Our Pioneer and Voyager backcountry camping trips are a blend of exploration and adventure.
Expand your camping and hiking experience by spending time on offsite trails at beautiful locations while sleeping under the stars.
Create deep meaningful friendships and grow spiritually by experiencing a week unplugged in God's amazing creation.

Below is a general overview. More specifics are published in our Summer Camp Guide sent to registered campers with their confirmation email and available on the Get Ready for Camp webpage in the spring.

DROP OFF
Check-in times are from 9:30 am - 10:45 am on the date your child’s session begins. We will be staggering arrival times to improve the check-in process. Details will be emailed to you before you arrive.

Plan on entering camp via the Belding Road entrance by our blue acorn sign. Upon arrival, wait for a staff member to greet you at your car. Please make sure your camper is feeling well before you arrive at camp. Your child will have a health screening prior to moving into his/her cabin. The adult accompanying the camper will sign this screening form that includes questions about the child’s recent health and whether the child is clear of lice.

After helping your camper settle in, you will return to your car and make your way toward the exit. Along the way there will be stations to drop off your child's medications (including vitamins, inhalers, EpiPens, etc.) with the camp nurse, to chat with the special food coordinator and/or social worker, and to drop off mail for your camper.

PICK UP
Camper pick-up is from 11:15 am - 12 pm on the last day of the session. Voyager campers are encouraged to stay until 11:45 am to say goodbye to all the campers in their cabins and to check out with their Voyager Trip leaders.

You will be directed to parking areas and how to find your camper's cabin. Be sure to collect ALL of your camper's items before leaving. Campers will only be released to authorized persons based on names provided during registration. Please call the camp office or email the Director to update this information if necessary.

The Camp Store will be open during this time for purchasing camp apparel. Payment can be made with a credit card, check or cash.

Beginning in May, an online health history form will be available for a parent or legal guardian to complete for each camper. This form must be completed before your camper is dropped off at camp. A doctor’s visit and doctor's signature are not necessary.

During check-in on opening day, the person accompanying the camper will be required to complete another short health assessment with questions about recent illness or injury. This brief health screening is necessary before moving into the cabin.

We have a lice and nit-free policy. We require that all campers be checked/treated for lice prior to arrival. The brief health screener at check-in requires a signature stating that you have cleared your camper of lice before dropping them off. Our recommendation is to check and treat your child through a licensed lice clinic, if necessary. 

These trips are great adventures for your camper! Each one is unique and will challenge your camper in many ways. Experienced counselors guide campers through the beauty of the woods and waterways, leading them on a spiritual journey as well. Campers' lives are changed as they grow in responsibility and independence and build lasting friendships.

Campers will spend most of the week away from the camp property. Activities vary depending on the trip they choose. Each trip requires learning to live in the outdoors, hiking from campsite to campsite, setting up camp, cooking, and enjoying each other’s company. Campers are given responsibilities and expected to be involved as contributing members of the group. They do daily devotions together as a group and have individual God time each day within creation.

These are physically involved trips of backpacking approximately 3 - 7 miles per day. Campers must be in good physical condition with stable mental health. Some trips have included mountain biking, canoeing, white water rafting, kayaking, riding a ferry, and high ropes courses. During downtime on trips, campers can play games, swim, take a night hike, and explore coastlines and forests.

When campers are out exploring and hiking, they most often sleep at rustic campsites. At these sites, campers sleep in tents and use cooking equipment that Camp Roger provides.

Each trip is led by two counselors either from our current counseling staff or former staff members. They are trustworthy and energetic people with a passion for God and His creation. On each trip, at least one counselor is trained as a certified American Red Cross Lifeguard and in Wilderness First Aid by SOLO Wilderness and Emergency Medicine.

Wilderness Trip leaders will also be responsible for managing any medications that a camper needs.  At camper drop-off, guardians must turn in ALL medications to the camp nurse in the original containers. The nurse will then instruct the trip leaders on how and when to administer these medications. For safety purposes, campers who must use a prescribed inhaler or EpiPen must bring two to camp. Basic over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol and Ibuprofen will be available in the first aid kit carried by the leaders. Camp Roger's onsite nurse is available to the trip leaders by phone if needed.

Most equipment is supplied by camp, but we do ask that you bring a good pair of hiking boots or shoes, a pair of water shoes or sandals that can get wet and have a back strap on them, and a light but warm sleeping bag. Camp provides backpacks, but if you have your own pack, you may bring that as well. A detailed packing list is included in the Wilderness Trips Summer Guide and is available on the Get Ready for Camp website in the spring.

For breakfast, meals include foods like pancakes, oatmeal, or granola. Lunch is often something that doesn’t require cooking such as sandwiches, pita pockets, wraps, or bagels (with additional items such as fruit, chips, trail mix, etc.). Dinner can be a variety of things from spaghetti to burgers and often includes a classic camp dessert. We pack items that will be light for their backpacks and last without refrigeration. Out in the woods, everything tastes better!

Camp Roger’s Special Food Coordinator is trained and certified (through ServSafe) to provide safe menu alternatives and preparation for various mild to moderate food allergies/sensitivities including nuts, gluten, dairy, soy, and egg. We are also able to provide vegetarian menu options as well. Our goal is to provide foods that are similar to the meals served to other campers.

It is important to note that campers with allergies will be eating next to individuals and eating at tables with food provided that they may be allergic to. If your child has a life-threatening allergy, please contact the overnight camp director to discuss if Camp would be a safe place for them.

Providing this food service replaces parents packing supplemental food for their children. We do not accept special food items for your child. As the number of campers with food allergies/sensitivities increases, this system is safer and easier for campers.

This service is offered to those attending our Wilderness Trips when advance notice is given to our staff to allow adequate time to plan and purchase food items. You will be able to add this service when registering your child. Guardians are required to complete an additional form to collect information regarding special food accommodations. Due to the higher cost of offering these foods, an additional fee will be charged: $45 for Pioneer Sessions and $65 for a Voyager Session.

At the end of each session, lost and found items are gathered and displayed near the Lodge and on cabin porches during camper pick-up.

Please label your camper's items by first and last name. Camp Roger is not responsible for lost items, so please do not send your camper with their best or favorite items to camp. Any items left are stored through the end of our summer camp season. Camp Roger may be able to help locate a lost item after the camper has left camp. Picking up or returning the item to the camper will be the responsibility of the guardians, not Camp Roger staff.