ENROLLMENT INFORMATION
All of our sessions are virtually the same; food and lodging is included, campers live in a cabin of similarly aged children, and they participate in a variety of different activities as well as the evening activities like the Round Dance, Talent Show, Campfire time, and Rendezvous.
All sessions, unless otherwise specified, are for boys & girls ages 5-14.
Two-Week Sessions:
A 13-night program where boys and girls ages 5-14 get to create their own daily schedule by choosing from our 30+ activity offerings. This is our most popular program, as the children get a real taste of the camp magic, and is a great option even for first-time campers! Our most popular sessions.
One-Week Sessions:
A 6-night program similar to our two-week session, just in half the time. One-week campers do have some specific one-week activities (horses, target sports, ropes course), but also do get mixed in with the two-week campers for most other activities (hiking, water sports, arts & crafts, etc.). The names of the sessions (Pioneer vs. Explorer or Trailseeker A vs. Trailseeker B) are simply used to determine the specific session in question; there is no real difference between any of the different weeks. A popular session with our first-time campers.
All one week-campers live with other one-week campers. i.e. if friends want to be in the same cabin as one another, they must be enrolled in the same type of session. We cannot house a camper signed up for a two-week session with a camper here for a one-week session.
Adventure Camp:
A 6-night traditional Friendly Pines Camp program where boys and girls, ages 5-14, will have their favorite activities daily and still have the chance to try new activities each day as well; this is the only major difference from a one-week session, and allows the campers to have 5 activity periods in a day instead of 4. Popular with returning and first-time campers alike.
A common question we get is “Why does this session cost less?”. Adventure Camp happens at what we consider an “awkward” time of year…not all of the Arizona schools (or schools in other states for that matter!) are out by the end of May. We lower the price compared to our other sessions in hopes of attracting more people to this somewhat less busy week. Same quality of program, same activities, just a less desirable time of year!
Adventure Trails:
A 6-night program for boys and girls, ages 10-16, that focuses on horseback riding, horsemanship, and horse care. All skills taught are to prepare campers for a two-day, overnight horseback trip. Campers that love horses, have extensive prior experience with horses, and want to ride all day, every day usually go for this session. Campers who like horses, but don’t have much experience with them or want to participate in our other activities should choose a different two- or one-week session; these campers can still sign up for plenty of horse activities! Very limited enrollment; Previous horse riding experience & extensive time spent around horses necessary for participation.
“Why does this session cost as much as a normal one-week session, even though it has the same dates as Adventure Camp?”. Despite the fact Adventure Trails happens during that “awkward” time of year we mentioned before, this is a HIGHLY specialized session, with extremely limited enrollment. Extra plannings, staff, and resources go into making the Adventure Trails session a success, and our rate reflects this.
Family Camp
For info on Family camp, please visit this webpage.
Upon enrollment, you will pay an initial deposit:
- Two-Week Sessions: $750 per camper ($650 after 10/31/21)
- One-Week Sessions: $570 per camper ($470 after 10/31/21)
- Adventure Camp: $460 per camper ($360 after 10/31/21)
- Adventure Trails: $470 per camper
On 3/1/21, you will be charged a secondary deposit:
- Two-Week Sessions: $450 per camper
- One-Week Sessions: $190 per camper
- Adventure Camp: $145 per camper
- Adventure Trails: $190 per camper
The purpose of the secondary deposit is to break up the payments; in the past, enrollees would pay their deposit in the fall, then a large lump sum in May.
You will have until March 1st to cancel without penalty (less a $100 cancellation fee) should you feel the need.
After March 1st, your deposit (initial + secondary) becomes non-refundable.
Final payments are due and become non-refundable on May 1st.
FAMILY CAMP: Final payments due July 1st. Cancellation deadline is July 1st. Families may cancel until then and get all money back paid up to that point, less a $100 admin fee. After this date, refunds are not available.
We ran a HUGELY successful camp program in 2021, mitigating risk while focusing on fun and connection. If nothing changes significantly by Summer 2022, we have plans in place to ensure we will be able to care for your children.
