2026 Central PA’s Summer Camp Guide
Curated summer opportunities for kids across Central Pennsylvania
Summer moves quickly for families. One moment, school is ending, and the next you’re trying to figure out how to fill long summer days with experiences that will help your children grow, explore, and make lasting memories.
Central Pennsylvania is filled with incredible summer camps—places where kids learn new skills, build friendships, discover confidence, and spend meaningful time outdoors. But finding them all can be surprisingly difficult. Camps are scattered across dozens of websites, social pages, and local announcements.
So we decided to make it easier.
We compiled a list of camps we know, trust, and feel good recommending to families. Our goal is simple—to save parents time while helping kids discover experiences that build confidence, friendships, skills, and faith.
Arrows Christian Academy curates this Central PA Summer Camp Guide to help parents quickly discover the opportunities available across our region. Whether your child loves sports, outdoor adventure, art, academics, or faith-based experiences, this guide gathers many of the camps serving our communities in one place.
Our hope is simple: that this guide helps your family find the kind of summer experience that shapes memories, builds character, and sparks new interests for your child.
If this resource saves you time or helps you discover a camp your child loves, then it has done exactly what we hoped it would do.
You can search summer camps by category, grade levels, and organizations.
Categories:
Day Camps | Overnight Camps | Faith-based Camps | Academic Camps | Sports Camps | Outdoor Adventure Camps | Arts Camps
Grade Levels:
K | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th
Summer Camp Organizations:
If you are a Summer Camp organization looking to be on the Central PA Summer Camp Parent Guide, please click the button below to contact us.
Penn State Altoona Summer Camps
Make This Your Summer to Build, Create, Explore, and Discover.
Welcome to Penn State Altoona Summer Academies 2026—where curiosity turns into creativity and big ideas come to life.
This summer, students in grades 3–12 can:
Design, build, and race pinewood derby cars in Junior Engineering
Step into the role of a NASA engineer in Senior Engineering — rebuilding and racing a SMARS modular rover across a simulated Martian landscape
Learn to launch their own podcast in the Youth Audio Lab
All programs take place on our welcoming Penn State Altoona campus, where students experience real college labs, studios, and classrooms — guided by passionate instructors who love what they teach.
Summer 2026 is waiting. Let’s build something amazing together.
More academies will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, call 814-949-5160 or email mdb186@psu.edu.
Penn State Altoona offers both academic summer camps and sports camps (below)
Summer Academies
Make This Your Summer to Build, Create, Explore, and Discover.
Penn State Altoona Summer Academies 2026—where curiosity turns into creativity and big ideas come to life.
This summer, students in grades 3–12 can:
Design, build, and race pinewood derby cars in Junior Engineering
Step into the role of a NASA engineer in Senior Engineering — rebuilding and racing a SMARS modular rover across a simulated Martian landscape
Learn to launch their own podcast in the Youth Audio Lab
All programs take place on Penn State Altoona’s campus, where students experience real college labs, studios, and classrooms — guided by passionate instructors who love what they teach.
Summer Academies 2026
Podcasting (ages 12-17) June 9-10, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Junior Engineers (for grades 3-5) June 8-12, 9:00 a.m.-noon
Senior Engineers (for grades 6-8) July 20-24, 9:00 a.m.-noon
This summer’s flyer:
Penn State Altoona Sports Camps
Men's Basketball Little Lions Co-ed Basketball Camp (Coed)
Camp Dates: Monday, June 8 – Thursday, June 11, 2026
Men's Basketball Lions Youth Co-ed Basketball Camp (Coed)
Camp Dates: Monday, June 8 – Thursday, June 11, 2026
Women's Basketball Lady Lions Youth Basketball Camp (Girls)
Camp Dates: Tuesday, July 7 – Thursday July 9, 2026
Women's Volleyball Lions Junior High Volleyball Camp (Girls)
Camp Dates: Tuesday, July 28 – Thursday, July 30, 2026
Women's Volleyball Lions Elementary Volleyball Camp (Girls)
Camp Dates: Tuesday, July 28 – Thursday, July 30, 2026
Women's Volleyball Lions High School Volleyball Camp (Girls)
Camp Dates: Tuesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 6, 2026
Women's Volleyball Lions Junior Varsity High School Volleyball Camp (Girls)
Camp Dates: Tuesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 6, 2026
Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Lions Junior High and High School Camp
Camp Dates: Monday, August 3 – Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Saint Francis University Summer Camps
Kids’ College STEAM Summer Camps at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania is a summer program designed for school children entering grades 1 through 9. These two-to-five-day camps introduce children to various STEAM topics, such as astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, computer science, medicine, physics, language, history, art and more. In each camp, children learn about the amazing world around them through hands-on lessons and activities. Each camp includes daily play time and outside activities (weather permitting), such as short hikes, games, and physical exercises.
