About
Camp Elawa includes activities such as collecting chicken eggs, harvesting fruits and vegetables, learning about bees and other pollinators, and exploring gardens to see how food is grown. Campers visit farm animals, create arts and crafts to take home, cook in a learning kitchen, and share meals with one another each day. Farm Camp is a week-long exploration and discovery of Elawa, and Farm Explorers spend time getting their hands dirty and enjoying farming activities, while the Farm-to-Table Cooking Camp focuses on aspiring chefs who learn, cook, and enjoy kid-friendly dishes.
• Ages: 5–11 years old
• Schedule: Week-long sessions, Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Elawa Farm Foundation states that its mission is to steward a historic farm as a center for experiential learning to broaden access to education, nutritious food, and the local food system. The foundation notes that it fosters inclusive, welcoming, and supportive programs for children and adolescents of all abilities, with programming that is adaptable to meet age-specific physical and social developmental needs. The Discovery Garden used in programming is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.
Elawa Farm was built in 1917, and Elawa Farm Foundation was formed in 2002. Through a public-private partnership, Elawa Farm Foundation and the City of Lake Forest work together, with the City owning the property and maintaining historic buildings, and the foundation providing community programming, educational interpretation, and management of the farm grounds, market, kitchen, and educational initiatives. An organic public garden at the site was developed and maintained by local volunteers and garden enthusiasts before garden staff were later hired.
Elawa Farm sits on the ancestral homelands of the Council of Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi, and the land was also a prominent place of trade for the Sauk, Meskwaki, Miami, Menominee, Ho-Chunk, and Kickapoo peoples. It is located within Middlefork Savanna, which is described as home to the highest quality tallgrass savanna in the nation. Adjacent areas include the Middlefork Savanna, managed by the Lake County Forest Preserve District, and the Middlefork Farm Nature Preserve, stewarded by Lake Forest Open Lands Association. Camp Elawa 2025 camp registration opens in February 2025.
Last updated January 9, 2026.
• Ages: 5–11 years old
• Schedule: Week-long sessions, Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Elawa Farm Foundation states that its mission is to steward a historic farm as a center for experiential learning to broaden access to education, nutritious food, and the local food system. The foundation notes that it fosters inclusive, welcoming, and supportive programs for children and adolescents of all abilities, with programming that is adaptable to meet age-specific physical and social developmental needs. The Discovery Garden used in programming is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.
Elawa Farm was built in 1917, and Elawa Farm Foundation was formed in 2002. Through a public-private partnership, Elawa Farm Foundation and the City of Lake Forest work together, with the City owning the property and maintaining historic buildings, and the foundation providing community programming, educational interpretation, and management of the farm grounds, market, kitchen, and educational initiatives. An organic public garden at the site was developed and maintained by local volunteers and garden enthusiasts before garden staff were later hired.
Elawa Farm sits on the ancestral homelands of the Council of Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi, and the land was also a prominent place of trade for the Sauk, Meskwaki, Miami, Menominee, Ho-Chunk, and Kickapoo peoples. It is located within Middlefork Savanna, which is described as home to the highest quality tallgrass savanna in the nation. Adjacent areas include the Middlefork Savanna, managed by the Lake County Forest Preserve District, and the Middlefork Farm Nature Preserve, stewarded by Lake Forest Open Lands Association. Camp Elawa 2025 camp registration opens in February 2025.
Last updated January 9, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.