Activities Offered

Horses!

Horseback activities have been a prominent part of life at Friendly Pines Camp since our founding. We have one of the most solid equestrian programs in the nation, as recognized by Town & Country magazine when they selected us as one of the 50 best camps in America. Western riding, English riding, bareback riding, pony-cart driving, mule packing, ranch hands, and vaulting are offered. Those campers already familiar with horses enjoy our Advanced Horsemanship program. Children can ride as much (or as little) as they like at Friendly Pines, with never an extra charge! Our CHA accredited equestrian programs are headed up by our very own Emily Heine and her highly experienced staff.
Swimming
Our new state-of-the-art pool (built spring 2003) allows training in swimming from beginning through advanced levels, as well as lifesaving, competitions, and free-time open swimming. Our swim staff counselors are all experienced and certified life guards and most have certifications as WSI's (Water Safety Instructor)

Challenge Program

We have a well established Ropes Challenge Course, that meets the highest standard of challenge course technology. The Challenge program offers numerous high and low elements plus a new climbing wall. The Climbing program gives campers opportunities to rock climb and rappel in the Prescott area. While these programs are for campers 10 years old and up, the Junior Facilitators program is specially designed for our oldest campers who have been through those programs already and want to take the next step in challenge. For our younger campers we have the Junior Adventure and Climbing program that does a little bit of everything. Supervision is provided by our experienced Challenge Director, Todd Atkins, and his highly trained staff. These are some of our most popular and most closely supervised programs. We are proud of our safety record of over 25 years without a serious incident! We also offer hiking programs for those campers choosing to enjoy an adventure in the forest without leaving the ground.

Waterskiing
Jack May brought skiing to FPC thirty years ago, having been a world-class competitor and judge in his native England. our clean, spring-fed private lake is busy all summer long, as this is one of our most popular programs.

Sewing Our most unique program (and most popular) is sewing. Campers can design their own projects or use templates with the help of our sewing staff. Many campers will even bring in their own fabrics from home to use in sewing. Handcrafts is also available where campers make projects out of clay and bake them in a kiln. Many of the projects utilize natural resources or any number of our extensive selection of materials to create works of art.

Tennis We have two fenced, lighted tennis courts, as well as two practice backstops and plenty of racquets for beginners. A tournament is held at the end of each session.
Riflery The riflery program is NRA-certified for safety and instructional content. The children are taught that safety with the weapon, and the proper cleaning and care, are far more important than mere accuracy. This program is reserved for campers 10 and older, and is equally popular with both sexes. In response to some parents' concerns, we believe that such instruction makes a child safer and more responsible in today's environment, by satisfying childen's natural curiosity about these devices, and teaching them proper, safe gun handling. Of course, no child is forced to take part in this or any other particular activity.
Archery Our enclosed ranges allow safe instruction and practice with a variety of distances and bow weights. BB guns are also used in some classes, for those children too young for Riflery.
Soccer/Land Sports Soccer, basketball, softball, and other team sports and other events are taught on our ball field, courts, and in the Meadow. Soccer is especially popular, as we always have campers from all over the world. Even cricket is played from time to time!

Campcraft Learning to be at home in the outdoors restores to city-raised kids the close-to-nature experiences that are their rightful heritage: the lore of the Western pioneers and the Native Americans; resourcefulness and self-reliance, outdoor safety and the code of the true sportsman. The children learn outdoor cooking, path finding skills, and how to provide themselves with shelter and fire in the outdoors.
Drama A stage at one end of the Kiva, with a great trunk full of costumes and an upright piano, allow children to express themselves in drama and music. This culminates with the "Talent Show" evening once per session, with skits and performances by kids of all ages.
Fishing/Canoeing The lake is home to numerous bluegill, largemouth bass as big as 11 pounds, channel catfish, and rainbow and brown trout. Several canoes allow exploration of the lake's islands and coves.
Tumbling/Gymnastics Basic floor exercises and tumbling are taught, always with the emphasis on safety.

Photography & Journalism Our own darkroom allows the kids to experiment with photographic techniques, and of course there is an endless supply of subject matter around camp! Kids in Journalism work with the Photography program to develop a Friendly Pines Camp Newspaper. A new feature of this program is a digital camera.
Pet Care For the younger children, there is the chance to pet and care for small animals such as kittens, goats, lambs, rabbits, chicken, ducks...and more!
And Much More! Numerous other activites are offered according to the interests and abilities of each year's staff, such as sign language, model rocketry, and clowning and magic.