Camp Iona

Camp Iona

natureIona is located in on the rugged granite bedrock of the Muskokas. Located on Echo Lake near the little town of Baysville, Iona provides the perfect setting for a wilderness camping experience.  

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This wilderness setting sets a great landscape for faith exploration. In the heart of God’s creation, Iona campers are able to reflect and discuss how they experience God in a rich, meaningful way.

canoeIona provides an incredible opportunity for campers to decide what they want their week at camp to look like. Whether the campers want to spend all morning swimming and canoeing, or if they want to build forts and play kick the can, the staff are there to make the campers’ ideas a reality. With 16 campers as Iona’s maximum capacity, this intimate community allows for a unique flexibility that results in a truly camper-directed program.

Iona has two units, each with two canvas tents on wooden platforms that campers will call home for the week. Each unit is taken care of by one or two counsellors, who are there to form genuine connections with each of their campers. Food for breakfast, lunch and dinner are brought over from the Glen Mhor kitchen; some meals come prepared, and others are cooked over the fire by the campers, with staff supervision. All meals are eaten together in the Dundonnel picnic shelter.

iona fortAlmost all of Iona’s programming happens outside, but when campers want to escape the heat or the rain, they are able to continue their fun in the Dainy Ray: a yurt with a wooden platform base, canvas walls, and a covered roof. It’s an excellent space for TLCs, drama games, and gagaball. As for bathroom facilities, Iona has five composting KYBOs located around the site, and also has three solar-heated, gravity fed showers.

Every evening, the Iona campers participate in an unstructured play time called Funnengames, then play a camp-wide game. We end the day together with singing, stories, and a closing Vespers around the campfire.
Each week at Iona, campers go on a 24-hour canoe trip down the Muskoka river. This continues the focus on outdoor skill-building, and provides campers with an introduction to another aspect of wilderness camping.

 

Camp Iona