Why does summer camp cost so much?

For kids, camp can be a rite of summer and a needed relief from school. For parents, it’s a welcome chance to keep kids occupied, safe, and ideally, gives them a unique experience.

But does it have to cost so much?

Like many things, summer camp feels like it’s pricier than it should be, and that it’s gotten more expensive over the years. Maybe that’s the natural desire to just want to pay less for things, but it’s fair for parents to wonder about the cost breakdown. Sure, the school bus that picks little Bryson up at the corner isn’t free, but what else goes into the hundreds that are paying for his week of outdoor fun?

Of course, the costs exist in a ride range. City-run programs can run as low as $200 a week, and many churches run low-cost programs. But the cheap spots go quickly (as anyone who’s been up early madly refreshing the Toronto program website can attest), leaving everyone else to deal with privately run camps, where the price range, ahem, widens out a bit.

For weekly day camps, private costs might start around $300 and can costs can range up to more than $500 a week, while a sleep away camp can start around $600 at the low end and run up to about $1,500 a week.

Now, it’s possible to avoid the upper edges of those ranges, to be sure. But the perception of high cost persists, perhaps not fairly, says Heather Heagle, executive director of the Ontario Camps Association, a self-regulatory body that oversees 400 camps in the province.

“Most people just look at summer camp like it’s 1980, and it’s not,” she says.

“It’s 2016 where you’re paying for the facility, you’re paying for specialist material to come in. Camp isn’t what it used to be.”

In other words, the prices have changed, but so has the product.

A quick look at available camps shows a menu of options that go beyond the old postcard experience of hiking, canoeing and dodge ball.

Computer camps been around for a while, but these days parents and kids can chose from specialized programming and animation camps that almost double as college courses. Performing arts camps go beyond a skit at the campfire, and of course, sports camps are everywhere.

If you’re in Hamilton, Reptile Camp is an option, while in Toronto there’s Circus Camp, which includes a show at the end of the week for parents. And if you’re in the Yukon, “Peaceful-warrior Anti-bullying Day camp” aka ‘Ninja Camp’ will set you back $350 for the week.

“It’s a huge business now, so the overhead costs are extensive,” says Heagle.

For sleep away camps, canoes and campfires are still ubiquitous, but higher standards for food and safety add to the bill, says Heagle.

She says the main cost is staffing, which can vary depending on provincial standards that determine how much counselors must be paid.

Then there are materials and supplies, which can creep higher if you’re providing trapezes and vaults, rather than basketballs and construction paper.

Licensing is pricey if it’s an overnight camp, as well as meeting building and fire standards, and boating if that’s applicable. Then of course there’s the insurance.

“Most camps carry between $12 million and $15 million,” says Heagle.

What it all reflects is the growth of the industry, as with both parents typically employed these days, camps are more needed than ever.

And the cost breakdown isn’t out of line with daycares, though Heagle doesn’t like the comparison.

“(Camp) is not a daycare, it’s an enrichment program,” she says.

“It’s a way of children becoming independent and being allowed to make their decisions… this is an experience that every child should have in Canada.”