What to Know
Before you arrive at Camp Michigania, get the lowdown on policies, safety information, and other helpful resources to ensure you have a memorable and enjoyable experience.
What to Know
Before you arrive at Camp Michigania, get the lowdown on policies, safety information, and other helpful resources to ensure you have a memorable and enjoyable experience.
Michigania is a family camp, and all campers and staff comprise a supportive and encouraging community. We ask that everyone treat each other with courtesy and respect. We welcome campers and staff from all backgrounds, and we want everyone in this community to feel welcome to be themselves and have the absolute best time of their year. Please have fun, please be safe, and please lead with kindness.
Policies
There is a gated entrance to Michigania, allowing us to monitor who comes in and out of the property. The gate opens at 3 p.m. each Saturday for the start of check-in, which is held at the Education Center.
If you need to exit Michigania during the week, you can ring the doorbell between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and the office will open the gate for you. Outside of those times, you will need to check out a gate access card from the office before you leave and return it the next day.
Michigania’s policy with regard to alcohol and drugs is consistent with state law:
- In Michigan, the legal age for the purchase, distribution, and consumption of all alcoholic beverages is 21. Those who violate the law will be held legally responsible for their actions and may be required to forego the balance of their week at Michigania. In addition, future attendance at Michigania may be denied.
- It is the responsibility of those who have alcoholic beverages at Michigania to make certain they are not available to minors at any time, including ensuring that all alcoholic beverages are stored securely inside their cabin unit (not in common rooms, on front porches, etc.). Michigania is a family camp and should be treated as such at all times. Consumption in program areas and other common areas should be kept to a minimum. Campers choosing to drink should do so responsibly, with an awareness that inappropriate, alcohol-impaired behavior that is dangerous to themselves or dangerous/disruptive to others may result in Michigania administration intervening and possibly asking them to forego the balance of their week. In addition, future attendance at Michigania may be denied.
- The use, possession, or distribution of illegal drugs is strictly prohibited. Campers are also responsible for properly handling and securing prescription medications. Those who violate the law will be held legally responsible for their actions and may be required to forego the balance of their week at Michigania. In addition, future attendance at Michigania may be denied.
Participants must be at least 10 years old to participate in Riflery. Private guns, ammo, bows, and arrows are not permitted at Michigania.
To ensure the safety of all campers and enhance the “camp” atmosphere, the use of vehicles at Michigania is severely restricted. After unloading belongings to your cabins, campers should park their car in one of Michigania’s parking lots.
Unless authorized by the administration, cars should not be driven to cabins, program areas, or anywhere else at Michigania until the end of the week. Campers who leave Michigania mid-week should walk to and from the parking lots. Pull carts will be provided at each lot to aid those who need to transport items between their cabin and their car during the week.
Bicycles may be ridden only in designated areas at specified times. These include the Camp road, west of the North Camp parking area. Campers are requested to walk their bicycles to and from their cabins. Please ride slowly and use extreme caution at all times.
Michigania follows the University of Michigan’s drone policy. Operation of a drone is prohibited unless the use is approved by U-M’s Institutional Autonomous Systems Committee.
All guests must be registered and paid for 2 weeks prior to your arrival at Michigania. The daily rate for guests is $250 per person.
Guests are not allowed to rent a space nearby and come to Michigania daily. If a guest is at Michigania for more than 3 days, it’s considered a full week.
Respect for the rights of others is essential if everyone is to enjoy their Michigania experience. We remind you that sound carries at Michigania (more than you may realize), and many children and adults attempt to sleep early in the evening. If you are being disturbed, we encourage you to make your concern known. We expect that an appeal for quiet will generate a positive, cooperative response.
Excessive inappropriate behavior, as determined by the Michigania administration, may require campers to forego the balance of their week at Michigania. In addition, future attendance at Michigania may be denied.
