Safe Travels and Safe Returns: A Wilderness First Aid Experience

By Tom Brandt
June 04, 2019 (comments)

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a beautiful, pristine and remote area which becomes home to more than 250,000 visitors with every summer. Although sublime, Minnesota’s pride and joy, the BWCA, is a dangerous place for the exact reason we as campers, counselors and visitors appreciate it; it’s remote, untapped and uninhabited by everything outside the wonders and glories of the great outdoors and those who adventure around it. After all, our beloved north woods are considered a pristine wilderness. This information is not made to scare you, but in fact, is there to reassure you of the staff’s...

Packing for Camp in 5 Simple Steps

By Alex Kvanli
April 29, 2019 (comments)

Step 1: Download and print the CV Clothing and Equipment List and Joe Camper.

The Bent-Shaft Advantage

By Ned Yonkers
April 16, 2019 (comments)

Efficient Paddling For most of us at camp, canoeing means sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying nature’s beauty. But for some paddle enthusiasts, speed and efficiency matter more than anything. That’s why we’re sharing a quick review of efficient paddling techniques.

How Wilderness Adventures Foster Lifelong Success

By Alex Kvanli
March 18, 2019 (comments)

How can we teach children that failure is not the end of the road? Our mindset, or attitude, governs nearly everything in our lives. It determines the way we live, experience the world, and make decisions. Our mindset shapes the way we view ourselves and subsequently what we can accomplish. According to Stanford University psychologists Carol Dweck, there are two types of mindsets: In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that’s that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and...

My First Boundary Waters Canoe Trip

By John Erdmann
March 06, 2019 (comments)

Your first overnight adventure is guaranteed to be a stretch. One astute camper captured his first Boundary Waters trip for posterity in the 2018 Paddle Post newspaper. My First Boundary Waters Canoe Trip I have been to multiple national parks and forests, but I didn't know what to expect here at Camp Voyageur. The first few days at base camp we practiced canoeing and fishing nearby, then we headed out for six days with counselors Alex and Evan bound for the Canadian border and the Crooked Lake fishing grounds. I felt this trip would be difficult, but I was excited...

2019 Trip Options

By Alex Kvanli
January 26, 2019 (comments)

Register for trips by emailing the Camp Voyageur Trip Director, Alex at

Nature's Effect on Our Brains and Well-being

By Alex Kvanli
January 21, 2019 (comments)

Why are we drawn to nature? What makes the great outdoors so great?

Wise Words From Our Past

By Peter Grunawalt
June 05, 2018 (comments)

In the 1980’s Camp Voyageur’s founder and director Charlie Erdmann wrote an article in the local Ely Echo. We believe his words are as relevant now as they were back then, and would like to share them with you. Here is the word-for-word article:

In-Depth Gear Guide

By CV Staff
May 29, 2018 (comments)

Alright parents, yes only parents; unfortunately even if you tell your children to read this they probably won’t, this will be an in-depth look at different types of gear your child will need for camp, and will likely use outside of camp. I still recommend you go over camp’s checklist, linked here. However, if you’re looking for specific recommendations, or need help choosing between different brands, then you’re in the right place!   These recommendations are based on my six years as a camper and three as a counselor, so I've been around the Boundary Waters block. My experience has...

"7 Ways to Maximize Misery" (WARNING: Sarcasm)

By Peter Grunawalt
January 02, 2018 (comments)

Uhhh, so what is this about? I’ll stop with the click-baiting. The purpose of this post is to share a video which I feel speaks to some tendencies in not just teens, but in many of my own peers, that can become reinforced as habits that ultimately undermine our own happiness. It follows closely the work of psychologist Randy J. Paterson, who wrote the book “How to be miserable: 40 strategies you already use”. By necessity, summer camps intervene Many of the points addressed in the video are simply impossible at camp. You live and eat with your peers everyday,...