STEAM Camps and Sports Camps (below)
Kids' College Summer STEAM Camps
Kids’ College STEAM Summer Camps at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania is a summer program designed for school children entering grades 1 through 9. These two-to-five-day camps introduce children to various STEAM topics, such as astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, computer science, medicine, physics, language, history, art and more. In each camp, children learn about the amazing world around them through hands-on lessons and activities. Each camp includes daily play time and outside activities (weather permitting), such as short hikes, games, and physical exercises.
The 2026 STEAM Camps are not listed yet, but you can read about last year’s camps (list below) by clicking the ‘LEARN MORE’ button below.
2025 Camps
Campers Entering Grades 1-3
Aquatic and Land Animals (2-Day Camp)
Hands-On Nature (3-Day Camp)
Fun Chemistry (2-Day Camp)
Bio-Explorer Camp (2-Day Camp)
Science and Engineering for Kids: Level I (3-Day Camp)
Campers Entering Grades 4-6
Chemistry is Everywhere (2-Day Camp)
Fly and Glide (3-Day Camp)
Skeleton Explorers Camp (3-Day Camp)
Muscle Power Camp (2-Day Camp)
Art through the STEAM Lens (2-Day Camp)
Science and Engineering for Kids: Level II (3-Day Camp)
Campers Entering Grades 7-9
STEM Art: The Wonderful World of Wool (2-Day Camp)
CubeSat Explorers: Mission to Space! (3-Day Camp)
Students Entering Grades 10-12
SFU Summer Pre-College Academies SFU Summer Pre-College Academies are three-day, residential, immersive programs designed to empower students with the tools and resources needed to excel in college while exploring future career pathways.
SFU Sport’s Camps
Men's Basketball
Details coming soon
Women's Basketball
Details coming soon
Football
Details coming soon
Men's and Women's Soccer
Youth Clinics at Hollidaysburg: March 7, 14, 21, 28, 2026 (Hollidaysburg Junior High Gym, $106)
Youth Clinics at Ebensburg: March 8, 15, 22, 29, 2026 (Bishop Carroll Gym, $106)
Times: Kindergarten - 4th | 9:00 am - 10:00 am | 5th - 8th | 10:00 am - 11:00 am | 9th - 12th | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Youth Camp I: June 15-19 | Youth Camp II: July 13-17
Boys & Girls, Kindergarten - 9th grade | Full Day Cost: $318 ($300 + $18 Fees) | Half Day Cost: $265 ($250 + $15 Fees)
Boys College ID Camp: August 11 (9th - 12th | $159)
Girls College ID Camp: August 12 (9th - 12th | $159)
High School Team Camp: August 13-15 (Residential Cost: $265 ($250 + $15 Fees) per Player | Commuter Cost: $212 ($200 + $12 Fees) per Player
Men's Volleyball
July 13-15
(registration coming soon)
Women's Volleyball
July 9-11
(registration coming soon)
Mount Aloysius College Summer Camps
Mount Aloysius College is happy to provide summer camps for area children of all ages. Covering a variety of topics, almost anyone can find a camp they’ll enjoy!
Attend one of their academic summer camps and receive a one-time scholarship certificate valued at $1,000, which can be applied to future full-time enrollment at Mount Aloysius College during a student’s freshman year. A student may attend more than one camp, but will only be eligible for one scholarship certificate.
Mount Aloysius College is happy to provide summer camps for area children of all ages. Covering a variety of topics, almost anyone can find a camp they’ll enjoy!
Attend one of their academic summer camps and receive a one-time scholarship certificate valued at $1,000, which can be applied to future full-time enrollment at Mount Aloysius College during a student’s freshman year. A student may attend more than one camp, but will only be eligible for one scholarship certificate.
Questions about one of their academic camps? Contact Chris Lovett, Academic Dean, at clovett@mtaloy.edu.
Questions about one of their athletic camps? Contact Kevin Kime, Vice President for Athletics and Athletic Director, at kkime@mtaloy.edu.
Non-Central PA Summer Camps
Here is a list of other summer camps that are out of the Central PA region.
Here are some other summer camps to consider that are out of the area.
Compassion Commission (ages 11-18)
Compassion Commission is an inner-city youth missions program that began in 2002 and is hosted by Rock City Church in Baltimore, Maryland. In partnership with Adopt-A-Block, Inc, hundreds of youth from all over the United States come to Baltimore, Maryland.
Boys JIM Club of America (Boys ages 10-13)
The mission of The Boys J.I.M. Club of America is to encourage boys to love Jesus deeply and express Him vividly. It is a Christian leadership training camp for boys ages 10 through 13. Located on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in Western New York, the Boys JIM Club runs four two-week sessions each summer at its six-acre campus.
The unique program not only features sports, recreation, swimming and other traditional summer camp activities but also includes a teaching program of sermon presentation, gospel magic, ventriloquism, drama, music, mime, juggling, ballooning, and other creative ministry skills.
Liberty University Sports Camps
Liberty University Academic Camps
Grove City College Summer Camps (Academic & Sports)
Messiah University Summer Camps (Academic & Sports)