Overnight
Overnight Camp: Entering 3rd-5th Grade
A classic week of camp, your camper’s way.
Choose Your Camp
Explorers
Love Day Camp and curious about sleeping at camp? Explorers adds a Thursday night in the cabins to your camper’s Day Camp week. They enjoy their usual days, then stay for dinner in the dining hall, an evening activity, and worship with the overnight campers. It’s a gentle first step toward Overnight Camp.
Pathfinders: Elementary
A classic week of camp (Sunday-Friday) for entering 3rd-5th graders. Campers live in community with a cabin group, make new friends, and choose a specialty track: Camp CREATE, All Star, Hydro, or Wilderness Skills. Days are full of swimming, boating, archery, the Shady Chute, and the Belden Aqua Park, with worship and caring counselors all week.
Camper Weekend Stayover
Make it a two-week camp experience. A small group stays the weekend for more personal attention and special activities no other campers get to do. Two-night add-on between back-to-back weeks; campers must be signed up for the week before and the week after.
Add the copy for this section.
Pick your specialty
Campers choose one track for the week to dive deep into their passions alongside expert instructors.
Hydro
Dive into water-based activities including canoeing, swimming, and lake exploration.
Camp Create
Explore your creativity through painting, theater, and mixed media in the forest studio.
Wilderness Skills
Learn outdoor survival skills, including fire building, navigation, and shelter construction.
All Star
Focus on team sports and healthy competition in a high-energy, supportive environment.
Why three prices?
Recognizing that families have different abilities to pay, Ferncliff has a voluntary fee program. You choose the price that is most suitable for your family.
No matter what price you choose, the amenities, activities, and camp experience are exactly the same.
Need more support? Scholarships are available.
See All Camp Pricing & Financial Aid
Tier 1
True
The true cost of camp
Tier 2
Partial
Partially subsidized
Tier 3
Fully
Subsidized price
2027 dates and sessions
View our 3rd-5th grade overnight session schedule below. We recommend checking availability before starting your registration.
| Dates | Program | Grades | Availability | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 6-11 | Pathfinders: Elementary | 3rd-5th | Filling up | Register, June 6-11 |
| June 13-18 | Pathfinders: Elementary | 3rd-5th | Filling up | Register, June 13-18 |
| June 18-20 | Camper Weekend Stayover (add-on | 3rd–12th | Almost full | Register, June 18-20 |
| June 20-25 | Pathfinders:Elementary | 3rd–5th | Filling up | Register, June 20-25 |
| June 27-July 2 | Pathfinders: Elementary | 3rd-5th | Filling up | Register, June 27-July 2 |
| July 11-16 | Pathfinders: Elementary | 3rd–5th | Filling up | Register, July 11-16 |
| July 12-16 | Explorers | 3rd–5th | Filling up | Register, July 12-16 |
| July 16-18 | Camper Weekend Stayover (add-on) | 3rd–12th | Filling up | Register, July 16-18 |
| July 18-23 | Pathfinders: Elementary | 3rd–5th | Filling up | Register, July 18-23 |
| July 19-23 | Explorers | 3rd–5th | Filling up | Register, July 19-23 |
Availability updated weekly
An experience crafted just for your child
Choose your adventure
Every Pathfinders week includes a specialty track. Campers dive into creativity, team sports, water adventures, or outdoor survival skills.
Cabin life with a small group
Campers live in a cabin with a small group of about the same age, usually within a couple of grades, and build friendships with their cabinmates.
Growing independence
A week away from home helps campers expand their independence, strengthen their sense of identity, and develop interpersonal skills.
Trusted staff support
Every session is led by background-screened, extensively trained counselors who are First Aid and CPR certified, with a registered nurse on call at all times.
Link: Meet Our Counselors
Faith, Creation, and fun
Daily Bible studies, evening worship, swimming, hiking, and lots of activities, plus time outdoors, help campers connect with Creation, others, and themselves.
Balanced and Kid-Friendly
Our dining hall at Ferncliff Commons serves hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus daily snacks. We accommodate most dietary restrictions and focus on balanced, kid-friendly meals.
What to Pack (full-week list)
Remember: at camp, you’ll be playing outside in the summer heat. No need to bring your Sunday best!
Clothing
- Several pairs of shorts
- Several T-shirts
- Underwear and socks for a week
- One pair of long pants or jeans
- One long-sleeved shirt or sweatshirt
- Pajamas
- Rain jacket or poncho
- Swimsuit
- Water shoes
- Two pairs of sturdy, close-toed shoes
- Sandals or flip-flops for cabin time or at the pool
Miscellaneous
- Sleeping bag, or sheets and a blanket
- Pillow and pillowcase
- Bible (we have extras if you don’t have one!)
