At Third Coast Beach Camps, our programming is built around one simple idea: kids learn best when they’re having fun. Each day blends structured activities with time for creativity and exploration, all led by experienced instructors in a safe, supportive environment.
Activities rotate with weather and lake conditions, giving campers a balanced mix of water time, beach games, and hands-on discovery — all while building confidence and independence.
Water time is at the heart of our camps. Campers are introduced to Lake Michigan through age-appropriate, instructor-led activities that emphasize safety, confidence, and fun. From catching their first wave to paddling along the shoreline, kids rotate through water activities based on daily conditions. Every session is supervised by experienced staff, with safety always coming first.
Not every adventure happens in the water. On the beach, campers team up for creative challenges, movement-based games, and nature-focused exploration that keeps them engaged all day long. These activities encourage teamwork, imagination, and problem-solving — while still feeling like pure summer fun.
For each of the five days of camp, our instructors will keep kids busy with a variety of fun beach activities, including surfing, stand-up paddleboarding, skimboarding, bodyboarding, building sandcastles, and playing games.
Yes, all kids attending camp should have some swimming experience and be comfortable going into the water – this is an important foundation for learning to surf and stand-up paddleboard.
Yes, all kids wear life jackets when stand-up paddleboarding, as required by the US Coast Guard. Life jackets are not required for water activities other than paddleboarding, but we are happy to keep your child in a life jacket for all water activities if you prefer. We have life jackets for campers to wear, but we encourage you to bring your own US Coast Guard-approved life jacket if your child has a life jacket they are already comfortable wearing.
You are more than welcome to drop your child off and come back at pick-up time – the kids are in good hands!
If you’d like to stay at the beach during camp, we encourage you to choose an area where you are not as visible to your child, and to talk with your child about staying with the instructors – not parents – during camp time. For safety reasons, our instructors need to keep the kids grouped together and accounted for at all times, and when a child leaves the group to see a parent, it can interfere with our head count.
Ensure your kid’s best summer ever with surfing, paddleboarding, games, and more.
