How to start a summer camp: the steps, the costs and the timeline.

How do I start a summer camp?

Start nine to twelve months before your first day and work in this order: model, rules, business setup, site, insurance, budget, price, registration, hiring, training. The American Camp Association's starting point is the same: write a business plan that covers who you serve, day or overnight, your site, risk management, financing and your team.

The order protects you. A site will ask for proof of insurance. An insurer will ask about your site and activities. Your price depends on both. Families book summer early, so registration has to be open while you are still hiring. That only works if the dates, the site and the price are already locked.

Months count back from a mid-June first day. Shift it to match your calendar.

Source: American Camp Association, How to Start A Camp, checked 2026-09-17.

Do I need a license to run a summer day camp?

It depends on your state, and sometimes your county. The American Camp Association says states vary significantly in how they oversee camps. In many states camps fall under the health department, and in others permits and fees vary by county or city. Check your state's rules before you sign a site.

Two sets of rules can touch a day camp: camp rules, usually from a health department, and child care licensing rules. Some states exempt short seasonal programs from child care licensing. Washington's statute, for example, leaves out seasonal camps that operate three months or less in a twelve-month period and are engaged primarily in recreational or educational activities. Texas exempts a youth camp from child care regulation when it is licensed by the Department of State Health Services.

Sources, checked 2026-09-17: American Camp Association, State Laws and Regulations and its state pages for Texas, New York, Oregon and California; Texas DSHS, Youth Camp Program; Washington State Legislature, RCW 43.216.010(2)(g); Texas HHS, 2300, Exemption Categories and Types.

1. Open ACA's state page for your state. It names the agency, whether day and overnight camps are licensed, and the background check rules.

2. Call or email that agency with your facts: ages, daily hours, number of weeks, number of campers, the site, and activities such as swimming or field trips.

3. Ask your state's child care licensing agency the same question, and ask whether a seasonal or short-term exemption applies.

4. Keep both answers in writing. Your site host and your insurer will ask. This guide is general information. It is not legal advice.

How many counselors does a summer camp need?

Hire to a ratio. American Camp Association standards call for one adult for every six day campers ages 4 and 5, every eight campers ages 6 to 8, every ten campers ages 9 to 14 and every twelve campers ages 15 to 17. Overnight camps run tighter. Your state may set its own numbers, and the stricter rule wins.

Source: American Camp Association, How to Choose a Camp: Safety Tips, checked 2026-09-17.

The same ACA page sets the age floor: counselors are at least 16 and at least two years older than the campers they work with, and ACA standards recommend that 80% or more of the counseling and program team be 18 or older. Its training list is your agenda for orientation week: safety regulations, emergency procedures and communication, behavior management, child abuse prevention, appropriate behavior with campers, and supervision procedures.

ACA's accreditation standards also treat screening as mandatory and annual. Start background checks the day an offer is accepted, through the process your state names. At least one adult on site should hold current first aid and CPR. A Red Cross CPR certification lasts two years.

Decide how each role is paid before you post it. The IRS looks at behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship. A counselor who works your schedule, under your direction, with your supplies is a question to take to your accountant, along with payroll taxes and workers' compensation in your state.

For a sense of the bar: Journey to STEAM, the enrichment company our founder built, hires fewer than 10% of the instructors who apply, and every one is screened, background checked, trained, coached and observed.

Sources, checked 2026-09-17: American Camp Association, Standards at a Glance; American Red Cross, CPR Certification; IRS, Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee?

Where can I run a summer camp, and what insurance will the site require?

Most first-year day camps rent space: a school, a place of worship, a community center or a park shelter. Expect a written use agreement and a certificate of insurance naming the host as additional insured, commonly at $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. Get the host's requirements in writing before you buy a policy.

One published example of what a host asks for: Irvine Unified School District in California requires outside groups using its facilities to carry $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, to include sexual abuse and molestation coverage, to name the district as additional insured, and to submit the certificate at least 14 calendar days before the event.

On cost, get quotes from an agent who insures camps. Swimming, field trips and transportation change the price. For a rough anchor only: Insureon reports that small businesses across all industries pay an average of $45 a month for general liability, and a camp can price differently.

Sources, checked 2026-09-17: Irvine Unified School District, Insurance Requirements; Insureon, General Liability Insurance Cost.

• Indoor space for every camper on a rain day or a heat day.
• Bathrooms and drinking water close to the activity space.
• One controlled door for drop-off and pickup, and a place to check IDs.
• A spot for first aid, medications and health forms that campers can't reach.
• Storage you can lock between weeks.
• Who else uses the building during your hours, and who holds the keys.

How much does it cost to start a summer camp?

A first-year day camp in rented space has five big lines: the site, counselor pay, insurance, supplies and permits. You pay several of them before tuition arrives, which is why early registration matters. Build the worksheet below from real quotes. A national range won't tell you what your camp costs.

The SBA's method works for camps: list one-time costs, list recurring costs, and project at least a year. For a seasonal business, add one more line, the cash you need between your first expense in the fall and your first registration in the winter.

Sources, checked 2026-09-17: IRS, Get an employer identification number; SBA, Apply for licenses and permits and Calculate your startup costs; FBI, Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions; Stripe, Pricing and fees.

How do I price a week of summer camp?

Price one week at a time. Add the fixed cost of running the week, work out what you keep per camper after supplies and payment processing, and find your break-even headcount. Then check the price against local camps. The American Camp Association reports day camp tuition averaging from $199 a week to $800 or more.

That ACA range comes from its 2018 Business Operations Report, so treat it as a dated reference and look at what camps near you charge this year.

This is an example with stated assumptions. Swap in your own numbers. The week: 30 campers ages 6 to 8, 9 AM to 4 PM, priced at $299.

Example only. Wages, rent, admin share and supplies are assumptions, and the result leaves out payroll taxes, training week and your own pay. The $299 registration math follows enrops pricing: a 3% enrops service fee paid by the family ($8.97) and Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 on the total. Tuition source: American Camp Association, Camp Trends: Tuition, checked 2026-09-17.

Read the break-even line twice. In this example, the week loses money below 22 campers. That number tells you when to open a second group, when to merge two thin weeks and how early your registration push has to start.

Use the SBA's lean format and keep it to two pages unless a lender wants more. For a camp, six lines carry the plan: the families you serve, the weeks you offer, the site, the rules you operate under, the weekly budget with its break-even, and the cash you need before tuition arrives.

ACA's list of planning decisions is a good cross-check: who you serve, day or overnight, the environment, risk management, financing and your team, plus how you will evaluate success. If you borrow or bring in a partner, the SBA's traditional format adds a market analysis, a funding request and financial projections.

Sources, checked 2026-09-17: SBA, Write your business plan; American Camp Association, How to Start A Camp.

The procedure is here. The judgment calls, such as whether camp fits your year and how big to go in summer one, are what operators talk through on The Youth Enrichment Leader podcast. Running programs during the school year too? Read how to start an after-school program business and what youth enrichment means, or see all guides.