The end of the school year is still four months off, but it’s already time for local parents to be thinking about summer camps. As our sister publication the Traverse City Ticker reported last month, local summer camp programs have been in hot demand in recent years – with some, like the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA in Traverse City, selling out in a matter of minutes. Below, we have your guide to Leelanau County’s numerous summer camp offerings.

Norte: Though Norte Youth Cycling is based in Traverse City, the nonprofit offers youth bike camps in other northern Michigan towns as well, including in Glen Arbor. This year’s summer bike camp is available for kids in grades 1-8 and will run Mondays through Thursdays for 10 weeks, from June 15 through August 27. Registration is now live.

Pathfinder: The Pathfinder School offers four different summer camp tiers: “Explorers,” for kindergarteners and pre-K students; “Discovery,” for students going into grades 1-2; “Voyagers,” for grades 3-4; and “Adventure,” for grades 5-7. Camps book up on a week-by-week basis, with eight weeks of programming available this summer, from June 15 through August 7. Sign-ups are open.

Northport Youth Sailing School (NYSS): NYSS draws hundreds of students from dozens of states to its sailing school each summer, with classes taught by U.S. Sailing-certified instructors. This year, NYSS is offering five weeks of classes, with the first starting on June 29 and the last concluding on July 31. Registration opens in April.

Shady Trails Camp: Also located in Northport, this camp serves children aged 5-14, with six weeks of camps available this summer, starting June 29 and running through August 7. Registration opened yesterday.

Camp Invention: A nationally-recognized camp offered by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Camp Invention brings “hands-on STEM experiences to K-6 students across the country,” with camps offered at various local schools. In Leelanau County, Camp Invention will be at Suttons Bay Elementary School from August 4-8.

Camp Leelanau for Boys & Camp Kohahna for Girls: With a history that dates back more than 100 years, these camps “offer comprehensive summer camping programs for young people enrolled in the Sunday Schools of Christian Science branch churches.” Both camps offer a “day camp” option for young kids (ages 5-8), with sessions available June 21-27 and July 12-18. Longer sleepaway camps are available in two-week, three-week, four-week, and seven-week sessions for kids 6-17.

Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC): GAAC offers two youth camp levels each summer: “Art Rangers,” for ages 6-12; and “Clay Cubs,” for ages 7-12. Both camps are set to run seven weekly sessions this summer, starting June 15. Art Rangers camps will be held at GAAC, while Clay Cubs sessions will be at Thoreson Farm. GAAC has 12 slots available weekly for Art Rangers and 10 for Clay Cubs, and all camps are set to open for registration on March 1.

Northport Arts Association (NAA): The NAA just announced its camps for summer 2026, with registration beginning in March. First up are the nonprofit’s creative arts camps, “dynamic, small-group art experiences designed to spark imagination and build creative confidence in young artists.” Open to kids 7-12, those camps are available in four sessions this summer, with morning and afternoon offerings available from July 6-10 and August 3-7. Then, on July 18, NAA will host a plein air experience for kids 17 years old and younger, from 10am to 3pm at Haserot Park. Finally, from July 27-31, NAA will offer a brand-new “youth wheel throwing” pottery and ceramics workshop, available for ages 12-18.

Leland Township Public Library: Though not a traditional summer camp, the Leland Township Public Library offers free children’s programming on many summer Fridays from June 19 to August 14. This summer’s sessions include music and movement with Miriam Pico (June 19), a visit from the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum (June 26), live interactive storytelling with Jen Strauss (July 10), an “interactive drum and rhythm experience” with Lori Fithian (July 17), a show by Clark the Juggler (July 24), a bilingual music day (July 31), musical entertainment from Luunappi (August 7), and improv for kids (August 14). All sessions start at 10:30am and are free and open to the public. Most events are held on the library lawn by the river, weather permitting.

Old Art Building (OAB): Summer programs aren’t just for the kids in the family. Each year, the OAB in Leland offers a Plein Air Painters Program, where artists meet at different locations around the county each Wednesday for open-air painting experiences. This year’s program will run 19 weeks, from May 20 to September 23, with each session running from 9am-1pm on Wednesdays. All participants will have their work featured at OAB’s 6th annual Clothesline Art Show, which is scheduled for Wednesday, August 19.

Leelanau Investing For Teens (LIFT): In the past, LIFT has offered summertime programming for incoming 6th-12th graders, with activities including fishing trips, pontoon adventures, beach bonfires, movie theater outings, and Traverse City Pit Spitters games. In 2025, the program ran from late June to mid-August. LIFT Associate Director Audrey Luksch tells The Ticker that LIFT is still nailing down its summer plans, but will “be prepared to roll out” that information in the springtime.

Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA): While ISEA Executive Director Fred Sitkins says the Suttons Bay nonprofit “doesn’t really do camp-like activities where families sign up,” locals could still see a little more programming from the organization this summer. “We are making a concerted effort to have one of our ships in Suttons Bay more this summer than we have in the past, so there will be family-friendly public programs on our calendar,” Sitkins teases.

Traverse City camps

Some of the biggest summer camp offerings in Traverse City also serve residents of Leelanau County, including:

Grand Traverse Bay YMCA: The most popular summer camp in northern Michigan, this day camp offering – based at the YMCA South located just off South Airport Road in TC – draws kids from throughout the region, including Leelanau County. The camp offers space for 250 campers per week for 10 weeks of the summer, from June 15 through August 21, with camp days running from 7:30am to 5:30pm. Registration for this summer’s camps opens today (Monday) at 7am sharp, and is only open to families with active YMCA family memberships.

TCAPS Summer Explorers Club: This camp is for TCAPS students in grades K-5 and runs June 22 to August 21. The camp has two sites – Long Lake Elementary School and Cherry Knoll Elementary – and will serve approximately 70 TCAPS students per site. Registration opened on February 6.

Northwestern Michigan College’s College for Kids: Also now open for registration is NMC’s immersive summer program, which includes kids classes for disciplines like culinary, art, recreation, music, STEM, and writing.