Some of our best friends walk on all fours, but we simply don’t have accommodations for them at Michigania. Please leave your pets at home with a friend or at one of our local kennels. Information on these local kennels can be found online or by contacting the Michigania office.
The Alumni Association recognizes the increased prevalence of service animals in society. The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, under ADA requirements, defines a service animal as follows:
Service animals are defined as animals that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task an animal has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Animals whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
Per ADA and Department of Justice guidelines, the service animal policy for Michigania is as follows:
A written request from a camper to bring a service animal to Michigania must be submitted no later than 30 days prior to the start of the week the camper will be attending Michigania. The letter must answer and agree to the following terms:
- Is the animal a service animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?
- The animal shall wear a service animal vest at all times when outside the cabin.
- The animal should be on a leash at all times, be under the control of the owner, and not be allowed to run loose. This includes the entire Michigania grounds, hiking trails, beaches, and roads.
- The animal shall not threaten or disturb (including barking) any other person or persons, nor any Michigania program.
- The owner must immediately pick up after the animal and properly dispose of any waste.
The Director of Camp Michigania shall have the authority to ask that a service animal be removed if the terms of the above policy are violated.
At this time, Michigania is not able to accommodate emotional support animals.
Because of the serious dangers associated with fire, we ask all campers to be especially careful with matches, cigarettes, and other flammable materials. Smoking and vaping are prohibited except in designated areas.
Smoking and vaping are only permitted in two locations:
- On the hill northwest of the Education Center.
- Near the staff parking lot, west of the horse pasture.
Safety Information
Limited space is available for campers to bring private boats. Small boats may be launched at Michigania’s boating area. Larger boats may be launched at the Sumner Road public access. Private boat owners are expected and required to:
- Register their boats/watercraft prior to launching their boat, either through the online form or at the Michigania office when they arrive.
- Not make a wake within 100 feet of a sailboat.
- Not make a wake within 100 feet of the mooring area.
It is the responsibility of those who use Michigania-owned vessels to comply with Michigan state law and Michigania’s rules and policies.
Life Jackets
All campers must wear a properly-fastened life jacket in any Michigania-owned boat. Those ages 0-9 (or children in 4th grade and under) must wear a life jacket when on the boat docks. Michigan law requires that one life jacket per person be on board every boat. The sheriff patrols Walloon Lake regularly and will not hesitate to give you a ticket if you violate this law. Michigania’s life jackets are for everyone’s use. Please return them to the boathouse when you are finished.
Swimming/Wading
Swimming and/or wading in the boating area is prohibited. Please use the swimming area during open hours.
Signal Flags
Located on the flagpole next to the boathouse, these flags signal the following:
- GREEN indicates that the boating area is open.
- YELLOW indicates abnormal conditions and restricted sailing (check with staff for details).
- RED indicates the boating area is closed due to normal schedule or hazardous weather conditions. Please bring your boat in immediately.
There is a sense of security and well-being at Michigania. It provides many opportunities for personal growth and development. Children, in particular, are often given more freedom and less supervision than usual. While we all would like the Michigania environment to be worry-free, there are risks present.
Children must not be left unsupervised on the docks or near the water when the boating and swimming areas are closed, and they may not visit the riding stable and venture into the horse stalls unattended. These are but two examples of activities (both in violation of Michigania rules) with potentially serious consequences.
It is the responsibility of parents and guardians of minors to supervise the children under these and similar circumstances and times. Everyone, and in particular adults attending with children, should be cognizant of and obey Michigania rules (provided in each cabin unit and available at the office) and use common sense to avoid potential hazards. Parental/adult supervision of children is needed at Michigania just as much, if not more, than at home.
The Michigania infirmary is located on the lower level of the Education Center and is staffed by a medical professional during posted hours.
- In case of a serious medical emergency, if you are able, please call 911 first to get the emergency response in motion.
- In case of a medical emergency during the day, report to any staff person and a medical professional will be contacted.
