Cheerio on the New River is led by three full time directors who combined bring over 35 years of camping experience to our program. Our Camp Director, Jim Hussey began his career with Camp Cheerio in 2010 and has experience working in all aspects of Camp Cheerio’s operations. Jim’s wife, Weldon, joined the Cheerio team in 2021 and brings her talents from event planning and marketing to the team as our Associate Director. Roark McLean is our Program DIrector and brings many years of camp experience, as well as an extensive knowledge base, and love for all outdoor activities.

Complementing our three full time directors, Cheerio on the New River employs 25-30 experienced staff. The majority of our staff will have the primary role of being an in-cabin counselor with your child while they teach certain activities throughout the day. A few senior staff members will have training in specific areas of camp to ensure all activities and camp life are both safe and fun. These staff will live outside of the camper cabins and will be there to provide support to both campers and counselors on a daily basis.

All staff who come to work with us will go through an interview process with one of our Directors and go through our own structured training before starting the summer with your camper.

Campers can start coming as rising 5th graders and age out of camp after 10th grade.

A mix of both land and aquatics activities, all centered around introducing your camper to the great outdoors in a safe and rewarding environment. Our land based activities include mountain biking, target sports (archery & hatchet throwing), orienteering/GPS, arts and crafts (with a focus on rope work and knot building),camping, and hiking/backpacking. Aquatics activities will include canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, fly fishing and fishing.

We are excited to be offering out of camp trips which will include canoeing and kayaking down various sections of the New River and hiking various trails around camp. Travel time will be cut down so all trips will be out and back within the same day.

Our camp family firmly believes in camp being a place where your camper feels comfortable to meet new friends, take on new challenges, and find their best self. To this end we believe that offering your camper the opportunity to pick their own activities on Opening Day is of paramount importance. Having a trusted counselor on hand to help explain the activities to them and being able to talk with their friends about what activities they may wish to do together guarantees your camper will design their own unique camp path.

Although Cheerio Extreme will not be formally offered, we now have more opportunities for your child to have “the best of both worlds”. When you register, simply sign up for a session at either location, and follow it up with a session at the second location. Next, add the stayover option. We will plan for a fun afternoon/evening for your child and we will provide transportation between the two!

Made possible by the donation of several large tracts of land and the hard work of many volunteers over the last two years, we are thrilled to be bringing our camp focus closer to home. We will continue to provide out of camp trips, but we will spend less time traveling and focus more time in and around camp. This will open up more time in their days to connect with nature and each other in a safe and supervised setting.

Cabins are duplex style with each cabin consisting of space for 14 campers and 2 staff. Cabins are very spacious, and all have a covered front and back porch where campers will spend time creating lasting friendships. All cabins are located in close proximity to all camp activities, and main buildings such as the office and Austin Lodge.

Cabins are assigned on the basis of age/grade to ensure each camper is surrounded with campers of a similar age, enabling them to easily connect with others.

A camper’s cabin is their home at camp and their cabin mates will become some of their best friends. Knowing this, we strive to set each camper up for success in a smaller group of similar age campers. A typical cabin size will be 12-14 campers with a dedicated pair of counselors.

The camp session cost is an all-inclusive fee, covering the cost of all camp activities, food, evening snack, and out of camp trips.

The health and safety of our campers and staff remains a top priority for us at Camp Cheerio. Our plan at this time is to have parents and campers park near the main office and unload any luggage at the assigned location for your child’s cabin. Our staff will transport your luggage from the office to their cabin. We will collect all health forms upon entry to Camp as we did in 2022. We will no longer require masks in the dining hall and other indoor areas. We will no longer require a Covid test prior to coming to camp or a copy of a vaccination card, as we did in 2022. We will continue to provide care to anyone who begins to feel sick during their time at Camp. Any camper who is feeling ill should report it to their counselor immediately so that they can be checked at the Health Hut.

While at Camp, frequent reminders will be made for everyone to wash their hands with soap and water and/or hand sanitizer multiple times each day. Hand sanitizer will remain available throughout Camp at each building and each activity. Camp is cleaned and sanitized each day. Public restrooms and heavily used areas are cleaned multiple times a day. Activity equipment is cleaned as necessary.

The major key to our success is to make sure everyone who enters into Camp arrives healthy. Campers and staff will still be expected to closely monitor their health the week prior to attending camp. If your child is feeling ill in any way, please do not bring them to Camp. We will make every effort to accommodate them in another session, or give you a full refund if we are unable to find an alternative. We are looking forward to working together to create a safe and fun environment for everyone and returning to a more “normal” summer in 2023!