Although the recent snowfall and cold temps scream winter, parents may already be thinking about how their children will spend at least some of their summer. And parents with an eye toward saving money can check out nearby Camp Oak Hill – it has early-bird rates for reservations made before the weekend is over.

Camp Oak Hill, located in northern Granville County, is celebrating its 45^th anniversary this year. Current Board President Missy Edlin said the goal is to have 400 campers over the course of the summer.

In a normal summer, the camp could handle up to 200 campers a week. “We have a heavy protocol for COVID,” she said Friday. The camp follows guidance from the Centers for Disease Control as well as the American Camp Association, of which it is a member. “We want to make sure we’re well prepped for…this summer,” she said. There are different camp sessions, which begin in mid-June, for elementary, middle and high school students.

Registration opened in October, she said, for the 2021 summer camp offerings. The reduced rates end Sunday, at which time she said the rates would go up. Visit campoakhill.org to learn more.

Repeat campers enjoy the variety of activities the camp offers, from campfire singalongs to swimming and arts and crafts. Edlin is excited about a new program for rising high school seniors called Servant Leadership Training. She is putting the finishing touches on the curriculum. That camp is scheduled for July 11-23.

Edlin was herself a camper at Camp Oak Hill, starting in 1986. She was later a counselor and in charge of the aquatics program. As an adult, her ties to COH remain strong. She has been a board member and is now board president.

Her son has been attending the camp for 7 years, she said. There are many others like her family – former campers who now send their own children as campers or counselors.

There are some positions still to be filled for the upcoming summer camp season. Although most, if not all, of the female staff positions have been filled, Edlin is still looking to hire male counselors and staff. Visit the website to learn how to apply.

“I just love the family, and love the community” feel at Camp Oak Hill, which has its roots in traditional Christian values, Edlin said. “Also building that personal relationship with Jesus,” she added. It’s part of what makes Camp Oak Hill such a special place – the sharing and nurturing of faith.

Pandemic restrictions have taken a physical and emotional toll on everyone, but especially children, Edlin said. Children’s spiritual selves also have been affected, she said. We can go to church online, but it’s just not the same thing as being in community, Edlin said. She would like to create ways to be in touch virtually with campers, she said, so “at least they can feel like camp is kind of caring for them.”