Frequently Asked Questions
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First Time at Camp?
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Echo Ranch is located 40 miles north of downtown Juneau, a few miles short of the end of the road. Turn off the highway at Echo Cove and our camp sits about 2 miles around the shoreline alongside Point Bridget State Park and Berners Bay.
We also have a second camp location in Haines, Alaska. Echo Ranch Haines is located in Mud Bay at the end of Rainbow Road, about a mile south of Letnikof Bay on Mud Bay Road.
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Typically, visitors and campers walk the approximately 2 miles from the parking lot of Echo Cove into camp. Hike along the west shore of the cove; there will be a dirt road most of the way that you can follow. We highly recommend wearing waterproof boots or hiking sandals (like Chacos) for the hike, as it is usually muddy in spots.
If you are unable to walk around the cove for medical reasons, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can make transportation arrangements for you.
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Because of our remote location, we must generate our own power. The generator runs 24 hours a day during camp season and provides energy to the main buildings at camp, like our Dining Hall, chapel, and bathhouses.
Please note that camper and retreater cabins do not have electricity. All of the cabins contain a wood stove (and plenty of firewood and kindling) to provide heat. Each cabin has a lantern as they can get quite dark at night, but we recommend bringing a flashlight. If you need to stay in a building with electricity for a medical reason, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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Cell service is extremely sparse near Echo Ranch. It can sometimes be found along the beach or near the office, depending on your service provider. Most of our guests truly love the “unplugged” nature of camp, so we recommend embracing it! However, if you need to make an urgent phone call while here, our office staff can help you use our camp phone line.
Our staff uses a very limited Wifi network at camp that can only supply service to a small number of devices. Because of this, we restrict our staff usage of the Wifi to necessary camp work and do not offer the network to guests. (Again, part of the fun of camp is being “unplugged”!) However, if you need internet access during your time at camp for an urgent circumstance (e.g., a work meeting or a family emergency), please let us know and our office staff can help you.
Summer staff get access to Wifi during limited times on the weekends, when campers are not present, so they can communicate with home.
Camp Registration, Travel, Dropoff, & Pickup
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We are planning to open summer camp registration on February 1 at 7:00am. We will post updates on our social media accounts and website leading up to registration opening, so watch those spaces! When registration opens, you will find all the links to register on our website’s front page.
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Cabin assignments are typically made a few days before each week of camp begins. Your child will be placed in a cabin corresponding to his or her biological sex along with 5-9 other campers and 2 counselors.
Camp is more fun with a friend, so we do our best to accommodate the requests you make on your child’s camp registration form! You can make requests for preferred counselors and cabinmates as part of the registration form.
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When you register, a $50 deposit is required.
If you contact us to cancel your child’s summer camp registration at least two weeks before the start of the camp he or she is registered for, you will receive a full refund. Otherwise, the $50 deposit will not be refunded.
If you do not let us know of your cancellation ahead of time and your child does not come to his or her registered camp, we will not refund your registration. However, if you miss Monday morning registration, it is not too late to get your child out to camp for the rest of the week - contact us and we will be happy to arrange transportation for them to join camp a little late.
We do not refund portions of the registration fee. This means if your child has to miss a portion of the camp week, the full registration fee still applies.
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Dropoff at Echo Cove is Monday morning from 8:00am - 8:45am*.
Pickup at Echo Cove varies based on the camp week:
Colt camp pickup is Thursday afternoon from 5:00 - 5:30pm.*
Bronco and Maverick camp pickup is Friday afternoon from 5:00 - 5:30pm.
Senior High camp pickup is Saturday from 12:00pm - 12:30pm.
(*Colt 2, which runs from June 25-28, is an exception. Dropoff for Colt 2 is Tuesday from 8:00am - 8:45am; pickup is Friday from 5:00 - 5:30pm.)
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To ensure our campers’ safety, we require authorized names for pickups and we check IDs at pickup. You can specify the authorized names for pickup when you register your camper.
