Can campers try Camping Skills or Outdoor Skills if they've never camped before?

That's exactly who those activities are built for. Girls learn to set up a tent, build a fire, and navigate the Chicagami Trail with staff guiding every step. First-timers usually leave wondering why they waited so long.

What if my daughter doesn't want to get in the water?

She never has to. Adventure activities include plenty that have nothing to do with the lake — archery, biking, camping skills, outdoor skills. A girl can have a full adventure week without getting her hair wet once.

Is archery supervised? What does safety look like on the range?

The archery range runs with a certified instructor on-site for every session. Campers learn proper form and range rules before they ever pick up a bow. No one draws until the range is clear and the instructor gives the signal.

Do campers need experience to try sailing or kayaking?

No experience needed for any of it. Staff teach from the beginning — proper paddling technique, how to read wind on the water, how to handle a bow. Girls who've never been in a kayak are in the majority, not the minority.

Can my daughter try multiple adventure activities or does she pick one?

Campers build a schedule that includes multiple activities, so there's no need to choose just one. A girl can spend time kayaking on Hunter Lake, try archery on the range, and go out on the sailing dock in the same session.

How are adventure activities structured throughout the day?

Campers choose their activities at the start of each session and build a schedule around them. Adventure programming runs throughout the day, so girls spend real, repeated time on the water and outdoors, not just a one-time sample. Repetition matters. A girl who tries kayaking on Hunter Lake on day one is noticeably more confident by the end of her session. The structure gives that progress somewhere to go.

What if my daughter is nervous about trying something new outdoors?

Everyone's at least a little nervous, honestly. A girl who has never stood on a paddleboard or held a kayak paddle is not unusual at WeHaKee. Staff introduce activities in a way that makes the first try feel manageable, not like a test. The camp setting helps too. When your daughter sees a cabinmate try something and laugh about it, the pressure drops. Most of the nerves disappear by day two.

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Pottery, painting, theatRE, music & more

The Arts

Pottery, painting, theatre, music, jewelry making, newspaper, crochet. Girls make real things, take creative risks, and surprise themselves.

All skill levels

10 activities

Crafts

Jewelry

Knitting

Music

Newspaper

Painting

Pottery

Theatre

Room to find her creative voice

The Arts at Camp WeHaKee give girls space to create without being graded on it. Pottery, painting, jewelry making, crafts, theatre, music, crochet, newspaper: most campers end up trying several across a session. The studio spaces are set up for real work: wheels in the pottery room, instruments in the chapel, a full stage in the theatre space.

No experience required. That's by design. When a girl isn't worried about being good at something, she's free to actually try it... to put her heart into it! Some of the best creations that come out of these studios belong to first-timers.

What she takes home

Creative confidence comes from making real, finished things, not worksheets or throw-away projects. Girls leave with something to show for it.

Hands-on studio experience across multiple art forms
Creative confidence through making real, finished work
Self-expression without grades, pressure, or competition
Pride in work that reflects her own ideas

Stacie & Cory

Directors

"Girls who swear they're not creative or 'not good' at art walk into the pottery studio and make something they can't wait to put on display."

More photos

Take a deeper look into the wonderful activities that make Camp WeHakee unforgettable.

FAQs

Have questions?

What kinds of arts activities are available at camp?

The arts at WeHaKee cover a wide range: pottery, painting, crafts, jewelry making, theater, music, newspaper, and outdoor cooking. Visual arts, performance, and hands-on making all fall under the same program, so there's genuine variety depending on what a girl is drawn to.

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Campers choose based on interest, not category. A girl who loves being on stage and a girl who wants to throw pots on a wheel are both in the right place.

Can my daughter take home what she makes in the arts?

Yes. Most projects made during arts activities come home with campers at the end of the session. Pottery pieces, crafts, jewelry, photography prints, and other finished work are yours to keep.

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Performances like drama or music happen at camp during the session, so those don't come home in a bag, but they tend to be some of the things campers remember most.

How does the arts program build confidence?

Making something from scratch and finishing it does something to a person. It doesn't matter if it's a pot that came out lopsided or a song performed for an audience of ten. The act of starting something, struggling with it, and completing it builds a kind of confidence that showing up to class doesn't.

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At WeHaKee the arts aren't separate from the camp experience. They're part of what makes a girl feel like she can do things she didn't think she could.

What if my daughter is hesitant about creative activities?

That hesitation usually comes from a fear of not being good at it. The arts program at WeHaKee is explicitly not about being good. It's about trying, making something, and finding out what you actually enjoy when no one is grading you.

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Plenty of girls who walk into the pottery studio with zero interest walk out two weeks later having signed up for ceramics again the following summer.

How are arts activities structured throughout the day?

Arts are built into each camper's daily schedule based on the activities they chose. Girls work in the same discipline consistently throughout the session rather than rotating through everything once. That's what allows real projects to happen.

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A camper working in ceramics has time to throw, dry, glaze, and fire something. A girl in drama has time to actually rehearse. The sessions are long enough that the work feels finished when camp ends.

Does my daughter need experience in the arts to participate?

No. Every arts activity at WeHaKee is open to beginners. Instructors and counselors are there to show technique and offer guidance, but the learning happens by doing, not by sitting through lessons before you're allowed to try.

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Girls with prior experience in music, theater, or visual arts will find room to go deeper. Girls who have never tried any of it will find a place to start. Both are true at the same time.