Dancing with Wabakimi Rapids

By Alex Kvanli
June 02, 2025 (comments)

By: Jack Casebolt, camper 2021-2024 Shortly after New Year’s in 2024, an anticipated email message arrived stating I’d been invited on the 14-day Wabakimi Canoe Expedition. My excitement filled the room. Eager to see who else was invited, I texted my Camp friend group and discovered that the other campers attending would be Anders Malmberg, Ben Hummel, John “Huck” Ginn, and Peter Harris. Assistant Camp Director Alex Kvanli was slated to lead the canoe expedition and Billy Idol’s Greatest Hits CD would provide the eight-hour soundtrack for the van ride.

9 Voyageur New Year's Resolutions

By Alex Kvanli
December 31, 2024 (comments)

Since 1951, Camp Voyageur has been a place of renewal and reflection. Kids leave feeling strong, resilient, and mindful—perfect goals for the year ahead. Here are nine ways to harness the rejuvenating power of Camp Voyageur in 2025. 1. Embrace the Great Outdoors Whether you spend five days in the Boundary Waters or five minutes at a small park, the outdoors offer perspective and peace. 2. Unplug More Often Resolve to set aside tech-free hours each day to reconnect with family, friends, or yourself. Trade doom-scrolling and brain rot for storytelling around a fire pit or over a board game....

Few Places Like Camp Voyageur Are Left

By Alex Kvanli
December 01, 2024 (comments)

How many places are left where kids can disconnect from modern distractions for a month, immerse themselves in nature, create lifelong friendships, AND build character? Camp Voyageur offers an increasingly rare and valuable experience at a time when day camps are replacing overnight summer camps, year-round sports are displacing exploratory summers, and glamping is often mistaken for real camping. While learning wilderness camping skills can take people to extraordinary places, the true outcome of a summer camp program lies in fostering the growth of the whole person. Each night in camp, two different-colored floodlights and (sometimes) one soft-white lightbulb bring...

Trip Stories: Fishing Along the Border

By Alex Kvanli
November 01, 2024 (comments)

By: Henry, 13 years old, 2nd year camper We started our trip at the Angleworm portage–Mitchell, Whit, Owen, Ben, our counselor Kevin, and me. The intimidating 640-rod (two miles!) portage to begin the trip was rough but satisfying once we had completed it. It dropped us right into the heart of the Boundary Waters. That night, we camped on Home Lake where Kevin caught a walleye. The next night, we found a great campsite on Friday Bay, and I caught a 20.5-inch plaquer walleye! We paddled to Saturday Bay, where we set up a base camp and went on a...

Trip Stories: Wildebeest Trout

By Alex Kvanli
July 02, 2024 (comments)

Hi, my name is Oliver, and this is my story about our trip from Snowbank Lake to Moose Lake. On this trip, we had eight people: Grant, Grayson, Drew, Gianni, myself, and our counselors Oscar, Asher, and Davis. Our first day was a push day. We breezed through Snowbank Lake because the conditions were perfect—tailwinds and clear sky. I was proud of everyone, especially considering they were first-years. We all struggled on the portages, carrying the heavy gear over slippery rocks. For dinner, we had Asher’s “special” beans and rice, which was surprisingly delicious. On day two, we made it...

Winter Daydreams of Summer Camp Adventures

By Alex Kvanli
January 22, 2024 (comments)

The holi-daze is over. I’m still full of lefse and green bean casserole, but starving for something else. Winter coziness and unlimited streaming are losing their luster. I haven’t seen the sun since it shattered high-temperature records on Minne-Snowta’s snowless Christmas. Did I really just order boots for my dog? And where are the colorful birds by the feeder? I couldn’t tell you– the three-and-a-half walls of my living room have dulled my senses. Scan social media and you may find your friends’ “#ThrowbackThursday” selfies captioned, “Miss this,” featuring bodies of water or high altitude. The seasonal shift to restlessness...

A Voyageur's Odyssey

By Alex Kvanli
November 24, 2023 (comments)

The journey of a child at summer camp in Minnesota is a transformative experience that evolves as kids age. The progression–from the bright-eyed 10-year-olds, eager for their longest sleepaway adventure, to the seasoned 18-year-olds contemplating roles as Voyageur counselors-in-training (CITs)–is underlined by a narrative of growth, camaraderie, and self-discovery. Over my last 9 years working at Camp, I’ve noted distinct tendencies and developing interests that depict each age group’s experience to better help parents, kids, and staff prepare for the overnight summer camp experience at Camp Voyageur.

Voyageur Foundation Funds Counselor Incentive Package

By Alex Kvanli
February 22, 2023 (comments)

The Voyageur Experience Starts with Great Counselors

Alex and John B. Launch Camp Podcast

By John Erdmann
December 16, 2022 (comments)

Years ago, John Burgman and Peter Grunawalt unveiled the W.ELK Podcast, which featured chats with Camp alums and explored various camp-related topics. The show proved to be extremely popular, despite its limited run of episodes. Now, with podcasts more popular than ever, the show has returned under a slightly different name—The Camp Voyageur Podcast.

7 Summer 2022 Camper Trends

By Alex Kvanli
July 02, 2022 (comments)

Gaga Ball Addictive and fast-paced, this gentler version of dodgeball has been all the rage for cabins one through three. Campers are in a pit with a soft foam ball; if the ball touches you below the knee, you’re out. Players cannot throw the ball, it must be hit with a closed or open hand. The last camper standing wins! Closely Contested Inspections We hold Inspections each morning after breakfast at Voyageur base camp, which rewards the American flag to the cleanest cabin. Most years, one cabin dominates. So far this year, they’ve all been pretty even! Kudos to our...