ha for Boys, the organization provides year round outdoor activities. The primary focus of both camps is the summer program, which offers two to four-week, single gender camp experiences for children in 3rd through 11th grades. Other functions include outdoor education and challenge course retreats for local schools and cross-country skiing. The arches on the veranda of the Boathouse, a building near the center of camping activity that houses waterfront activities, the camp store, a common area. The Boathouse, constructed in 1907, is the oldest standing building at the Hayo-Went-Ha and is a recognizable symbol of the camp. The camp's name is a variant of

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

, legendary founder of the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

YMCA Camp Hayo-Went-Ha for Boys

Camp Hayo-Went-Ha for Boys lies in Central Lake Township in Antrim County,

along the northeastern shore of

Torch Lake (Antrim County, Michigan) Torch Lake is a lake in the Northern Michigan, Northern Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. At long, it is Michigan's longest inland lake, and at approximately 29.3 mi2 (76 km2), it is Michigan's second largest inland lake, ...

, occupying on a cape called Hayo-Went-Ha point. Founded in 1904 by the State

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

of Michigan, the camp has operated continuously as a summer camp for boys between 4th and 11th grades. Buildings on the boys camp have been named for generous donors and past campers including Bonbright Lodge given by a Flint Industrialist, the Dow Building and the Stanley S. Kresge Lodge.

Summer programs

The camp offers overnight programs for different age groups ranging from finished 3rd grade to 11th grade and 2 or 4 week programs. These programs will go on various trips ranging from an overnight stay in the meadow on camp property for the youngest or 3 weeks of exploring the Alaskan wilderness for the oldest boys. Each group is categorized with a unique name under 3 divisions:

Pioneer Division

* Adventurer (Finished 3rd Grade, 2 Weeks) * Trailblazer (Finished 4th Grade, 2 Weeks) * Pathfinder (Finished 5th Grade, 2 Weeks) * Pioneer (Finished 5th Grade, 4 Weeks)

Voyageur Division

* Voyageur (Finished 6th Grade, 2 Weeks) * Bushwhacker (Finished 6th Grade, 4 Weeks) * Trekker (Finished 7th Grade, 2 Weeks) * Viking Sailor (Finished 7th Grade, 4 Weeks) * Viking (Finished 7th/ Grade, 4 Weeks)

Bush Division

* Islander (Finished 8th Grade, 2 Weeks) * Kayaker (Finished 8th Grade, 4 Weeks) * Isle Royale (Finished 8th Grade, 4 Weeks) * Rover (Finished 9th Grade, 2 Weeks) * Bush Ranger (Finished 9th Grade, 4 Weeks) * Navigator (Finished 9th/10th Grade, 4 Weeks) * Alaska (Finished 10th Grade, 4 Weeks)

Leadership Corps

This program is for completed 11th grade campers that help prepare themselves to become future Hayo-Went-Ha staff.

YMCA Camp Arbutus/Hayo-Went-Ha for Girls

During the 1980s, attempts were made by the state YMCA to include girls in camping activities. In the early 1990s, a girls' camp was formed at nearby Bows Lake. This facility, however, proved to be insufficient for long term use. The state YMCA then acquired Camp Arbutus (), a camp south of Traverse City, Michigan on Arbutus Lake, which became the new site of YMCA Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha for Girls.

References

External links

* {{Summer camps in Michigan Buildings and structures in Antrim County, Michigan Buildings and structures in Grand Traverse County, Michigan 1904 establishments in Michigan Hayo-Went-Ha Hayo-Went-Ha