The reason Birch Bay Ranch exists is to run adventure-packed, life-changing summer camps. We love the excitement of Sunday afternoons, when the Ranch is all ready for the week of campers to arrive. We love giving kids and teens the opportunity to try new activities, learn new life skills, experience nature and develop spiritually over the course of a week. We love singing silly campfire songs and leading devotionals in the cabins. We love everything about summer camp! We work hard all summer to provide an unforgettable experience. But what many of our summer campers don't know is that the fun doesn't stop at the end of August. We're open year-round, and we're busy!
Here's a little breakdown of what we're up to all year:
January-April
All year long (with the exception of July and August), we operate as a group rental facility. That means anyone can rent our facilities, and we'll provide meals and run our fun activities for them while they're here. During this time of year, we cater to groups who want to come enjoy the winter wonderland we have out in the country. We provide some pretty fun winter activities like snowshoeing, ice carving, nature hikes, archery, sleigh rides and trail rides (and some indoor activities, too). In addition to the outdoorsy-type groups, we also host many church retreats, band and choir camps during this time.
During the first few months of the year, we also take the time to do much needed renovations on our buildings and facilities, as well as undertake new building projects like the water tank building we put up this year for our indoor arena. Malcolm and Eric, our Maintenance team, are always busy this time of year. We're also busy in the office applying for grants, planning fundraising events, and -- of course -- planning for our next summer of camps!
Now is also the time we start hiring our seasonal staff, so if you're interested, apply right now! This includes four- and six-month positions, as well as our summer volunteer positions.
May-June
Towards the end of April, the frequency of our rental groups starts to pick up. During the spring and fall, we can have as many as five or six groups out on our property at once, with groups every day of the week! Groups can stay overnight, or just come for the day, and we provide accommodations, meals and activities. Here are some of the types of groups that come out:
- School field trips and retreats
- Outdoor education or phys ed classes
- Church retreats
- Youth groups
- Girl Guides, Brownies, Pathfinders and Scouts
- Corporate team building days or retreats
- Crafting and scrapbooking retreats
- Family reunions
- Birthday parties
At this time, we're also training all of our staff for the summer ahead, and putting the finishing touches on what will become our summer camp program. We also host two major fundraising/community events in the spring: first, Bands & Bids, our concert and auction fundraiser in early May. Then, Family Fun Day, our very popular open house event here at the Ranch, which will take place on June 6th this year.
July-August
Summer camp! We run eight weeks of summer camp with 100 campers per week. A week of camp is activity-packed and so much fun. (And pssst... summer camp registrations will open February 1st -- register right away to get the dates you want!)
September-October
September and October can be just as busy as May and June. After camp wraps up, we give our staff and horses a week off, and then we dive right back into group rentals. The same types of groups who come out during the spring keep us busy all fall!
November-December
While we still have rental groups in November, they slow down somewhat, so that we have time to make any necessary repairs to our facilities and get everything ready for winter. We also decorate our Main Lodge for Christmas. If you've never seen it all decorated, you should come out to our next Alumni Reunion Banquet -- it's truly magical out here!
During December (with a little overflow into November and January), we're busy providing Christmas banquets to all sorts of groups as well. We decorate the Main Lodge to the nines, provide hot refreshments like coffee, tea, apple cider and hot chocolate, run sleigh rides and then serve a full turkey dinner banquet with all the fixins! And don't forget about the decadent dessert buffet. Our cook, Alma, does an amazing job with these banquets!
Year-Round
The office is always open to take rental bookings and handle the administrative tasks of running the Ranch, and our year-round staff of eight people come to work every day to make sure groups are taken care of, the property is well-maintained and clean, and that we're ready for summer camp. Of course, part of taking care of the Ranch is taking care of our wonderful horses. This time of year, they're so shaggy with their winter coats, you'd hardly recognize them! Horses require maintenance all year round to make sure they're healthy and happy for when they'll start doing trail rides every single day, beginning around late April.
So there you have it! That's what a typical year at Birch Bay Ranch looks like!