Each week in the summer, around 400 kids experience the wonders of overnight camp. Being away at camp gives kids (and even adults!) the ability to explore the great outdoors, make new friends, gain additional skills and make countless memories through a multitude of activities. YMCA Camp Willson also offers different types of camps held not only during the summer but all throughout the year.

Located just one hour northwest of Columbus, YMCA Camp Willson, otherwise dubbed as the ‘500 Acre Memory Maker’ is centered around a natural spring fed lake (Lake Mac-O-Chee) formed during the glacial period in Ohio 14,000 years ago. In 1918, the YMCA of Central Ohio, then the Metropolitan YMCA of Columbus, decided to use the property as a boys camp named Camp Bailey. It wasn’t until 1921 that the camp was renamed YMCA Camp Willson after Columbus carriage maker Alfred L. Willson, whose gift of $20,000 made the purchase of the first 135 acres of the property possible.

Since then, Camp Willson expanded multiple times, aquired a farm, horses and built multiple cabins that still stand today. Although many things have change over the last 100 years, one notion has remained the same: Camp Willson’s dedication to providing an unparalleled overnight camp experience that will stay with campers for a lifetime. 

The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Across the U.S., 2,700 Ys engage 21 million men, women and children – regardless of age, income or background – to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support neighbors. Anchored in more than 10,000 communities, the Y has the long-standing relationships and physical presence not just to promise, but to deliver, lasting personal and social change.

ymcacolumbus.org