Dates, Rates & Themes

What better way to spend your week at camp than with the cool island vibes of a Hawaiian paradise? We will be introducing campers to summer fun and games with our Aloha themed week.

Teen Adventure Camp: Two Week Program

The Teen Adventure Camp or TAC is a Two week program for boys and girls aged 13-15. It’s designed to provide a new camp experience at Cullen for campers that have participated in our main camp programing and need a change of pace or for new campers looking for a summer camp program with a little more adventure. Adventure camp will also feature a survival scenario game that will test the teen’s knowledge on the priorities of survival and execution in a narratively driven story.

The teen camp staff have received certifications from the YMCA as lifeguards, from Adventure Experience as high challenge course facilitators and as first aid responders prior to the start of camp.

By the end of their experience teens that have participated in this program should leave Cullen with:

• Lifelong friends that they have spent the entire experience with bonding over fun and at times challenging scenarios
• Gained skills and confidence in wilderness scenario’s
• And most of all, the culmination of all of this will be a wonderful and fun experience

Campers will experience ancient civilizations and learn how different cultures from the past thrived. The whole week will take the campers from the beginnings of time through present day, just in time to be picked up by their parents.

Our Sci-Fi week will take the campers on a journey to the future, imagining what might be possible, and living that dream at YMCA Camp Cullen through futuristic fun and games themed around technology, space travel and other-worldly adventures!

The Teen Leadership Camp or TLC will be a two-week program that will provide opportunities and trainings for campers to develop and build upon their leaderships skills, not just as a prospective counselors but also in developing post high school skills. These skills will include resume building and interviewing preparation as well as teambuilding activities to promote cooperation, collaboration and confidence building. Teens will also be involved in a service project that will provide them with an opportunity to make a positive impact and difference beyond the camp. The Teen Leadership Program is designed for boys and girls aged 16 -17 years old. Participants are campers who are wanting something different from the regular camp experience and are perhaps looking to become camp counselors themselves in the next year or two. The teen camp staff have received certifications from the YMCA as lifeguards, from Adventure Experience as high challenge course facilitators and as first aid responders prior to the start of camp. By the end of their experience teens that have participated in this program should leave Cullen with:

• Lifelong friends that they have spent the entire experience with
• New skills and confidence that they can use for the rest of their life
• Certification in ASHI and Basic Life Support from the YMCA
• Should they wish to continue their camp experience and become a counselor that inspires and motivates another generation of youth to be the best versions of themselves throughout this process our teen counselors and lead will evaluate their performance and successful participants will fast track themselves into a position on the camp staff when they turn 18
• And most of all, the culmination of all of this will be a wonderful and fun experience

Example Itinerary Week One: Bonding and Orientation Week

*Talent show preparations to be done during rest period time, introduced during camp orientation. The purpose of which will be to get the TLC participants to share their talents or perhaps widen/stretch the comfort zones a little as doing so can be an essential ingredient for a camp counselor as well as confidence boosting in general.

Week Two: Certification, Training and Preparation Week

This week the United States celebrates its birthday! Join Camp Cullen in a revelry of all the best things about this country. Campers will enjoy a special 4th of July cookout. Don’t forget to pack your stars and stripes themed clothing!

Super Heroes week will transform camp into a battle ground for the superhuman. As the forces of good and evil collide at YMCA Camp Cullen, we will need your camper’s help to set the world right.

This is where we take the campers on a trip around the world, without ever leaving the safety of the camp ground. Campers will experience all kinds of culture and learn from our counselors who hail from all over the world.

Teen Adventure Camp: Two Week Program

The Teen Adventure Camp or TAC is a Two week program for boys and girls aged 13-15. It’s designed to provide a new camp experience at Cullen for campers that have participated in our main camp programing and need a change of pace or for new campers looking for a summer camp program with a little more adventure. Adventure camp will also feature a survival scenario game that will test the teen’s knowledge on the priorities of survival and execution in a narratively driven story.

The teen camp staff have received certifications from the YMCA as lifeguards, from Adventure Experience as high challenge course facilitators and as first aid responders prior to the start of camp.

By the end of their experience teens that have participated in this program should leave Cullen with:

• Lifelong friends that they have spent the entire experience with bonding over fun and at times challenging scenarios
• Gained skills and confidence in wilderness scenario’s
• And most of all, the culmination of all of this will be a wonderful and fun experience

The Wild West inspires children’s imagination the world over, and it's no different here at YMCA Camp Cullen. We will take the campers on a journey through the frontier towns and troubles, helping the sheriffs and upholding the law.

This week we’ll be presenting the kids with the awe-inspiring sights and sounds of the world and its natural beauty. We’ll surround them with programming designed to intrigue, inspire, excite and instill respect for the world around them.

Teen Adventure Camp

Teen Adventure Camp is a specialty program defined by it innovative, and bold take on classic primitive camping. TAC consists of a two week program for participants ages 13-15 , broken down into two six day sessions, all at our Camp Cullen facility, focusing on the basic and intermediate skill development of wilderness survival, creative problem solving, orienteering, and conservationism to name a few. Participants have the opportunity to obtain and hone these skills during the first week of of TAC, where we will operate in both a classroom environment and in the field working on theory and praxis. Week two is where participants put their skills to the test, participating in “Plane Crash”, “Shipwreck”, as well as an overnight canoeing trip, and other various scenarios designed to challenge participants and create the ultimate outdoor adventure experience. The program is designed to encourage youth to develop their leadership skills, and to create lasting friendships through an exhilarating outdoor adventure here at our Camp Cullen facility.

Week 1:

Skill development

• Survival Rule of 3
• Shelter Building
• Fire Building
• Orienteering
• Trapping (theory only), Hunting (theory only), Foraging & Fishing
• Basics of Wilderness Medicine
• Wilderness Conservationism
• Various lessons to underline the importance of YMCA core values in day to day life, and how they apply to the wilderness

TAC Packing List >

Pack your bags for a journey of nonstop fun!

Our Great Adventure week will take campers on an exciting trek through the wonders of nature surrounding us. Campers imaginations will climb to new heights in the mountain climbing themed adventure.

Make sure you tie up your shoes as you step into this amazing week of your best summer ever!