Twin Cities area YMCA day campers have enjoyed a slice of Prior Lake called Camp Kici Yapi since the mid 1960s.
The somewhat hidden camp is located at 13220 Pike Lake Trail, just north of County Road 42.
The 80 acres of woodlands, trails and lakes was acquired by the YMCA to be developed into a day camp for children. It was originally run by the Blaisdell YMCA and later by the Minnesota Valley YMCA in Lakeville, before being taken over by its current operator, the Southdale YMCA.
"When you think of what you want a day camp to be, this is your blueprint," said camp director and caretaker Dave Mayer. "Most day camps across the country meet at schools and go out on field trips to places like this by bus. The Minneapolis YMCA is lucky enough to own five day camps with property similar to this one."
Camp Kici Yapi, which means "growing together," allows 4- to 11-year-old children from the cities the opportunity to participate in activities not available to them at home, Mayer said.
"We do horses, archery, arts and crafts, canoeing, kayaking, row boating, climbing, outdoor education, cookouts, nature walks and have a couple large athletic fields for dodgeball, kickball and other activities," Mayer said.
Max Athorn, 23, of Minneapolis directs camp leaders in a training program to teach children ages 12 to 17 how to lead a camp group.
Athorn has come to Camp Kici Yapi for 17 summers. He started coming to the camp as a 6-year-old. In 1997, he attended the leader-in-training camp, which he currently directs.
"Nothing makes you feel old as a 23-year-old more than saying you have worked at the same place for nine years," Athorn joked. "I am a city kid, so this was the only opportunity I had to do archery and canoeing. It was my way to escape city life."
Many of the children who come to Camp Kici Yapi are from Minneapolis. The camp gives most of them their first opportunities to ride horses, get into canoes or shoot with bows and arrows, he said.
Although in the past, most of the day campers have been from surrounding areas, the camp has seen an influx of children from Prior Lake, Savage and Shakopee in recent years.
"This camp is right in their backyard, and a lot of people don't know it's here," Mayer said. "It's cool that people are starting to discover it and local people are coming out."
Camp Kici Yapi entertains about 4,200 children during the summer. There are generally 360 day campers who attend camp every week. Most of the children come to camp for one to three weeks during the summer, Mayer said.
The traditional day camp does not include horse training. Traditional camp costs $165 for five days for YMCA members and $185 a week for non-members.
The camp offers older children specialty camps focused on one of the camp's activities for half of the day every day, while the other half of the day is dedicated to the other core activities. The specialty camps range in prices. The horse camp costs members $250 a week and non-members $270 a week.
Some of the specialty camps are: arts and crafts; fishing; outdoor living; climbing; Y extreme summer camp; and several horse camps.
The camp is designed to prepare children for overnight camps.
Camp Kici Yapi is best known as a horse camp, with one of the largest horse programs in the Midwest, boasting 52 horses, three miles of riding trails and two riding rings.
"We are known as a horse camp, but we would like to be known for other things as well," Mayer said.
Over the last couple of years, the camp has added a 110-foot tube slide and a climbing wall for younger children. The camp also boasts a 40-foot climbing wall to challenge the older climbers.
The camp directors are always adding new trails to the land so children see new things when they come back.
"Over the years, I have seen the outstanding effort that has been put into the program development at camp," Athorn said. "It used to be this cute little day camp, and now it has turned into a larger operation without losing its cute qualities.
"While the program has grown, summer camp remains a timeless thing," Athorn said. "The kids get rained on, dirty and stomp through horse poop. It transcends time for children who don't have these opportunities in everyday life. It's a great experience for me to see these kids experience all the things I enjoyed doing 17 years ago."
Day campers take away the four core ideals of the YMCA: caring, honesty, respect and responsibility, Mayer said. "Through all the activities, these are the values we as counselors concentrate on."
This year's camp spaces are sold out. Many day camps held at schools shut down in mid-August to get the buildings ready for school, so those are the first weeks to fill up, Mayer said.
Early camp registration begins Jan. 2 and runs through the first weekend of March. Regular registration is kicked off at the YMCA rally day, held the first weekend in March.
"I'm really passionate about this place," Mayer said. "I take pride in the way it looks and the way it is run."
In the past few years, the camp directors have focused on making the camp more family-friendly and improving communication between parents and counselors, Mayer said.
"All we want is for the kids to have fun. We worry about all the details," he said. "I want kids to enjoy the things they don't get to do at home. You read so much about how kids spend too much time inside with their video games. Parents come here and see all of this and realize this camp and the land it's on is really something."
People can call any YMCA to set up a tour of the camp any time of year. The camp offers a family night for new, current and former camp members as well as anyone who wants to tour the camp every third Thursday during the summer.
The next family night is Aug. 2 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. A second family night is scheduled for Aug. 23 at the same time. There is no cost and no need for registration.