Operation Camp

Operation Camp provides opportunities for military children to make meaningful connections. For military children, who may face moving to a new city, state, and school every two to three years, these friendships, support networks, and memories last a lifetime.

Operation Camp focuses on:

Operation Camp is provided through the Gateway Region YMCA’s Camp Lakewood and is open to military children ages 8-16, with weekly sessions running from June 4 through July 30.

YMCA Camp Lakewood is where kids come in the summer time to have fun, learn new skills, make new friends, and to simply be a kid. Your camper will forget all about television, video games, and smartphones while discovering the ultimate childhood experience, all within the safe and trusted environment of the Y. Camp Lakewood provides a well-rounded experience for campers and gets them outdoors to connect with nature. With a 360-acre lake, over 5,000 acres of forest-covered hills, caves, creeks and more, there are many opportunities for natural exploration and experiential learning. Whether it’s campfires, swimming, archery, climbing tower, zip line, sports, canoeing, cookouts, fishing, kayaking or a multitude of camp games, every camper delights in waking up with a renewed sense of excitement as to what new activities each day at camp will bring.

Camp Lakewood is located in Potosi, Missouri which is about an hour and 40 minutes from Fort Leonard Wood. Camp Lakewood is a residential overnight camp, not a day camp.

All Camp Sessions will begin on a Sunday and end on a Friday. Guardians will be responsible for drop-off and pick-up of your camper from the Camp Lakewood camp site.

The Armed Services YMCA of Missouri will be providing scholarships for kids from Fort Leonard Wood to attend Camp Lakewood.

• The camp fee is a one-time fee of $150.00 per camper. Camp Lakewood’s scholarship covers the remaining registration fee of $1,180.00 per camper per session.
• All meals will be provided during your campers stay.
• Each camper is eligible for one camp session scholarship.
• Campers must be from an active military family stationed at Fort Leonard Wood to register.
• Should you want to attend a second camp session, contact the ASYMCA of MO for pricing.
• There are no additional fees unless you choose to register for any specialty electives for your camper, or add money to your camper’s account for them to use at the camp store.

For any retired/veterans please call us directly at 573-329-4513 for an alternate option as the $150.00 registration is for active-duty families only.

If for any reason you need to cancel your registration, a refund of the $150.00 registration fee may be requested no later than 2 weeks prior to your camp session start date which is always on a Sunday. For example, if you are attending session 2 which begins Sunday, June 11th, the final day to request a refund will be Sunday, May 28th. All refund requests must be submitted by email to zguller@asymca.org. As long as the email is sent by the 2-week prior date, your refund will be processed.

Registration for summer camp 2024 is open. Camp dates are June 2 – August 2, 2024. Registration closes no later than June 30 or when all slots are filled. You can get started by registering here.