Geneva Glen Camp is a co-educational, non-profit, residential summer camp located in Indian Hills, Colorado. Geneva Glen Camp is accredited by the American Camp Association.[2]

Geneva Glen Camp
Established1922; 102 years ago (1922)
Location
Coordinates39°36′57″N 105°14′28″W / 39.61577°N 105.24098°W / 39.61577; -105.24098
Budget$2.5 million [1] (2021)
Websitegenevaglen.org

Location

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Overhead image of the camp

Geneva Glen Camp is located in the foothills about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Denver, Colorado on nearly 500 acres (200 ha) of coniferous forest.

Geneva Glen columbine

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An unusual variety of columbine flower is named after the camp. The spurless Geneva Glen columbine (Aquilegia caerulea daileyae Estw.) has an all-blue star flower and lacks the traditional white cup in the middle.[3] While it was documented as early as 1894 in nearby Evergreen, the variety is named for the camp after being documented adjacent to the camp director's cabin in 1931.[4]

History

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Geneva Glen Camp was established in 1922 on 100 acres (40 ha) donated by developer George Olinger to the International Sunday School Association. The camp was intended to be used for high school and college-aged youth and training for Sunday school teachers. Geneva Glen became the third of the association's camps, joining camps on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin and Geneva Point in New Hampshire.[5]

The Denver Council of Churches assumed the camp's mortgage in 1930.[6] Through the 1930s, the camp hosted 3- and 4-day camps for local youth organizations such as 4-H.[7]

By the 1950s, Geneva Glen Camps ran interdenominational summer camp programs for boys and girls ages 8 - 15, later expanded to ages 7 - 17. The nonprofit organization Geneva Glen Camp, Inc. operates the camp.

Camp programs

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Geneva Glen Camp serves about 240 campers in each of its two-week sessions.[1] The camp offers themed sessions including (in order) Seedlings & Stardust, Myths & Magic, American Heritage, Knighthood, and World Friendship, as well as several family sessions. Each session has different activities for campers to participate in including archery, horseback riding, swimming, arts & crafts, rifles, BB guns, and hiking.[8] During the off-season, Winter Workshop is a four-day session offered in December for veteran campers in 8th - 11th grades.

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ a b Breunlin, Erica; Booth, Michael (23 April 2021). "Colorado summer camps are gearing up for a full season of swimming, sightseeing — and sanitizing". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Geneva Glen Camp - Find a Camp". American Camp Association. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  3. ^ Luebbers, David (Spring 1974). "Aquilegia caerulea daileyae". The Green Thumb. Vol. 31, no. 1. Denver Botanic Gardens. pp. 120–122.
  4. ^ Melrose, Frances (17 May 1992). "Reader writes with wealth of columbine information". Rocky Mountain News. p. 14M. In the column we mentioned an unusual columbine lacking the traditional white cup in the middle. Many years ago it was named the 'Geneva Glen columbine,' because it was found there.
  5. ^ "Race man heads interracial group". The Denver Star. 31 August 1935. p. 3. Geneva Glen Camp, Indian Hills, Colo., is one of three conducted by the International Council of Religious Education, the other two are Lake Geneva Camp in Wisconsin and Geneva Point Camp at Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire.
  6. ^ Simons, Janet (20 February 2006). "Summer classic". Rocky Mountain News. p. 3D. Geneva Glen is a private, nonprofit camp founded in 1922 that came under the control of the Denver Council of Churches when the church group assumed its mortgage in 1930.
  7. ^ Warner, Jeanne (29 July 1937). "Home Demonstration Agent's Corner". The Arvada Enterprise. p. 3. "Over one hundred forty 4-H club members and leaders from Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson Jefferson county are attending the first district camp at Geneva Glen this week.
  8. ^ Simons, Janet (23 March 1998). "Happy Campers: Times have changed the summer camp drill, but the experience remains old-fashioned". Rocky Mountain News. p. 3D. Horseback riding, backpacking, campfires, archery, riflery, swimming, crafts, hiking - they were part of the camp experience at Geneva Glen when Nancy Atkinson attended the Jefferson County camp as a child in the '50s, and they're part of it today.
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