McGaw YMCA Camp Echo Adventure Trips

McGaw YMCA Camp Echo Adventure Trips includes canoeing, backpacking, paddling, swimming, hiking, and exploring the many islands and shorelines. Adventure Trips are designed to provide unforgettable, life-changing experiences for teens entering grades 7–12 and take the skill building opportunities, friendships, and fun of traditional summer camp on the road. Campers load up their gear and head to their destination to start their adventure and live and travel with a group of campers of all genders on Adventure Trips.

• Ages: 12–17 years old
• Schedule: Trailblazers I includes a second week with a 3-night, 4-day backpacking or paddling excursion; Trailblazers II includes five nights camping in the backcountry; Minnesota Canoe includes eight days paddling and portaging; Porcupine Mountains Backpacking includes eight days on the trail; Isle Royale Backpacking includes eight days backpacking

Campers stay in camper cabins at Camp Echo during their first week on site for Trailblazers I, with options for male-identifying, female-identifying, and all-gender cabins, depending on demand and cabin capacity for each session, and tent camp while on their adventure trips and upon return to Camp Echo. Campers stay in all-gender camper cabins at Camp Echo during their first week on site for Trailblazers II. Campers tent camp at Camp Echo and at primitive campsites along the trail for Minnesota Canoe, Porcupine Mountains Backpacking, and Isle Royale Backpacking. Campers are provided with all meals, including during travel, along with a souvenir, and all trip costs are covered in the camper's program fees, with no more than $20.00 per two weeks in additional spending money recommended. A typical session offers only 7–8 spots for paddling or backpack trips. Campers learn about the equipment and skills required for Minnesota Canoe and Porcupine Mountains Backpacking during the first few days at Camp Echo, and after a few days of preparation at Camp Echo for Isle Royale Backpacking.

Trailblazers I is an introduction to Camp Echo’s Adventure Trip Program for rising 7th and 8th graders, and Trailblazers II builds on the progressive challenge model of Camp Echo’s Adventure Trip Program. Minnesota Canoe takes place in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, a protected area on the Minnesota–Canada border with over 1,000 lakes and streams. Porcupine Mountains Backpacking takes place in the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Isle Royale Backpacking explores Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park on a two-week backpacking adventure trip. Camp Echo teen programs offer progressive challenges, leadership opportunities, fun, and outdoor adventures for teens entering 9th–11th grades and for teens entering 9th–12th grade. Camp Echo has an extensive network of hiking and horseback trails.

Adventure Trips range from 4 to 12 days in backcountry settings around the United States. The Adventure Trips Unit Leader role requires at least 2 years of prior experience leading Adventure Trips in a wilderness setting for Camp Echo or in a similar program. The leadership team for Camp Echo includes Executive Director Bernard Rocca, an Adventure Trips Unit Leader, an Echo Corps Program Coordinator, a Junior Staff Unit Leader, a MESH (Mental, Emotional, Social Health) Unit Leader, a Health Director-In-Residence, a Camp Physician referenced in standing orders for the Health Director-In-Residence and Health Officer, and a Food Services Specialist referenced in the Dining Hall Steward description. The YMCA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit social services organization dedicated to Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility. Camp Echo notes “Honoring 100 Years of Camp Echo” and has hosted the inaugural ETHS E/LEAD cohort.

Last updated February 22, 2026.