- Laundry bag for dirty clothes
- Flashlight and batteries
- Refillable water bottle
- Hat and sunglasses
- Camera
- Paper, pens or pencils, stamps, and envelopes to write letters
- A book, coloring book and crayons, friendship bracelet string, or other quiet activities for rest time
Toiletries
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Shampoo, conditioner, soap
- Personal care items (deodorant, lotion, contact solution, etc.)
- Sunscreen
- Bug repellant
- Bath towel and washcloth
- A beach towel to use at the pool
- Any medications you take, in a separate bag to give to the nurse at check-in
Please leave at home
- Electronic items such as cell phones, iPads, video game players, etc.
- Food, snacks, or candy
- Expensive or sentimental items
- Clothes that can’t get dirty
- Pets and animals
- Money and wallets
- Weapons such as knives, guns, fireworks, pepper spray, etc.
Packing Tips
Send your camper with a backpack to carry daily items; we label it with a color group tag at check-in. Pack with your child, which is a great way to build excitement and talk through pre-camp nerves. Use the checklist for packing and for coming home. Choose luggage that is easy to carry a short distance, such as a duffel bag, suitcase, footlocker, or lidded tub; sleeping bags and bedding do fine in a labeled trash bag. Label everything with your camper’s first and last name, including the luggage. All medications go in a separate bag and are given directly to the camp nurse at check-in on Sunday.
Real voices
What Families Are Saying
Thousands of families and campers have found something meaningful at Ferncliff. Here are a few of their stories.
Poppy & Cub
Ferncliff Campers
“You can’t recreate this someplace else.” Sarah saw both of her children grow in confidence and eagerly embrace camp as they found counselors who made them feel safe enought to try new things and simply be themselves.
Read Sarah, Poppy, and Cub’s Full Story →
“If you ask me where I’ve had my most memorable experiences, where God has shaped and molded me – every time I would tell you Ferncliff
Rev. Julianna
Former camper and camp counselor
Alumni
My camper came back from camp with a smile and connected with new people, which can be challenging for her.
Overnight Camper Parent
Summer 2026
Parent
My son had the chance to do things for himself and try new things.
Day Camp Parent
Summer 2026
Parent
FAQ
Sessions begin on Sundays and end on Fridays. Check-in is from 4:00 to 5:00pm on Sunday. The Closing Program is at 4:00pm on Friday (about 20 minutes, in the Christian Activity Building), followed by check-out until 5:00pm. Drop-off and pick-up times are strictly enforced because staff are opening and closing camp sessions.
Campers entering 3rd-5th grade stay exclusively in cabins, with campers of the same gender expression and approximate age. Our Belden Pond cabins have air conditioning, bunk beds, showers, and stall toilets. Lodging is assigned by Ferncliff, not chosen by the camper or family.
We follow American Camp Association ratios: 1:6 for overnight campers ages 6-8 and 1:8 for ages 9-14. There are one to two staff members with each cabin group. Campers in a group are about the same age, usually within a couple of grades.
Yes. A registered nurse is on call at all times, and all staff are trained and certified in First Aid and CPR. Medications are held and given out by the camp nurse, so pack them separately and hand them to the nurse at check-in.
We have certified lifeguards on duty any time campers are in the water, and each group’s counselors swim with campers the whole time. At the start of the week, lifeguards complete a skills check with each camper and recommend swim areas. Our pool is zero-entry and slopes to five feet deep, and many younger campers spend the whole pool time in the shallow area.
Of course! Campers come from many faith backgrounds, including none. We only ask that all campers take part in the daily Bible studies and worship times that are part of camp.
Yes. During registration you can enter one friend’s name as a buddy request, and the friend can enter your camper’s name. We do not place larger groups together, so no camper is left out of a group of close friends.
Campers love getting mail. You can buy credits in the Ferncliff Camp app to send one-way Bunk Notes, which are printed each morning and delivered after lunch. You can also send regular mail to 1720 Ferncliff Road, Little Rock, AR 72223, and it is delivered after lunch too. Campers do not make phone calls or carry cell phones. If you are concerned about your camper, contact the Camp Office. See Camper Parent Resources for the full details.
Small packages are welcome, but please do not send food, snacks, or candy. We provide snacks several times a day, keep all food out of cabins, and work to be as nut-free as possible.
Any food that arrives is held by the director until pick-up on Friday.
Ready for a week at Ferncliff?
Choose your session and register through our registration portal. We can’t wait to meet your camper.
Here are other ways to spend time at Ferncliff.
Overnight Camp: Entering 1st-3rd
Overnight Camp: Entering 6th-8th
Day Camp