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We do our best each week to bring in as many campers as possible from the waitlist, giving priority to kids who haven’t yet been to camp that year. Typically, you will be notified during the prior week if space opens up for your child to join the camp that he or she is waitlisted for. We will contact you to confirm before finalizing his or her registration.
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Yes, we do. If your child is flying or ferrying to Juneau for camp, please contact us ahead of time to arrange pick up and drop off details: ERBC.Registration@avmi.org or 907-789-3777. We need your travel information ahead of time in order to provide transportation for your camper, so please let us know as soon as you have travel details.
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Yes, we provide overnight housing and supervision for out-of-town campers for one additional night on either side of the camp week - i.e., Sunday night before camp begins, and/or the night of the day that camp ends. If your child has to spend additional nights in Juneau, we ask that you make other arrangements for the additional nights.
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Yes, we have a camper scholarship fund to provide financial assistance for campers who need it. Please contact us to apply for financial assistance by emailing ERBC.Registration@avmi.org.
About Summer Camps
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We send out a packing list to your email before camp begins, but you can also check out our What to Pack page (click here to see it) at any time.
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We’re called Echo Ranch Bible Camp because we are founded on faith in God, and in the Bible as God’s Word. All of our staff believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and our purpose is to serve and glorify him - you can see our organizational statement of faith by clicking here, if you want to know more about what we believe. However, there are NO religious requirements of campers, retreaters, or other guests. Everyone is welcome here!
As part of the summer camp program, campers attend chapel twice a day where they will learn about the Bible and participate in discussions with their cabin group after chapels to process what they heard and ask questions. Chapel messages are Bible-based and age-appropriate from carefully chosen speakers who have experience teaching children. There will not be an “altar call” or any coercion or expectation for campers to believe anything that is shared at camp.
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We ask that campers and other guests bring outdoor-worthy clothing that is modest. Campers spend a lot of time outside, so they should bring clothing for all weather. Camp staff reserve the right to maintain appropriate attire of all campers.
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There is little to no cell service at camp, but it’s fine for campers to bring their cell phones for pictures, alarms, etc. Since there is no electricity in cabins, there is limited opportunity to charge cell phones, so we recommend switching them to airplane mode to save battery.
Other electronics, such as wireless earbuds, game systems, etc., are discouraged. Camp staff and counselors reserve the right to ask campers to put away any devices that are being used inappropriately or creating a distraction.
Pocket knives are not needed at camp, as kindling is provided for campfires. If campers have knives, we ask them to leave them in their bags. Camp staff and counselors reserve the right to confiscate anything that they believe poses a danger to other campers and return it at camp pickup.
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If you have an urgent need to get in touch with your camper, you can call our office to arrange to speak to them, or you can email us or leave us a voicemail if you just need us to pass along a message.
Sending mail to your camper is a great way to get in touch with them just for fun. You can send mail to: Echo Ranch Bible Camp, c/o [camper’s name], P.O. Box 210608, Auke Bay, AK 99821. We recommend mailing prior to your child’s arrival at camp to ensure it makes it out to camp in time. You can also drop mail off at our Auke Bay office (12000 Glacier Highway).
For younger campers, we discourage visiting your child while he or she is at camp, as visits can often prompt homesickness. However, you are welcome to hike out to camp for a visit; please contact us ahead of time so we know to expect you. We ask that you limit visiting your camper to one meal or one chapel session due to the busyness of the camp schedule.
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We do our best to return lost items to their owners. If you have a specific item you’re missing, you can contact us and we will do our best to find it for you.
At the end of each camp week, we make a sweep of camp for any lost and found items and try to return them to campers before they leave. All unidentified lost and found items get sent to our office in Auke Bay (12000 Glacier Highway), where they can be picked up. For more info, check out our Lost and Found page.
