Ninety seconds: That’s roughly how long it took the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA to sell out 10 weeks of summer camp programming in 2025. Such is the state of camp demand in northern Michigan. With February just days away, summer camp sign-up season is once again upon us, and The Ticker has your guide.

Grand Traverse Bay YMCA

Last year marked the first time the local YMCA offered online applications rather than in-person registration. The change solved some problems – parents camping out overnight in February to secure camp slots for their kids – but introduced new challenges.

“I think there is a group of parents that really appreciated the in-person registration, because it was in their control,” says YMCA Senior Program Director Thomas Graber. “If they were dedicated to getting those spots, they could control that, whereas now, it's like, ‘How fast can I submit this form online?’”

YMCA will keep the online application system for 2026, with sign-ups set to go live at 7am on Monday, February 16. As in the past, the application window will prioritize parents with active YMCA family memberships. The Y has also been working to prepare members for the process, sharing the layout of this year’s application and a (currently inactive) registration URL so parents are ready to go the moment the clock strikes 7.

That promptness will be vital, Graber says. The YMCA system filters submissions based on timestamp.

“Last year, we opened registration at 7:00, and I think our last application that got a spot was timestamped 7:01:30. So, about 90 seconds,” he says. “We had received somewhere around 400 submissions before we closed it down around 7:30am.”

The good news? The YMCA has (slightly) expanded its numbers.

“The last two years, we've operated out of two different sites: our YMCA South location, as well as at the TCAPS Montessori School off of Franke Road,” Graber says. “This year, we're going to consolidate to our South location, but we did work with the state to increase our license capacity. So, although we're going from two sites to one, the total number of kids served is actually going to increase slightly, from 240 campers per week to 250.”

YMCA summer camps are among the most in-demand in northern Michigan, thanks to their near-comprehensive schedules, which run from 7:30am to 5:30pm, five days per week, for 10 weeks of summer, June 15 through August 21.

Other local summer camp options

Registration is already open for many local camps, including:

Norte Youth Cycling: Norte’s youth bike camps have “more than 1,000 openings at locations in Traverse City, Elk Rapids, and Glen Arbor.” Camps meet Monday through Thursday and are available in June, July, and August.

Camp Invention: This nationally-recognized STEM camp, developed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, will be offered at multiple local schools, including Old Mission (June 15-18), Cherry Knoll (June 15-18), and Westwoods (June 22-25).

Interlochen’s Arts Discovery Day Camp: Sessions are one week and will be offered for seven weeks starting June 22 and ending August 7. All camps are for ages 7-12 and are held at the Interlochen Community School building.

Camp Carvela: Located in Long Lake Township, Carvela offers day camp and overnight camp options beginning in mid-June.

Pathfinder: Weekly camp sessions are available June 15 to August 7 for pre-K through seventh grade.

YMCA’s Hayo-Went-Ha Camps: Hayo-Went-Ha offers camps for grades 3-11, with overnight sessions that run 2-4 weeks for a variety of outdoor adventures. Also available: a summer day camp option for kids aged 5-10.

Grand Traverse Tennis Camps: Offered by long-time Traverse City Central High School tennis coach Larry Nykerk, it will run throughout the summer and include opportunities for all ages, including adults.

The Children’s House: This program runs 8am-4pm for nine weeks this summer, from June 15 through August 21 – albeit, with a week off for Cherry Festival. Registration opened January 5 “to current and Fall 2026 school-year families only,” and expanded to the general public yesterday, January 23.

A few other camps will open their sign-ups in the weeks and months ahead, including:

ELEV8 Summer Program: The Traverse City climbing gym offers “climbing, outdoor time, arts and crafts, and games” during day camps lasting 2-5 days, with separate instruction for 6-9-year-olds and 9-14-year-olds. Registration opens at 6pm Monday, January 26.

Crooked Tree Arts Center: The TC Crooked Tree location will open registration for its K-12 arts camps in “late January.”

Traverse Area Community Sailing: TACS has summer programs available for kids and adults alike, with 2026 registration opening February 1.

Northwestern Michigan College’s College for Kids: Registration opens February 2 for NMC’s immersive summer programs, which span disciplines like culinary, art, recreation, music, STEM, and writing.

Grand Traverse Conservation District’s Nature Day Camp: Also on February 2, sign-ups open for this camp, geared toward kids 6-11 and available for 10 weeks, from June 15 to August 21.

Human Nature School: This camp offers outdoor experiences for ages 5-12. Camp meets Monday through Friday from 9am-3pm, and sessions run June 22 to August 21. Registration opens Feb. 2.

TCAPS Summer Explorers Club: Available for TCAPS students in grades K-5, this camp runs June 22 to August 21, with registration opening February 5.

Old Town Playhouse’s Young Company: Half-day (ages 5-8) and full-day (ages 8-16) camps are available for this four-week summer program, which culminates in end-of-summer performances. Registration typically opens in March.

Grass River Natural Area: The Bellaire nonprofit will offer four non-consecutive weeks of summer camps this year (June 22-25, July 6-7, July 20-23, and August 3-6), with openings for ages 6-11. Registration opens March 18 at noon.

Northern Blooms Montessori: The school’s summer camp will be back for a third season this year, running June 9 to August 22. Applications open in the spring.

Elk Rapids Schools Summer Kids’ Club: Registration packets for this program have historically been sent in April. The camp is open to school-age students, entering kindergarten through 5th grade, and runs June, July, and August.

Old Mission Peninsula School: The charter school’s camps all take place in July and are open to students heading into grades 1-6 (Camp Island View) or kiddos age 3-6 (Preschool Camp). Contact the school for registration.