Multi-County Camp

Published: 2022
By Claudia Andrade

A youth’s 4-H experience is not simply confined to their county. In fact, there are many state and national events available for youth to attend through 4-H. One of the most popular out-of-county experiences is the Multi-County 4-H Camp hosted at the Darrell Fenner 4-H camp at Loon Lake near Bigfork. For years, youth have gathered in this location to sing campfire songs, canoe, swim, show off their dance moves, compete in camp Olympics and make new friends from across the state's western side. This year, 7 of the 22 teen camp counselors were selected from Lake County. In this endeavor, teens attend three full-day training sessions to prepare for camp, decide on a theme, organize, and develop daily schedules for youth programs. Once at camp, counselors welcomed 63 4-H camp youth, 14 attending from Lake County. Many youth learned new things at camp, as only 4 out of 63 youth campers had attended Multi-County 4-H camp in years prior. Camp allows youth to develop a new sense of confidence in an environment that encourages independence, self-growth, teamwork, and responsibility.