Minnesota National Guard Youth Camp
Camp Ripley, 15000 Highway 115, Little Falls, MN 56345-4173
About
Minnesota National Guard Youth/Teen Camp offers a one-week camp session that includes biking, archery, orienteering using a compass and map, and team building activities. Campers take part in military vehicles and equipment demonstrations, a tour of a military museum, a flag ceremony, an overnight campout, sports, riflery, campfires, a kid-friendly confidence course, waterfront activities such as swimming and canoeing, and arts and crafts. Youth campers are split into teams of 20–35 and spend the week with their team completing a series of scheduled activities that are age-appropriate and safe.
• Ages: 10–15 years old
• Schedule: One-week camp sessions offered Week 1: July 26–August 1 and Week 2: August 2–August 8
Approximately 300 youth ages 10–15, including dependents, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren of current and retired Minnesota Guard members, attend Minnesota National Guard Youth/Teen Camp each year during July and August. During the one-week camp session, they spend seven days experiencing the camp program and its surrounding environment. Campers sleep in their sleeping bags on bunks in barracks, with one overnight campout in tents for campers aged 12 and 13.
A group of Minnesota National Guard members first discussed establishing a youth education program in the summer of 1988, and in September 1989 the Adjutant General, Major General Eugene Andreotti, appointed the Family Program Manager to establish a youth camp program. A State Coordinator was appointed in November 1989, and the first planning meeting was held in December 1989. In August 1991, 104 youths attended the First Annual Minnesota National Guard Youth Camp, and in 2001 Teen Camp was created for 13 to 15-year-olds with a focus on respect, friendship, leadership, teamwork, self-confidence, self-esteem, and community involvement. Since then, the Youth Camp Program has developed into a Minnesota non-profit organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, and a Board of Directors oversees the planning and conduct of all operations.
The purpose of the Minnesota National Guard Youth Camp is to provide a unique and enjoyable opportunity for Minnesota National Guard dependents to explore the environment in which they live and be more responsible in maintaining the environment for future generations, to provide a positive experience in a safe and caring environment, to assist youth in understanding why their Guard member serves in the National Guard, and to help youth cope with the stress and confusion of separation or deployment. All volunteers are active, retired, spouses, or dependents of members of Army or Air National Guard members, and the program solicits, screens, and trains these volunteers to serve as staff for all youth camp activities.
In October 1992, after a thorough investigation during the 1992 camp session, the American Camping Association (ACA) classified Youth Camp as an accredited camp. Youth Camp was the first accredited National Guard Youth Camp in the United States and continues through the re-accreditation process and remains an ACA camp.
Last updated February 23, 2026.
• Ages: 10–15 years old
• Schedule: One-week camp sessions offered Week 1: July 26–August 1 and Week 2: August 2–August 8
Approximately 300 youth ages 10–15, including dependents, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren of current and retired Minnesota Guard members, attend Minnesota National Guard Youth/Teen Camp each year during July and August. During the one-week camp session, they spend seven days experiencing the camp program and its surrounding environment. Campers sleep in their sleeping bags on bunks in barracks, with one overnight campout in tents for campers aged 12 and 13.
A group of Minnesota National Guard members first discussed establishing a youth education program in the summer of 1988, and in September 1989 the Adjutant General, Major General Eugene Andreotti, appointed the Family Program Manager to establish a youth camp program. A State Coordinator was appointed in November 1989, and the first planning meeting was held in December 1989. In August 1991, 104 youths attended the First Annual Minnesota National Guard Youth Camp, and in 2001 Teen Camp was created for 13 to 15-year-olds with a focus on respect, friendship, leadership, teamwork, self-confidence, self-esteem, and community involvement. Since then, the Youth Camp Program has developed into a Minnesota non-profit organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, and a Board of Directors oversees the planning and conduct of all operations.
The purpose of the Minnesota National Guard Youth Camp is to provide a unique and enjoyable opportunity for Minnesota National Guard dependents to explore the environment in which they live and be more responsible in maintaining the environment for future generations, to provide a positive experience in a safe and caring environment, to assist youth in understanding why their Guard member serves in the National Guard, and to help youth cope with the stress and confusion of separation or deployment. All volunteers are active, retired, spouses, or dependents of members of Army or Air National Guard members, and the program solicits, screens, and trains these volunteers to serve as staff for all youth camp activities.
In October 1992, after a thorough investigation during the 1992 camp session, the American Camping Association (ACA) classified Youth Camp as an accredited camp. Youth Camp was the first accredited National Guard Youth Camp in the United States and continues through the re-accreditation process and remains an ACA camp.
Last updated February 23, 2026.
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