Trip participants must be:

• At least 14 years old on the first day of the trip,
• In reasonably good health,
• Able to lift and carry 50 pounds over a short distance,
• Able to swim 25 yards and tread water for 30 seconds while wearing a USCG certified Personal Floatation Device (life jacket)
• Able to communicate and follow instructions given in English,
• Able to walk half a mile over uneven terrain without assistance, AND

Anyone with a chronic or acute medical condition must:

• Be able to manage their own care without assistance,
• Bring all their own medications and supplies,
• Be willing and able to communicate with Amnicon staff if they’re not doing well,
• Have experience managing their condition during prolonged periods of increased stress & activity, AND
• Have not had any medical emergencies within the last year.

If you have a chronic or acute medical condition, Amnicon may require you to provide verification from a licensed medical provider that you’re healthy enough to engage in camp activities.

If you have questions about whether this trip will be a good fit for you, don’t hesitate to contact us! Call 715-364-2602 or email info@amnicon.org

Amnicon fully appreciates the risks of this kind of travel and we respect that “The Lake is the Boss.”

Our Montreal canoes are very stable, and have never been unintentionally swamped.

Our wilderness guides are certified in Wilderness Water Safety, Wilderness First Aid, and CPR. They are trained in how to navigate on open water, and how to respond to various weather situations. Our guides are also equipped with a variety of emergency communication devices.

We WILL NOT TRAVEL if there is a small-craft advisory. For this reason, there is a small chance that a group might get wind-bound on an island and not be able to get back to the mainland on their scheduled return date. We send extra food in case this happens, and recommend that trip participants not schedule any major plans (like flights or weddings) for the day after their trip.

On the first day, you’ll come to Amnicon’s base camp to meet your guides and learn everything you need to know to be prepared for a safe and fun experience. We do a big campfire on our sandy beach of Lake Superior that night.

The next morning, we drive you out to the Apostle Islands and the adventure begins! Each day you’ll paddle from island to island, singing songs and playing games to keep paddling in time together.  There is usually time to swim, explore, and relax before cooking dinner over the fire. You’ll end each evening with a intentional and meaningful community conversation around the fire. After three nights camping on Lake Superior, we’ll pick you up and bring you back to Amnicon.

The trip culminates in a campfire and closing ceremony by Lake Superior. With a sky full of stars above you, the biggest lake in the world beside you, and your new-found-friends in front of you, it is plain to see the wonder of creation and the Grace of God.

You don’t want to miss this!

We’ll start and end every day with a brief devotion we like to call First & Last Words. First Word usually consists of 15-20 minutes of reading a short story or poem, and then discussing it as a a group. Last Word is a little bit longer, as we gather around the campfire in the evening. Everyone in the group will have the opportunity to share a story from their own life, and hear and discuss a story from the Bible.

All spiritual elements of this trip are designed to bring people closer to each other and closer to God. Do you have doubts, struggles, questions? Good! This is a safe place to share those and talk about them openly. Have you walked with God for a long time? Good! Please share that experience too, and be ready to learn from the life experiences of the other people on the trip.

Our wilderness guides are amazing, and you’ll love them. We send two highly trained individuals with each group. They will be at least 19 years old, and have been chosen because they have demonstrated an impressive level of maturity, care of creation, and a desire to connect with and serve our campers. We do our best to hire a diverse staff every year, and often hire staff from overseas! Amnicon does not discriminate in our hiring based on gender identity, sexual orientation, race, country of origin, or religious affiliation. 

That’s TOTALLY FINE! Lots of people who come on Amnicon trips are new to the whole wilderness, canoeing, and camping thing. Your guides will make sure that you have what you need and know what you need to know. On the trip, everyone helps each other out. 

The answer…maybe. How many bugs there are depends on a LOT of different factors. We’ll bring bug spray, and you’re welcome to bring your own as well.

…BUT…

We’ve found that the one thing that makes the biggest difference with the bugs is your attitude. If you decide at the beginning of the trips that the bugs aren’t important enough to ruin your whole experience, then they won’t be that bad!

One of the ways we are going to challenge ourselves this week is by leaving our cell phones behind. Yes, even the adults will leave their phones behind too. Cell phones will only distract from the experience we’re trying to have together, and are highly prone to getting lost & damaged. Every year, we have campers (and adults!) tell us how freeing it was to not have a phone for the week, and how valuable it was to take a break from technology. This is a unique experience that’s hard to do in everyday life, but we get to do it together at camp.

That said…we REALLY value getting good photos from the trips. Amnicon will send along one (or two) cameras with each group. Campers ARE allowed to bring their own cameras as well if they’d like. We’ll share the photos from the week in a Google Photos album, and on social media after you get back home.