Camp Manitowa, located in beautiful Southern Illinois just 90 minutes from St. Louis, is your child’s happy place. The place they come to dream about every night and talk about every day. Our campers embrace new experiences with new friends and discover a new sense of independence annd self-confidence in themselves. Every adventure will be with them forever. When campers leave Camp Manitowa they immediately start counting down the days until they come back. Camp is the place where kids can be creative, brave, bold, and find joy. Kids can jump in our lake, fly off the zip line, tie-dye a shirt, play GA GA, hang out with their friends, get advice from their counselor, sing and dance at the campfire… all in one day! When kids grow older their dreams of camp and the friends they make always stay with them. At Camp Manitowa kids learn to be a leader and best friend. It’s is the place where you become you.
Camp Manitowa serves kids entering 2nd-10th grade. We offer a small community of 75-125 campers so each child feels like they are a part of the Manitowa family. Campers choose their core activities throughout the day giving them control over their experience and the opportunity to improve their skills.
Our staff and counselors embrace their responsibilities as role models, mentors, and super fun leaders. They are trained in all the skills needed to run our activities, and are cool, caring young people who love working at camp.
Our Activities
From high adventure to more quiet options, we offer a wide variety of safe and fun activities that appeal to the interests of all our campers.
On the Land
GA-GA dodgeball - Basketball - Soccer - Volleyball - Capture the Flag - Football - Outdoor Living Skills - Fire Building & S’more Making - Roof Ball - Unique Arts & Crafts + Tie Dying - Frisbee Golf - Driving Range - Archery - Drum Making - Music
In the Air
50’ Rock Wall - High Ropes Course - 400’ Zip Line - Jump Shots and Home Runs!
In the Water
Swimming Pool - Canoeing, Kayaking, and Aqua Jump on our 40-acre Lake - Pontoon Boating, Jet Skiing, Tubing, and Beach Trips at 20,000-acre Rend Lake
Special Trips & Programs in Southern Illinois
Our intimate 40-acre property has a so much to offer AND we take advantage of all the adventure opportunities surrounding our property as we shuttle campers in our two tie-dyed hippie buses.
- Rend Lake is a spectacular 70,000-acre recreation complex with a 20,000-acre lake. We provide daily shuttles where campers go to the beach, the visitors center, boat, hike, frisbee golf, bike, drive golf balls, and more!
- Farmers Market. We take campers to the weekly local Benton farmers market where they can buy fruit, artisan bread, pastries, souvenirs.
- Custard Stand. We shuttle cabin groups on delicious outings to the Custard Stand in Sesser, IL, home of the world famous “dream cone!”
- Beautiful Southern Illinois. We take campers to local State Parks for hiking and canoeing adventures.
- Smoky Mountain 9th grade adventure trip. Scroll down for details!
Smoky Mountain Adventure Trip - June 29-July 5
For 13 years Camp Manitowa has offered an amazing Tennessee Smoky Mountain trip for campers entering 9th grade. It’s an awesome 1-week trip where kids push themselves unlike anything else we do at camp. We believe this trip offers a unique opportunity for these campers to create a significant bond with one another, and develop strong friendships through shared experiences, all while gaining a greater appreciation for the outdoors.
Click here to Register for the TN Smoky MTN Trip & CO Rocky Mtn
Our Program
We partner with locally-based professional outfitters, and experts who work alongside our Camp Manitowa trained trip staff who all provide a safe, high-quality, and unforgettable adventure.
Campers meet at Camp Manitowa on Sunday, tie-dye special Smoky Mountain t-shirts, pack out gear and food and hit the road early Monday morning. The first stop is at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville for kayaking and awesome zip lining at Navitat zip line park. The next few days include amazing hikes in the Smokies, cliff jumping, camping out, cooking their food, and wrapping up with an epic white water rafting trip with the Ocoee Adventure Center
Join us on this great trip and create memories that will last a lifetime!
Food
Food is a significant part of a camp experience – you eat every day! We offer a balanced menu with a variety of food kids like. We are a nut-free facility, and because of our small size, we can accommodate almost every food allergy and special dietary need of any camper. We have a relationship with and buy produce from the local Benton Farmer's Market. Each summer, we hire a professional chef who can accommodate any individual camper's dietary need or food allergy. We try to avoid frying food in our kitchen and bake foods that are typically fried. Camp Manitowa is a nut-free facility. At camp, we just take what we need so we don't waste resources. We encourage our campers to take enough food to fill their belly and not to have excess food that gets thrown away. We teach the importance of food and how food keeps us healthy. At Camp Manitowa, no one goes hungry!
Medical
Our Health Center is staffed by a licensed registered nurse with school and camp nursing experience. One of our RNs dispenses all medications to campers as prescribed by your family doctor and treats campers at any time if they are ill or have sustained an injury. Parents are always called when a child stays overnight in the Health Center, needs to see a specialist, or needs to be started on prescription medication. In the unlikely event of a more serious illness or injury, Camp Manitowa is 5 minutes from the Franklin Hospital in Benton. Parents are always welcome to contact our nurse before camp starts and during their child's stay.