YMCA Camp Lakewood

What YMCA Camp Lakewood does

YMCA Camp Lakewood is a nonprofit overnight summer camp program operated by Gateway Region YMCA, located at 13528 State Hwy AA in Potosi, Missouri. It serves families with children ages 6 to 16 through three core product lines: Mini Camp (3-night introductory sessions for ages 6-8), Traditional Camp (5-night sessions across Adventurers, Explorers, and Pathfinders tracks for ages 8-16), and Specialty Camps (Equestrian and Rangers programs for ages 8-16 with focused skill instruction). The camp is ACA-accredited, emphasizing screen-free, character-building experiences with outcomes reported as 98% of campers making a new friend and 95% reporting increased self-confidence. Distribution is direct-to-consumer, targeting individual families in the Greater St. Louis/Midwest region, with word-of-mouth, social media, and a United Way Greater St. Louis partnership supporting awareness.

The underlying technology is non-proprietary: enrollment is handled through the Campwise third-party camp management platform, which supports online self-service registration, account access, and browser checks. The camp supplements this with a phone line (573-438-2155) for personalized parent support. No mobile app, no proprietary platform, and no disclosed integrations or APIs are present.

The business model is session-based registration fees billed per overnight session on a pay-as-you-go basis, with financial assistance and referral/discount programs available. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is shared via a downloadable 2026 Dates & Rates PDF. As a nonprofit program within a larger YMCA network, the camp is not venture-backed and has no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or leadership changes; operations are sustained through a combination of session fees, donor support, and the parent organization's infrastructure.

Name

YMCA Camp Lakewood

Legal name

Gateway Region YMCA

Website

https://camplakewood.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

YMCA Camp Lakewood is a nonprofit overnight summer camp in Potosi, Missouri, operated by Gateway Region YMCA, serving families with children ages 6-16 through Mini, Traditional, and Specialty Camp sessions booked via the Campwise registration platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Overnight Youth Camp Services

NAICS

Recreational and Vacation Camps (except Campgrounds) (721214), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Recreation Campgrounds (Amenities/Activities Focus) (THAMAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Multi-Activity Enrichment Camps (Academic + Arts + Sports) (EDAMALAA)

Keywords

• Overnight youth camps
• Children summer camps
• Camp session programs
• Youth outdoor education
• Residential camp experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Potosi

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Camp Session Registration Fees: YMCA Camp Lakewood generates revenue through session-based overnight camp registration fees. Families pay for specific camp sessions (Mini Camp 3-night sessions, Traditional Camp 5-night sessions, Specialty Camps) on a per-session basis. Additional revenue streams include referrals and discounts programs. Financial assistance is available but represents a cost center rather than revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

YMCA Camp Lakewood operates an overnight camp facility in Potosi, Missouri, selling multi-night residential camp sessions for children and teens ages 6-16. Programs include a 3-night Mini Camp for first-time campers (ages 6-8), 5-night Traditional Camp tracks (Adventurers, Explorers, Pathfinders, ages 8-16), and Specialty Camps focused on equestrian and wilderness skills. All offerings are screen-free, ACA-accredited, and emphasize character development, outdoor activities, and social connection.

Product overview

YMCA Camp Lakewood offers a portfolio of overnight camp programs designed for children ages 6-16. The core offerings include Mini Camp (a 3-night introductory experience for ages 6-8), Traditional Camp with multiple tracks (Adventurers, Explorers, Pathfinders) for ages 8-16 featuring a 5-night experience, and Specialty Camps (Equestrian, Rangers) for deeper focus on specific activities. All programs emphasize screen-free experiences, character development, and building confidence in a nature-based setting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of campers reported making a new friend during their camp session
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• United Way Greater St. LouiscoreOthersGateway Region YMCA, which operates YMCA Camp Lakewood, is a proud partner of United Way Greater St. Louis. This partnership provides community visibility, potential donor support, and alignment with United Way's community health and youth development missions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Camp Carson (Indiana YMCA): A long-running YMCA overnight camp serving youth with traditional and specialty programming; structurally and operationally analogous to Camp Lakewood within the broader YMCA camp ecosystem.
• Camp Champions: Premier private overnight youth camp offering multi-session summer programming with traditional and specialty tracks; comparable business model and target demographic, serving as a benchmarking reference for pricing and capacity.
• Camp Pinnacle: A well-known private overnight youth camp with multi-age sessions, traditional and specialty activities, and ACA accreditation — directly comparable to Camp Lakewood's product mix.
• Camp Echo (YMCA): A YMCA overnight youth camp with traditional and adventure programming; structurally comparable nonprofit, multi-age, overnight-camp peer to Camp Lakewood.
• Kamp Kewanee: Overnight summer camp in Missouri serving children and teens with traditional cabin-based programming, comparable in geography, scale, and core offering to Camp Lakewood.
• Camp Iroquois (YMCA): A YMCA-affiliated overnight camp offering multi-age traditional and specialty programming; peer in both YMCA organizational structure and camp product model.
• Camp Wood YMCA: A YMCA overnight camp in Elmdale, Kansas offering similar multi-age overnight sessions for children and teens under the YMCA nonprofit network, making it a direct organizational and product peer to Camp Lakewood.

Broad incumbents

• Gateway Region YMCA (parent programs): The parent nonprofit operating Camp Lakewood; offers adjacent youth development, family, and fitness programming that competes for the same parent wallet within the same Greater St. Louis geography.

Regional players

• Brookwood Camp: Overnight youth camp in the broader Midwest region offering multi-session, multi-age programming; comparable product structure and parent buyer profile.
• Camp Sabra (Camp Sabra / Midwest): Midwest-located overnight youth camp serving a similar parent demographic with multi-session summer programming; overlaps with Camp Lakewood on geography and product format.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gwrymca
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@GatewayRegionYMCA
• Facebookfacebook.com/gwrymca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ymca-camp-lakewood
• Instagraminstagram.com/gwrymca
• TikToktiktok.com/@gatewayregionymca

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about YMCA Camp Lakewood