Miniwanca

College Programs

Year round community building and leadership development.

Miniwanca’s college programs are intentionally designed to develop individual skills, enhance group effectiveness and challenge students to be leaders strongly invested in their communities. Our staff facilitates fun and engaging experiential activities as metaphors for real world challenges. Participants explore what it means to be their own best self while developing skills that will remain relevant long after they graduate. Our skilled staff will work with your school to create and deliver a customized program to meet your goals.

Experiential activities are the cornerstone of our curriculum. Through team building initiatives, workshops, hikes, and time on our ropes courses, students are challenged to achieve self-directed goals. Led by our team of professional staff, students engage with each other as they learn more about themselves, their leadership skills, and how to work together effectively in team. Carefully guided discussions allow all types of learners to build relationships and make connections to concepts they can apply in both social and academic settings of their university community.

Our staff welcomes the opportunity to work with your group to create a program designed to meet your specific goals.

Learn more through our FAQs, meet our staff or review parent & program contact resources.



A Day in the LIfe

Frequently Asked Questions

Why invest in a Miniwanca experience?

At Miniwanca, we value the need to address the social issues present in a student’s daily life in order to maximize academic and social learning. Research tells us that when we feel social anxiety, the brain’s ability to absorb new information in limited. At Miniwanca, we create a learning environment and community where students feel a sense of belonging, safety and trust. Programs include conversations and strategies to transfer these lessons back to their university community.

How does Miniwanca’s unique setting enhance the program experience?

Miniwanca is situated within a unique ecosystem. Its volcanic mountains and lake, forests, wetlands, streams and meadows provide a rich, bio-diverse environment for students to learn about the world around them. Concepts discussed in class take on new meaning through hands-on exploration. Shared experiences such as making it to the top of a mountain, collaborating to successfully build a raft, or celebrating a discovery at the beaver dam build connections that can reshape the way students work together back at school.

What safety measures does Miniwanca take?

Miniwanca is fully accredited by the American Camp Association and meet or exceed state health requirements and industry safety standards in both our in-camp and adventure trip programs. American Red Cross standards guide our waterfront activities. We have a team of committed, on-site health professionals, staffing multiple fully equipped health centers, with the nearest hospital just 12 miles away. Miniwanca campers are supervised throughout the day and maintain a 1:6 staff to camper ratio so that we can provide a fun, safe summer for our campers.

What qualifications do staff members have?

Staff members strive to be excellent role models by adhering to the camp motto, My own self, At my very best, All the time. Our senior staff members are caring professionals who work with children year-round in camp, school programs and conferences.

Our cabin leaders have completed at least one year of college, are certified in first aid and CPR, and go through two weeks of extensive training at camp prior to the arrival of campers.

Our Four Trails adventure trip leaders are at least 21 years of age, participate in a rigorous 3-week training, and are certified in high-level first aid as Wilderness First Responders. All of our staff members have background checks run against multiple local and national databases.

How do parents communicate with their children during camp?

Children love to hear from their families while at camp! Campers are encouraged to write letters during the session and parents are also welcome to send mail to their camper, or send emails through Bunk1, which our office staff print and distribute every day.

If families have an urgent message, question or concern about their child, our directors are always willing to speak with parents on the phone.

What kind of food does Miniwanca serve?

Following our Food Program guiding principles, we aim to serve a variety of healthy options, including a balance of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables incorporated into a child-friendly menu

Will my child feel included at Miniwanca?

We enthusiastically welcome children with diverse backgrounds, experiences and identities. We value each participant’s right to fully experience Miniwanca free from prejudice and harassment. All of our staff members are trained to supervise children and to prevent and address incidents of conflict or bullying based on any aspect of a person’s identity, including, but not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and religious affiliation.

Program Outcomes

Miniwanca’s community and school programs serve hundreds of youth, educators and youth advocates through programs designed to enhance not only a participant’s skills, but their confidence in themselves and their future. Miniwanca programs help participants develop their character and their connections to the wider world. Our outstanding staff work to create communities where youth feel supported and empowered. Participants discover who they are and what they are capable of achieving.

Season: Year Round
Session: Short term residential



“Miniwanca was a place where I felt comfortable taking risks. Every time someone asks how I chose landscape architecture as a career path, I tell them about Miniwanca because my time spent there allowed me to realize the importance of meaningful place-making and how it fosters connections between people. Miniwanca is with me every day.”

– Miniwanca Alumna