- In case of an emergency during the night, you may choose to go directly to Northern Michigan Hospital’s emergency room (located in Petoskey, approximately 15 minutes from Michigania; directions are on the Emergency Action Plan posted in your cabin) or may contact the Michigania administration per the information posted in your cabin.
In order to help minimize the potential for accidents, please obey Michigania’s safety rules, which have been established for everyone’s safety and well-being.
Michigania is a magical place, but we need your help to proactively prevent health issues and ask you to follow these guidelines:
Lice Checks
All children under the age of 18 will be checked by our trained staff at the Education Center prior to heading to their cabins. Specific instructions and follow-ups will be given to those found to have evidence of lice.
Healthy Kids
We ask you to bring healthy children to Kids Camp, and if you’re unsure, please take your child to the Michigania nurse.
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are an issue affecting almost any place around the world that welcomes visitors. We continue to be highly proactive in working to minimize the incidence of bed bugs and have comprehensive extermination processes in place.
Vaccination
At the advice of medical consultants, and in accordance with travel industry trends, at this time, we will not be requiring proof of vaccination or testing prior to attending Michigania this year.
Due to previous vaccination requirements, we are confident that most of our camper population will be vaccinated at Michigania. We strongly encourage those who are eligible to be vaccinated to do so.
Masking
- Masking at Michigania is optional and an individual choice. Individuals who wish to continue wearing a mask are encouraged to do so in any area at Michigania. Assess your own risk and risk tolerance for COVID-19 exposure and make the choice that’s right for you and your family.
- Please recognize and respect that some in the community will make a different choice than you. Please be kind and respectful of these personal choices.
- Individuals who were exposed to someone who tested positive, but did not test positive themselves, may be asked to mask indoors.
- If you are not feeling well and don’t test positive, we encourage you to wear a mask in indoor settings.
Testing
- Testing will not be required to attend Michigania (subject to change).
- A limited number of tests will be available at Michigania, but we encourage you to travel with your own. You may also be asked to go into town to obtain a test.
- If anyone tests positive for COVID-19, they will be asked to leave Michigania, and anyone who was in close contact will be asked to test as well.
Staff
Camp Michigania staff are required to be vaccinated in accordance with University of Michigan employee guidelines.
Other Resources
Michigania has handicap-accessible cabins available for campers. Also, a limited number of golf carts are available for campers who have difficulty walking since Michigania has many hills and dirt roads. Golf carts can be rented for $125 per week. We ask that golf carts are reserved for those individuals with mobility challenges.
Check the lost and found area in the Dining Hall North Lounge. A lost and found box can be found in each program area but are all brought to the Dining Hall North Lounge at the end of each week. If you cannot find an item in the area you lost it or in the Dining Hall North Lounge, check with the office.
Valuable items (wallets, watches, cameras, jewelry, etc.) are taken to the Main Office, and a loss report can be made in the office. Unclaimed items are given to charity 14 days after the end of each week. If you arrive home and realize you are missing an item, please contact Michigania as soon as possible. If your item is found, we will ship it to you at your expense.
Additional charges for materials and other expenses are assessed in the following program areas:
- Ceramics/Arts & Crafts
- Horseback Riding
- Nature
- Riflery
Children’s groups in the morning are not charged program fees.
Exact amounts for the above-mentioned materials/activities are available at those program areas. Charges incurred in program areas are added to your Michigania account. Invoices are emailed to campers following their week at Michigania. Final payments may be made online or by check.
University of Michigan Wi-Fi networks are available in all cabins and program areas around Michigania. While we don’t intend to rely heavily on Wi-Fi for programming, it allows us to be better prepared for emergencies and to increase our offerings for year-round programming.
There are two networks available:
- MWireless, for anyone who has an active U-M login.
- MGuest, the network most campers will utilize.
Please note that we do not have the ability to turn off Wi-Fi in individual cabins or units. We encourage families to have conversations on the proper usage level that your family is comfortable with.