About
Virginia 4-H Camping includes both residential and day 4-H camping programs that offer educational programming to thousands of youth each year through hands-on, experiential learning. Each 4-H camp is an independent educational event, and 4-H camp is open to any youth in Virginia, including youth who are not already 4-H members.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Residential 4-H camps generally run from two to five days, and most last for 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 has a history of providing educational programming to thousands of youth annually. 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, and youth must meet the minimum age of 5 between October 1 and September 30 of the following year and must not be older than the maximum age for Cloverbud 4-H camps. For residential Junior 4-H camps at the 4-H educational center in a youth’s 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, and adults have opportunities to volunteer their services as camp staff for a week of 4-H camp through their local Virginia Cooperative Extension office.
Each year more than 17,000 youth participate in 4-H camping programs at Virginia’s six 4-H educational centers, and Virginia’s 4-H camping program is recognized throughout the nation as a leader in 4-H camping programs. Through involvement in the 4-H camping program, youth gain a better appreciation of family members by learning how to become more responsible, and campers and parents of campers also learn to better appreciate each other. 4-H camping teaches youth to make their own decisions, solve problems, and manage their resources without the help of family.
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. Each of the six Virginia 4-H Educational Centers has achieved and maintains American Camp Association (ACA) accreditation, and only about 25 percent of all camps in the nation are accredited by the ACA. Having ACA accreditation means that the camp meets standards for safety, food service and staffing, health care, and program quality, and each 4-H Educational Center maintains these standards annually, with all 300 standards reviewed every three years for reaccreditation.
Virginia Cooperative Extension, which is involved with Virginia 4-H Camping, is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments. Leadership contacts for the program include Sandra “Sam” Fisher in the State 4-H Office, along with program directors and center directors at several 4-H educational centers, including the Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Holiday Lake, Jamestown, and W. E. Skelton 4-H Educational Centers.
Last updated July 18, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Residential 4-H camps generally run from two to five days, and most last for 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 has a history of providing educational programming to thousands of youth annually. 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, and youth must meet the minimum age of 5 between October 1 and September 30 of the following year and must not be older than the maximum age for Cloverbud 4-H camps. For residential Junior 4-H camps at the 4-H educational center in a youth’s 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, and adults have opportunities to volunteer their services as camp staff for a week of 4-H camp through their local Virginia Cooperative Extension office.
Each year more than 17,000 youth participate in 4-H camping programs at Virginia’s six 4-H educational centers, and Virginia’s 4-H camping program is recognized throughout the nation as a leader in 4-H camping programs. Through involvement in the 4-H camping program, youth gain a better appreciation of family members by learning how to become more responsible, and campers and parents of campers also learn to better appreciate each other. 4-H camping teaches youth to make their own decisions, solve problems, and manage their resources without the help of family.
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. Each of the six Virginia 4-H Educational Centers has achieved and maintains American Camp Association (ACA) accreditation, and only about 25 percent of all camps in the nation are accredited by the ACA. Having ACA accreditation means that the camp meets standards for safety, food service and staffing, health care, and program quality, and each 4-H Educational Center maintains these standards annually, with all 300 standards reviewed every three years for reaccreditation.
Virginia Cooperative Extension, which is involved with Virginia 4-H Camping, is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments. Leadership contacts for the program include Sandra “Sam” Fisher in the State 4-H Office, along with program directors and center directors at several 4-H educational centers, including the Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Holiday Lake, Jamestown, and W. E. Skelton 4-H Educational Centers.
Last updated July 18, 2026.
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