Camp Experience
What makes Camp Arcadia such a special place? Is it the setting? The community? The simplicity of recreation and relaxation each day? We’d say it’s a combination of many factors. Depending on the retreat you attend, you’ll get to experience Camp Arcadia in a unique way (more on that below), but there are a few hallmarks of the RKD Experience that are consistent in each retreat type.
Worship:
Worship is integral to the Camp Arcadia experience. Whether you are here for a weekend or a week, we set aside time to worship together. Weather permitting, we often have evening vesper services at the Chapel on the Beach, an outdoor worship space overlooking Lake Michigan. We also offer candlelit, contemplative worship called Arcadia Evening Prayer during our family weeks.
Community:
Camp Arcadia is known for the sense of community found here. Whether you attend Camp with friends and family or not, you’ll soon find that the Camp community is warm and welcoming. From talking to other parents as children play on the playground or meeting new friends during a Camp activity, guests often talk about how the people they meet at Camp is one of the main reasons they continue to return year after year!
Service:
Camp Arcadia’s staff work hard to make your retreat a total relaxation experience. During the summer, roughly 40 young adults take care of everything from cooking to cleaning, from Youth Bible study to leading evening activities! During late summer and fall retreats, volunteers and paid staff of all ages give their time and energy to do the same. At Camp Arcadia, we want to give you the full freedom to rest and recreate without worrying about the next meal or activity for yourself or your family to enjoy.
Family Retreats
After enjoying your hot cup of coffee on the Inn’s front porch, mosey into the Dining Room for a buffet breakfast with your family. As the kids head to their various Bible study groups, find a spot in the Assembly and engage in thoughtful and heart-felt teachings with Camp’s community of believers led by the deans for the week. Feeling refreshed in God’s Word, you may decide to participate in a tournament or stop by the craft shop before lunch.
After another meal that you didn’t have to plan, prepare or clean up after, your family makes their game plan for the afternoon: joining the family kickball game, followed by a local wine tasting for mom and dad, or time at the beach.
Your family enjoys a hearty dinner before attending the evening activity: an old-fashioned square dance. Though you were skeptical, it turned it out to be one of the highlights of the week. Your family fills up a booth in the Trading Post, ordering ice cream treats galore and finishing every last melty drop just in time to watch the sunset over Lake Michigan. Good thing you still have four full days left at Camp!
Teen Retreats
As your roommates quiet down for the evening, you think back on your first day at Camp. Highlights of the day included team challenge activities and group time, where you feel like you’re really starting to get to know and trust the people in your group. The food was great – with options for even your pickiest friends at every meal, and of course there was always room for ice cream. It was so great to spend some free time with your friends this afternoon before dinner – you ended up sitting on the patio together and just talking about life. And of course, Vespers were amazing – singing to God while watching the sunset over Lake Michigan? You can’t beat that. What an awesome day… and just think – you get to do it all again tomorrow!
Adult Retreats
At Camp Arcadia’s adult retreats, enjoy an unhurried pace: sip your coffee on the front porch, linger for good conversation over a meal, sit on the patio with your book or your friends.
At Summer Starter Retreat look forward to days filled with optional golf outings, biking, hiking, shopping or site-seeing, and spend evenings being refreshed by God’s Word in an evening Dean’s Program.
During the Lutherhostel Retreat, for adults aged 65+, enjoy morning Bible studies and discussion sessions, lots of time for fellowship, and great field trips to local areas of interest.
Fall weekend retreats include Men’s Retreats or Women’s Retreats – which run Friday through Sunday morning, offering sessions taught by the main spiritual leader as well as breakout sessions, group activities, and lots of free time to truly retreat and relax.
Fall Confirmation Retreats
Fall Confirmation Retreats, much like a mini-Teen Retreat, are fast-paced and high energy – with Bible study and evening vespers led by the dean and days filled with team-building activities and games. These retreats offer the opportunity for local churches and schools to bring groups to Camp for a weekend retreat on the shores of Lake Michigan.