A therapeutic wilderness program for boys aged 10 to 15
Discover hope. Discover lasting change.
Is your boy struggling?
Failing at school, skipping classes
Fighting at home, always angry
Never comes out of his room
Addicted to his phone or video games
Lost and depressed, withdrawn, without purpose
In trouble in his community or with police
Confidence in who he is
His voice - how to speak up in a group
How to make goals and keep them
How to be angry without losing control
How to work hard until a job is done
Curiosity and life-long learning
Leadership - how to follow and lead others
Is he ready to discover a new way to navigate life?
At Crane Lake Discovery Camp, we understand how hard it is to watch your boy struggling.
You don’t have to do this on your own. We are here to help.
Since 2005, we’ve helped over 250 boys discover life skills for a better future.
In our wilderness program, your boy can get a fresh start. Here, there is time and space to learn new skills, to set goals and find successes, to build new patterns of relating to those around him. Through daily practice, these small changes will become solidified into life-long habits.
It’s not too late for your boy. Let’s work together to help your boy discover lasting change.
“My son was taught how to think beyond his own needs and desires and how to work through difficult challenges as a team player.”
— Parent of camper
What’s unique about our program?
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Wilderness
The camp site where the boys live is nestled in the middle of trees, rivers, and lakes. Boys learn to fish and canoe, to make fires and build structures. The woods are a natural playground to explore and absorb energy.
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Group work
The boys live as a group with their counsellors, setting goals, making plans, and talking candidly about successes and failures. When one has a problem, all wait and solve the problem together.
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Education
All boys love to learn, but many don’t fit the mold of traditional schools, leading to failures. Here, academics follow curiosity and serve practical skills. Groups learn math formulas as they build or about turtles when they catch one.
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Our pace
Our pace is unhurried, giving boys time and space to build patterns of success. We take the time to deal with problems when they happen, coaching boys to find success. Many small successes build on each other to create lasting change.
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Our faith
The basis of our faith is that God is our Creator and has made each person of immense value. This gives us patience to love as Jesus loved, in giving of ourselves to serve others. People are invited to participate, but never forced.
It’s not hard to get help
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Talk to us
Call us or email us. Let’s get started. We’ll listen as you tell us about your boy. We’ll talk about how camp could be a good fit for his needs.
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Home visit
We come to your home to meet you and your boy. We find out more about each other. What does your boy need? What is camp like?
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Camp tour
You and your boy come to camp. You see the campsite and meet staff. Then you decide: Is this a good fit? Does he want to come?
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Join camp
Your boy joins a group of boys with a caring team of staff. He starts learning new habits and life skills that can lead to lasting change and hope for a better future.
About Crane Lake Discovery Camp
We are here to help boys aged 10-15 discover life skills for a better future.
Our world is full of struggles. It can be hard to cope with challenges like trauma, lack of resources, mental illness, or addictions. For some boys, the obstacles are too big, and they get stuck.
We know how hard it is to watch a boy struggling. Every day, we hear from parents, social workers, teachers, and caregivers who are at the end of their rope, not knowing how to help their boy. Schools are too busy to adapt to individual needs and a few weekly sessions of counselling aren’t enough. Who will help these boys?
At Crane Lake Discovery Camp, we believe every boy should have a chance to thrive in life. We invite boys to come to camp, to tackle their struggles head-on and discover new ways of navigating life.
Our program is unique, combining wilderness living with group therapy.
In the clear air and remote beauty of the Muskokas, the boys live as a group with their counsellors. With daily rhythms of plan, do, and evaluate, they rise to the challenge of wilderness living. The group makes a plan at the start of every week. As they do their plan, they stop to problem solve every time they run into an obstacle, whether it’s a broken tool or a behaviour. At the end of each day, they meet over a campfire to evaluate how they did. Boys learn how their actions affect the group, and how to give and receive honest feedback. It’s one of the hardest things they’ll ever do.
It takes time to learn new habits, but here, there is time and space to try out new skills. Our program isn’t a quick fix, but a measured, deliberate process, where success builds on success to solidify healthy patterns.
All of this is done within the context of a Christian worldview. We believe that each individual is of immense value, and from this perspective, we work hard to help each boy discover his value as an individual and how to live that out in our world.
Crane Lake Discovery Camp is a place of discovery. A place where a boy can discover his value, his voice, how to communicate, and how to lead. It’s a place to explore, to find hope, to change the trajectory of his life.
A place to discover lasting change.
Connect with us…
Your donation changes lives. Thank you!
We are so grateful for all the people, businesses, foundations, and churches who partner with us to help boys. Your investment has a long-term impact on boys and their families.