Health Accommodations
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Our kitchen staff can gladly accommodate most allergies and dietary needs that we are informed of ahead of time. Please be sure to indicate any dietary needs on your Health Form when you register a child for camp. If attending a retreat, please make sure your dietary needs are communicated to your retreat coordinator so that we can prepare for them.
Extensive dietary needs or allergies can be discussed over the phone with the camp nurse and/or the head cook; please call or email the camp office at 907-789-3777 or EchoRanch@avmi.org.
In the case of guests with severe allergies, we take these needs seriously to ensure that camp is safe for all. For example, if a camper has a severe peanut allergy, we make sure that no one in camp consumes peanuts while the camper is onsite, even in private living quarters. We also keep a few EpiPens onsite. Please contact us to discuss any severe allergies you or your child may have.
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We always have a camp nurse onsite for administering daily medications and taking care of any minor medical issues that come up. Please be sure to indicate any health needs on your camper's Health Form when you register. During dropoff for camp, medications will be given to the nurse and he or she will make sure to administer them at the proper times.
Extensive medical needs can be discussed over the phone with the camp nurse and/or the head cook -- please call or email the camp office at 907-789-3777 or EchoRanch@avmi.org.
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The health and safety of our campers and guests is our priority. Campers are welcome to see the nurse at any time, day or night. We have a well-stocked Health Station with plenty of first aid supplies and basic over-the-counter medications as well as emergency supplies. With your permission, our nurse can administer over-the-counter medications, such as ibuprofen or Benadryl, to your camper if needed (although we find that ice packs and Band-aids tend to work wonders for many minor bumps and bruises). We can also provide private sleeping quarters for a sick camper if needed. If our nurse thinks a child should go home or receive off-site medical care, we will contact you to discuss this.
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All our staff and summer staff are required to have up-to-date CPR and First Aid certification to work at camp. We bring in an instructor to provide accredited training to our summer staff during their spring orientation for those that need it. Several of our full-time staff also maintain WFR (Wilderness First Responder) or EMT certification.
All of our staff, summer staff, and volunteers are required to go through background checks, interviews, and abuse prevention training through Protect My Ministry before their arrival at camp. We also go through additional abuse prevention training with our summer staff during their spring orientation.
Camp Store (the Berners Bay Trading Post)
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You can add money to your child’s camp store account during registration or at any other time. Check out our Camp Store Deposits page for instructions.
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Yes, credit cards and checks are accepted, as well as cash or money deposited into camp store accounts (see our Camp Store page for more information on how to do that).
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Although the store is not open all day long, we make sure to open for each retreat. We will make sure it is clearly indicated on your retreat schedule and do our best to make sure that you will have time to visit between your scheduled activities.
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Here are some general categories of what the BBTP sells:
Candy and soda for $1.50 each (with limits imposed for younger kids) and other snacks for similar prices
Various toys, which usually cost between $2.50 and $10
Different types of stuffed animals, usually for $10-$16
Hats, usually for $20-$25
T-shirts, usually for $15-$20
Sweatshirts, usually for $30-$40
Drinkware (mugs and water bottles), usually for $10-$25
Hammocks, usually for $40
Blankets, usually for $25-$40
When deciding how much money to put in your camper’s store account, it’s helpful to keep in mind that most campers like to be able to get a couple snacks or drinks each day in addition to any souvenirs they (or you) might want to purchase.
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If a camper leaves camp with unspent money in their store account, we will contact you to ask if you would like to have the money reimbursed to your credit card; donated to the camp; or left on your camper’s account for next time they come to Echo Ranch. (Money in store accounts never expires.)
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No… at least not yet. Stay tuned!
Miscellaneous
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We love to have guests come play our disc golf course, but part of it is restricted during the summer due to our summer camps. Check out our Disc Golf page for the all the info you need on when you can play our disc golf course and how to find it.
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We love having visitors and volunteers, but our guest housing during the summer is very limited. Check out the Short-Term Opportunities section on our Join Us page for info on how you can inquire about the possibility of coming to visit or volunteer for us.