Royal Ridges Retreat a summer camp tradition

Royal Ridges Retreat in Yacolt is a summer camp tradition in north Clark County that has been serving up fun and adventure to youths for almost 40 years.

The retreat offers four different day camps and two overnight horsemanship camps for nine weeks each summer. They served 1,636 youth last year, and expect more than 1,700 before this summer is over.

This bustling camp was envisioned by Roy and Jean Andersen, who initiated its creation with a donation of 38 acres of rural wooded land in northeast Clark County in 1978.

During their lifetime, they had accumulated 390 acres. Roy was a logger and a house painter, and he ran a small herd of Angus cattle on the property. He had some cows to milk, a common enterprise in the area. Jean worked as a maternity nurse in a hospital. They raised their three biological children, an adopted child and several foster children.

The spread is still intact, with 215 acres now owned by Royal Ridges Retreat and the balance owned by members of the Andersen family and available for camp use. Roy’s dream was that his family would enjoy the property but it would ultimately be a part of Royal Ridges Retreat, said Executive Director Ron Wanger.

The camp is a natural evolution of the life of the Andersen family, said Wanger. They believed in Christian summer camp, and they always had horses around. After their own children left home, they remained involved in youth groups, providing opportunities to come to the property to ride horses and experience the out of doors. Kids always had some chores to do before they had their fun. Andersen believed that nothing is free, but always earned.

The first horsemanship camp was an informal affair. Kids brought their own horses and slept under the stars or under tarps strung between trees. Water was piped from a spring to a garden hose shower behind a curtain, and the bathroom was an outhouse. Meals were cooked over an open fire.

“They were cold, dirty, miserable, and they loved it!” said Wanger.

An interested group of people who liked horses and kids started working together to give the camp structure. They hired seasonal directors for the duration of summer for the first 8 years.

Facilities were built over time – cabins, bunkhouses, barns, climbing walls, and a paintball course.

“Roy always said, ‘If you love God, care about people, and work hard, God will surely bless you,’” said Wanger. That set of principles underlies the mission and function of the retreat.

“All the programs try to instill that work ethic,” said Wanger. Roy felt he was able to pass that message on to his own children and grandchildren, but he wanted to have a way to pass it on to other kids. Establishing Royal Ridges Retreat was a mechanism to fulfill that message.

The camps offer a range of experiences, since kids have different interests. There are four day camps – Day Camp, Adventure Camp, Paintball Camp and Horsemanship Camp.

Day Camp is an outdoor nature camp filled with activities like canoeing, swimming, climbing and horses. New activities are added for each age group, so kids can attend year after year and look forward to new experiences.

Adventure Day Camp is reminiscent of a Boy Scout camp, with a focus on skills such as building fires and shelters.

Horsemanship Camp is all about horses. Paintball Day Camp is pure paintball. The week is progressive, starting with introductory lessons and building through more advanced skills. Paintball players learn tactics and individual and team concepts.

Overnight camps are based around horsemanship, and are restricted to girls, with the exception of one week designated for boys. This is to serve the greater number of girls who register for the camp, said Wanger.

Sixth-graders love the camp, said Wanger. That age group is eligible to attend five out of the nine camps offered without repeating a single one.

The goal, said Wanger, is “FSG,” which stands for Fun, Safe and God.

“It’s like a three-legged stool,” he said. “If you forget one the rest falls apart.”

But, he emphasized, over 60 percent of kids attending do not affiliate with any religion. The faith-based component of camp revolves around sharing stories from the Bible, which can be structured or take place informally around a campfire.

The camp is staffed by 75 youth and young adults, ages 15-30, throughout the summer. Six permanent staff oversee operations year-round. Two to four retired school buses provide transportation for over 80 percent of the kids who come from across the county. Day camp leaders, many of them teen-aged junior leaders, can ride the buses to the retreat as well.

Camp leaders start the season with a month of weekend training sessions, which cover such things as first aid and CPR, positive discipline, group management, safety, evacuation plans and emergencies, and water safety.

Leaders are selected from youth and young adults who apply for the spots in December. Up to 80 percent previously attended Royal Ridges Retreat as campers, but it’s not a requirement. Wanger doesn’t necessarily look for kids who have already proven their leadership.

“Something beautiful happens when young people who are not normally given leadership opportunities … come and are put in charge of 8-15 kids, who they supervise, be with, and hold relationships with each day. Their growth is simply amazing. I don’t often talk about it, but the development of leaders is what I take the most pride in,” said Wanger.

Safety of campers is a priority in every regard. Every sleeping cabin is staffed by two leaders, and kids are supervised throughout the day. Leaders, many just a few years out of camp themselves, are expected to always be leading and teaching their young charges.

But, that doesn’t mean there are a lot of rules. It’s camp, after all.

“Everyone hates rules,” said Wanger. “We have no idea where that kid’s coming from. What we try to live and show them is there’s a better way.” Leaders talk privately with campers, if needed, for violations of safety or courtesy toward others.

“You come to camp to have fun. If you’re not having fun we’re not doing our job,” emphasized Wanger.

Royal Ridges welcomes assistance from volunteers. “We find out what they like to do,” said Wanger. It could be anything from construction, to landscaping, to horse care.

Royal Ridges Retreat offers summer camps for youth, year-round horseback riding lessons, trail rides, a rock wall and high ropes challenge course, paintball and weekend retreats. Limited financial aid is available for youth who need assistance in order to attend camp.

For more information visit www.royalridges.org, or call 360-686-3737.