About Us | Cave Springs Camp

The year-round Mission of Cave Springs Camp, Retreat & Conference Centre is to provide opportunities for personal growth in a natural setting.

What is Cave Springs Camp?

Cave Springs Camp is a United Church Camp, offering a unique summer camp experience since 1951. In more recent years, we have broadened our offerings to suit greater community needs. We are pleased to offer year-round community rental space

The camp is guided and supported by a dedicated group of volunteers that form the Board of Directors; highly qualified and enthusiastic summer staff; and volunteers from the local community and area churches. Cave Springs Camp is an accredited member of the Ontario Camping Association (OCA) and the United Church of Canada Outdoor Ministries (UCOM).

Cave Springs Camp is located on the Niagara Escarpment in Beamsville, Ontario which is 20 minutes from St Catharines, 40 minutes from Hamilton and 1 hour from Toronto. Additionally, we are nestled in the midst of the beautiful Carolinian forest with a trailhead access to the Bruce Trail. We also offer a canoe program which runs out of Jordan Harbour.

What do we offer?

Summer Camp Programs

In the months of July and August, we offer 7 weeks of camp programs including Overnight Camp, Bridge Camp, Day Camp, Integration and SLP (Servanthood Leadership Program).

Overnight Camp

Campers aged 7-15 can participate in a week spent at camp from Sunday afternoon to Friday evening. We offer Open Age Camp for children aged 7-12; Junior Camp for children aged 9-12; and Intermediate Camp for youth aged 13-15. These campers have opportunities to participate in fun activities such as high ropes, canoeing, hiking, crafts, sports (and more). They also eat three yummy camp meals per day and attend daily campfires, vespers and camp-wide games- all while forming lasting friendships with their peers.

Day Camp

Day Camp is a program offered for children aged 5-10 which runs for all 7 weeks of the summer. Campers are placed in groups based on age with 2-3 counsellors. Alongside their peers, campers have the opportunity to participate in fun camp activities such as hiking, canoeing, crafts, games, sports and more! Campers eat lunch and two snacks prepared by our kitchen staff. Day Campers have the option of staying late on Wednesday where they have dinner over the fire and put on a Campfire Show for their parents and afterwards, campers have the choice to spend the night at camp!

Bridge Camp

Bridge Camp bridges the gap between Day Camp and Overnight Camp! This program is designed for children aged 7-12. Campers start off the week with 2 days of Day Camp on Monday and Tuesday, and on Wednesday they arrive and stay overnight until Friday (2 nights). This program allows for campers to ease into the idea of Overnight Camp at a pace that they are comfortable with. The Bridge Camp model allows campers who may be a little nervous to sleepover at camp the chance to get to know their counsellors and peers and settle into the camp routine.

Integration Programs

Inclusion is something we highly value at Cave Springs. At this time, Cave Spring is not able to provide staffing for 1:1 support. If 1:1 support can be arranged through a third party, we welcome the partnership and will work together for a successful integration experience.

Servanthood Leadership Program

SLP is designed for youth aged 14-15. The goal of this program is to inspire young leaders and teach them skills relevant to working at camp. Participants will gain soft skills such as cooperation, confidence, patience and communication, and hard skills in leading camp activities such as canoeing, games and more. In addition, SLP’s will explore faith topics and values and learn about applying a servant-hearted spirit to their daily lives beyond camp.

Participants attend a training week and return for a minimum of 1 “placement” week where they will be either a counsellor-in-training or kitchen helper/ program helper. During this week, they will be able to experience what it is like to be a staff member at Cave Springs while also still learning from their staff mentors. For more information, visit the Leadership Programs section of our website.

School Programs

We offer exciting school trip options for students in kindergarten through grade 12. Our trips are customized to suit the ages of the students as well as the wants of their teachers.
We offer activities that teach students about nature, navigation and team building. Students can also participate in physical activity such as hiking, sports or games. A school trip with us is a great way to combine fun and learning in an outdoor setting!

School trips can either be day trips or overnight trips where students will sleep in our on-site accommodations and eat meals provided by our kitchen staff.

*Note: We are able to accommodate school trips to meet safety requirements regarding Covid-19. Please be in touch for more information.

Learn More

Venue Booking

We offer a wide variety of rental options. Our site has two main halls (Hoxie Hall and the Cave Springs Retreat & Conference Centre), two options for overnight accommodations, and many outdoor spaces.

Our site is perfect for gatherings such as retreats, meetings, reunions, weddings and special events. Facility rentals come with the option of adding activity rentals which can include our high ropes challenge course, use of our swimming pool, guided hikes and more.

For more information (including pricing), visit the Venue Booking section of our website.