Please know that if COVID-19 is still a risk, we will take conservative safety measures to ensure our programs are as safe as possible for your family. Community health and risk management have always been paramount for us, but COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of parent partnership on an unprecedented level. If the virus is still a threat, participation in FPC’s programs will require you and your family to help us keep our camp community safe from outbreaks.
Possible COVID policies (several of which were in place for our 2021 season!) we may need to implement in 2022 and future summers, should we deem it necessary:
- PCR Testing before arrival at camp
- Social distancing efforts
- Wearing masks in mixed-group, indoor situations
- Requiring staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID
- Encouraging campers (that are eligible) to get vaccinated (should widespread vaccinations be available for all ages of campers)
- Keeping campers in their cabin groups for the first few days of camp & having them follow a set schedule (but then allowing them to move into individual-choice schedules after we’ve passed the point of symptoms showing up)
- Possibly more, depending on local, state, and CDC guidance
You can read more about our COVID policies we implemented for Summer 2021 by clicking here.
- -$190 for siblings in a two-week session
- -$110 for siblings in a one-week session or Adventure Trails
- -$85 for siblings in Adventure Camp
Sibling discounts automatically applied to the second, third, fourth, etc. child enrolled. When siblings are enrolled in sessions of varying length, the discount is applied to the shorter stay.
- -$190 for every additional two-week session by one camper
- -$110 for siblings in a one-week session or Adventure Trails
- -$85 for siblings in Adventure Camp
Our tuition covers all activities, food & snacks, and housing for their entire session.
We do charge an additional fee for bus transportation and transportation from the airport (but only if these options are offered in 2022!), but most parents choose to drive their children to camp themselves.
Your camper may have some small charges added to their Camp Store account during their stay; Charges to the child’s store account are made for laundry charges (in excess of $10; an option two-week campers only), any purchases, craft and sewing supplies, transportation charges, “pre-existing” medical prescriptions, etc.
Our little ”store” exists only for the campers’ needs (not for any camp profit!) and the counselors monitor all purchase requests. We carry a limited selection of necessities such as toiletries, stamps, writing materials, etc. We don’t sell food, gum, or soda.
After summer, when accounts for ALL SESSIONS are finally posted and figured, you’ll receive a statement for any store charges. After you have had a day or two to look it over, a charge will be made to the credit card we have on file.
(FYI: We do have an online camp store where you can buy Friendly Pines Camp shirts, sweatshirts, fleece, backpacks, hats, and more. Click on the shopping cart icon at the top of each webpage on our website, or click here!)
Some sessions will have waitlists. Particularly sessions that are in ‘desirable’ times during the summer, or offer a specific program (like Adventure Trails, our horse-specific session).
The likelihood of getting into a session you’re waitlisted for is hard to call; there are so many factors that go into waitlist movement. It kind of depends on the year, the session, and how much before or after the cancellation deadline (May 1st) we’re at. We’ve had waitlists in the past that had 15 people who all eventually were able to get into the session, but conversely, we’ve had waitlists of one person that never had any movement. So determining how likely your camper is to get in to a specific session is really not always possible to determine.
There is no penalty for waitlisting, nor is there any money that has to be put down to reserve a spot on the waitlist. If you’re at all interested in potentially getting into a specific session, it is in your best interest to at least get on the waitlist. We will email all campers on a given waitlist first, should spots open up. You can register as normal; upon ‘check out’, you will select the waitlist option right in your shopping cart. You can also enroll for a session that does have availability AND the session that you’re actually interested in but has a waitlist; if a spot opens, we will be able to manually switch your registration. That way you can still get a spot somewhere during the summer.
If you have questions about the waitlist or what position you’re currently in, please contact registrar@friendlypines.com or call us at (928) 445-2128.
We are sometimes able to offer camperships. Typically, when we do award camperships, they cover a portion of tuition (as opposed to the entire tuition cost).
We aren’t usually able to determine our ability to offer aid each year until after our May 1st final payment/cancellation deadline.
There is an application process for those seeking campership money. You are welcome to email info@friendlypines.com at any time requesting the application packet.