About
Virginia 4-H Camping offers both residential and day 4-H camping programs that use hands-on, experiential learning. Each 4-H camp is an independent educational event, and youth do not have to be 4-H members to attend, but they are given the opportunity to join.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Residential 4-H camps generally run two to five days, and most last five days with campers staying overnight for four nights.
For more than 80 years, Virginia 4-H camping has been a method of teaching youth life skills, and each year more than 17,000 youth participate in 4-H camping programs at Virginia’s six 4-H educational centers. In Virginia, there are four basic types of 4-H camps: Residential 4-H camps, Special interest 4-H camps, Day 4-H camps, and Cloverbud 4-H camps. Cloverbud 4-H camps are programming events for youth 5–8 years of age, with specific minimum and maximum age rules. For residential Junior 4-H camps at the 4-H educational center in a geographic area, youth must turn 9 between October 1 and September 30 of the following year and must not have reached 14 years of age. Opportunities are available for teens 14 to 18 years of age to be trained and gain experience as 4-H camp counselors.
Each 4-H center program staff person, as well as the adult and teen 4-H volunteers who participate in camp, are carefully selected and trained prior to the camping event, and each volunteer is carefully screened and provided with training before being able to serve as a volunteer at 4-H camp. Virginia’s 4-H camping program is recognized throughout the nation as a leader in 4-H camping programs, and each of the six Virginia 4-H Educational Centers has achieved and maintains American Camp Association (ACA) accreditation. Only about 25 percent of all camps in the nation are accredited by the ACA, and ACA accreditation means the camp meets standards for safety, food service and staffing, health care, and program quality, with all 300 standards reviewed every three years for reaccreditation.
Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments, and 4-H camp is open to any youth in Virginia. Adults have opportunities to volunteer their services as camp staff for a week of 4-H camp through their local Virginia Cooperative Extension office. Leadership for the program includes center directors and program directors at the six 4-H educational centers and the State 4-H Office, including Sandra “Sam” Fisher at the State 4-H Office.
Last updated January 19, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Residential 4-H camps generally run two to five days, and most last five days with campers staying overnight for four nights.
For more than 80 years, Virginia 4-H camping has been a method of teaching youth life skills, and each year more than 17,000 youth participate in 4-H camping programs at Virginia’s six 4-H educational centers. In Virginia, there are four basic types of 4-H camps: Residential 4-H camps, Special interest 4-H camps, Day 4-H camps, and Cloverbud 4-H camps. Cloverbud 4-H camps are programming events for youth 5–8 years of age, with specific minimum and maximum age rules. For residential Junior 4-H camps at the 4-H educational center in a geographic area, youth must turn 9 between October 1 and September 30 of the following year and must not have reached 14 years of age. Opportunities are available for teens 14 to 18 years of age to be trained and gain experience as 4-H camp counselors.
Each 4-H center program staff person, as well as the adult and teen 4-H volunteers who participate in camp, are carefully selected and trained prior to the camping event, and each volunteer is carefully screened and provided with training before being able to serve as a volunteer at 4-H camp. Virginia’s 4-H camping program is recognized throughout the nation as a leader in 4-H camping programs, and each of the six Virginia 4-H Educational Centers has achieved and maintains American Camp Association (ACA) accreditation. Only about 25 percent of all camps in the nation are accredited by the ACA, and ACA accreditation means the camp meets standards for safety, food service and staffing, health care, and program quality, with all 300 standards reviewed every three years for reaccreditation.
Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments, and 4-H camp is open to any youth in Virginia. Adults have opportunities to volunteer their services as camp staff for a week of 4-H camp through their local Virginia Cooperative Extension office. Leadership for the program includes center directors and program directors at the six 4-H educational centers and the State 4-H Office, including Sandra “Sam” Fisher at the State 4-H Office.
Last updated January 19, 2026.
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