Coming to Day Camps

Day Camp groups are coed. Friends and siblings can be requested on the registration form, and BSBC works hard to assign campers with at least of their requested friends. After friend/sibling requests, groups are assigned by grade, so your camper will be in a group with roughly the same age of campers. If a camper would like to request a specific counselor, they may do so, but BSBC may not be able to meet counselor requests.

Male and female campers are housed separately. Cabinmates can be requested on the registration form, and BSBC works hard to assign campers with at least one of their requested friends. After cabinmate requests, cabins are assigned by grade, so your camper will be in a cabin with roughly the same age of campers. If a camper would like to request a specific counselor or cabin, they may do so, but BSBC may not be able to meet those requests.

Scholarships are available!

We would love to partner with you to help make camp possible for your camper this summer.

Please fill out our camper scholarship application.

Please contact us at [email protected] or 406-837-4864 with any questions.

The camp store offers snacks & drinks from 50¢ to $3. There is a selection of candy bars, chips, fruit leather, granola bars, ice cream bars, meat sticks, soda, Gatorade, Arizona tea, kombucha, juice boxes, etc. Merchandise includes small toys, stuffed animals, sunglasses, frisbees, journals, pens & markers, bracelets, waterbottles, mugs, etc. Apparel includes t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, fleece zip-ups, and a variety of hats.

The camp store will be open for campers each afternoon, and open for parents during check-in and pick-up. The store offers snacks & drinks (50¢-$3), merchandise (50¢-$30), and apparel ($10-$40). A missionary offering is also taken each week, and campers can choose to donate a portion of their store funds if they wish. Junior campers and Day Campers are limited to $4 in snacks per day (roughly equivalent to one snack and one drink). If a camper is planning on buying merchandise, $30-$60 is recommended.

BSBC has a Lost & Found table set up in the chapel with each week’s items. Parents are welcome to look through the items at the end of the week and collect anything that belongs to their family. At the end of each week, all remaining Lost & Found items are stored in an accessible spot for the remainder of the summer. If you are missing something after your camper’s session has ended, please contact the office and we will look for the missing item, and if it is found, it can be picked up at the camp office. Please note that we typically do not mail items back to families.

We make every effort to give each camper a good experience at camp. Campers who refuse to follow camp rules and policies may not stay and detract from the other campers’ experience. Big Sky Bible Camp reserves the right to send such campers home. This will be done only after a camper has received two formal warnings by the camp administration, except for serious offenses like illegal drugs or aggressive behavior which could be a threat to others. On the second warning, parents will be called and notified of the problem. If the camper’s behavior does not change, parents will be called a second time and asked to pick up their child. No refund will be given for the campers sent home for disciplinary reasons.

The parent waiver includes a clause that grants BSBC permission to use camp photographs and videos of your camper for camp promotion and publicity. If your camper cannot have photos taken or shared due to legal or safety concerns, please contact the camp office and we will work with the A/V staff to ensure your camper’s safety.

Swimsuits
Modest swimsuits are expected for boys and girls. For girls this includes a one-piece swimsuit or a two-piece tankini that covers the entire stomach. If you do not have a swimsuit that fits these guidelines, you may wear a dark-colored T-shirt and shorts. Boys’ swim trunks must be loose fitting and at least mid-thigh in length.

Shirts
Backless shirts, halter-tops, and tank tops that are low cut, tight, or expose the stomach are not to be worn. This includes boys’ open-sided tank tops. Straps on tank tops and dresses must be at least two fingers in width. All shirts must cover undergarments.

Shorts/Pants
Shorts should be loose fitting and mid-thigh length. If wearing leggings or biker shorts, dress code compliant shorts must be worn over them. Dresses and skirts must also be at least mid-thigh in length. Shorts/pants must cover undergarments at all times.

Inappropriate Content
Clothing should not display inappropriate content including: profanity, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or satanic references.

Footwear
Footwear must be worn at all times at camp (with the exception of inside the cabins). Closed-toed shoes are required for participation in field games and ropes course activities.

If your camper is arriving late or will need to leave camp early, please notify the camp office in advance! Campers arriving late will be directed to check in at the camp office, and camp staff will bring campers to join the current activity. Campers leaving camp early will be wait at the office with their belongings at the designated time, and a staff member will sign them out with a parent.

Campers may be dropped off by parents, friends, or relatives. BSBC will ask for the name of the person who is authorized to pick the camper up at the end of the week, and at pick-up, staff will check ID of that person to make sure that the camper leaves with the authorized adult. If you need to change the name of the pick-up person, please contact the office! Campers with valid driver’s licenses are allowed to drive to camp and sign themselves in and out.

Day campers swim only in the shallow area of the lake and do not participate in the swim test.

For overnight campers, all Junior and Junior High weeks will have a camper swim test at the beginning of the week. The test is administered under the watchful eye of multiple lifeguards and may not be retaken. Campers who pass the swim test will receive a wristband to wear for the duration of the week.

During the swim test, campers will need to swim the full length of the dock and back (80 feet total) without pausing to take a break. Swimmers must use an actual swim stroke (breaststroke or front crawl) and may only swim part of the time completely underwater. Campers may use goggles during the test if they would like. Swimmers will not be passed if they use the doggy paddle, backstroke, or demonstrate that they are afraid to put their face in the water.

The goal of the swim test is to observe that the camper is a competent swimmer, so completion of the 80 feet of swimming does not automatically mean a camper will be passed.

Lifeguards reserve the right to pass or fail swimmers according to their discretion. If the lifeguard observes that the camper is especially exhausted upon completing the test, or if it appears that the camper was struggling to reach the end of the dock, the camper will not be passed.

The swim test is completely optional. However, if a camper chooses to opt-out, or fails to pass the test, the camper will be given access only to the shallow zone of the lakefront area and will be restricted from the deep water.

Additionally, those who do not participate in or do not pass the swim test will not be allowed to participate in tubing but are welcome to ride in the boat during their designated cabin tubing time (if they signed up for the tubing elective, they will be allowed to choose a different elective).

Day campers swim only in the shallow area of the lake and do not participate in the swim test.

Most campers are not required to wear life jackets unless they are riding on a boat or other watercraft. BSBC has life jackets available for all campers to use if desired, and lifeguards reserve the right to require a camper to wear a life jacket if the camper is showing signs of unsafe swimming. Campers who bring personal life jackets from home will be required to wear them, and all Camp Promise campers wear life jackets during swim time.

If for some reason your camper cannot come to their week of camp, please notify us immediately, as we often have campers on the waitlist. Within the exception of the LIT program, the $100 deposit required to reserve your camper’s place is non-refundable, but the remainder of your payment will be credited to your account or refunded upon request.

We allow campers who are one year older to attend (e.g. we allow 4^th graders to attend K-3^rd Day Camp weeks), but we do not allow campers who are younger to attend older weeks (e.g. we do not allow 8^th graders to attend High School Coed).

If you would like to register your camper for a younger week, please contact the office so that we can override the grade requirement.